Now It Begins

[Udforever1]

Well after getting absolutely stomped on our way out of FCS, now a very interesting off season begins. Mentioned before that it appears that we can return a majority of the team next year, but I don’t think that will happen or should happen. I have a feeling we will see quite a few guys enter the portal, some by their choice because next year is a transition year, some not by their choice.

This program has to get bigger, stronger and faster to compete at the FBS level, as evidenced in our big games this year against FCS teams.

Next year is going to be a weird year and what could be a very big developmental year, full of guys redshirting that can.

I have no doubt this program can be successful making the jump to FBS. But it begins now.

[UDHoops]

Lots of change imminent. Follow my page at @SSN_BlueHens if you’re on X/Twitter, I get the news out there before here. If not plenty of great people beat me in here most of the time anyways and I use these chats to catch me back up. We want to see our Hens succeed and we have a big offseason ahead

[Hensfansince03]

It's going to be hard to get excited for next year. We are playing an FCS schedule with no chance of making the playoffs. It's pretty much an exhibition season. Lots of new players with 22 more scholarships to fill, lots of redshirting with it being an exhibition season, and I'm sure some coaching staff changes as the budget should increase. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to make a respectable showing in Conf USA in 2025. We need a total infusion of talent and some new ideas. JMU moved up being in the top 5 of FCS, they were an FCS in name only program there last 4 years at this level. The Hens are a mediocre FCS program making the jump to albeit a weaker conference but still a lot of ground to cover. Is this young staff up for the challenge? Will they make an honest assessment of things and make changes or stick to the same old? Was this staff brought in 2 years ago with the admin knowing we were going to go FBS?

[Brookside kid hen]

Yes sad to say that you have to show the kids who aren't capable of playing FBS football the door. Identify the freshman who are willing to stay and redshirt next year who are FBS capable, I think the transfer portal will be more important after next season than this year. We are going to field (probably) a losing team next year, depending on the schedule, so get ready for that. Kennesaw State was a good example this year of what we might look like. We should get more looks from FBS caliber HS recruits now that our plans to move up are public knowledge. Then come out swinging in 2025. And the caliber of transfers in the portal should go up quite a bit in the next two off seasons as well. So let's get to work, get behind our coaching staff, and be ready to roll in 2025, because next season is quite frankly going to be a throwaway year.

[Gannonfan]

Stop saying we're mediocre. Mediocre is Rhode Island. Mediocre is the Patriot League outside of Lafayette and HC. Mediocre is all of the NEC, a good chunk of the Southern, etc. We won 17 games in two years, including 2 playoff wins. Clearly we're not at the top of the FCS world, as evidenced by our dismissals by SDSU last year and Montana this year. But SDSU is the clear favorite to win a second straight title, and Montana is rumored to be the only team that stands a chance to beat them. Just because we aren't those two teams doesn't mean we're mediocre. We're above average for FCS, with a long way to go to be in the same class as the top of this classification. And considering the decade that came before these two years, that's quite a change in the right direction. Big steps are needed in the transition years ahead, but if we keep improving like we have over the last two years there's grounds for optimism. Looking forward to the years ahead.

[Brookside kid hen]

Here here Gannonfan, I agree 1000% my friend. That's just complete entitlement and idiocy to say that we are "mediocre".

[Cluck U]

We aren’t mediocre.

And we are headed to FBS.

Woot!

[Brookside kid hen]

That's correct, we are not mediocre in any way, we may not be in the top 5 in the current FCS, but we are definitely a top 10 FCS program. The gap between the top five programs and the next five has grown pretty wide over the last ten years, the power shifted to the midwest and far west in that time. But it's pure arrogance to say after a 17-9 record the past two years, two playoff berths, and two playoff wins that the hens program is "mediocre". Ridiculous talk by entitled people. Did we lose games the past two years that we shouldn't have? Absolutely. We got spoiled by success in the seventies, eighties(some anyway!!! Lol), nineties and 2000's. Everyone, and Mean just about everyone in FCS caught up with us during those years, and we didn't make the adjustments in our program during the lost decade of UD football. Now as we move forward to FBS, we need to get a WHOLE lot better on the OL and DL'S in the next two years before we can make our bowl debut in 2026. Lol

[jd of de]

Carty To Do List; Re-recruit our guys, so the portal doesn’t kill us as well as give us a tool to get better. Mr Minicucci would be a good place to start.

[HENJOHN]

Here here Gannonfan, I agree 1000% my friend. That's just complete entitlement and idiocy to say that we are "mediocre".

Glad some people get what is really happening. Agree

[Cluck U]

That's correct, we are not mediocre in any way, we may not be in the top 5 in the current FCS, but we are definitely a top 10 FCS program. The gap between the top five programs and the next five has grown pretty wide over the last ten years, the power shifted to the midwest and far west in that time. But it's pure arrogance to say after a 17-9 record the past two years, two playoff berths, and two playoff wins that the hens program is "mediocre". Ridiculous talk by entitled people. Did we lose games the past two years that we shouldn't have? Absolutely. We got spoiled by success in the seventies, eighties(some anyway!!! Lol), nineties and 2000's. Everyone, and Mean just about everyone in FCS caught up with us during those years, and we didn't make the adjustments in our program during the lost decade of UD football. Now as we move forward to FBS, we need to get a WHOLE lot better on the OL and DL'S in the next two years before we can make our bowl debut in 2026. Lol

Top 10?

Dude, I am a big Hens fan...but we aren't Top 10. We certainly made a lot of progress over the last two years, but no one should put us in their Top 10. Plenty of games to watch over the past two weeks (heck, over the past season)...we had too many weaknesses and not enough consistency. And our D is awful...just non-existent against the better teams, for obvious reasons.

But, onward and upward. Time to strut with the G5 folks. As Maddog would say, "Cock-a-Doodle-Do!

GoHens!

[henjet]

We are great against sit Francis and stony brook and meac leftovers but when we play a top fcs team, we are getting our **** handed to us, can take a pass on next year especially with a caa schedule but first thing is getting a NEW Def Coord, and an Off coord, let carty stick to head coaching duties especially with the transition year.Get some bigger o and d lineman and some db's and for a side note lets go back to the old colors for the uiform the royal blue is terrible, and use the black uniforms for 1 game a year also start reaching out to army navy and temple about some home and home series and start new conf usa right

[dovetail]

The end of a season with unfilled expectations and the beginning of a new one with uncertain expectations. Next year should be interesting. Will Rojas still be here. Many here were excited that Carty kept him. Are they now? Carty needs to rethink about the kind of QB and other skill players he wants if he wants to continue to use out of the box plays. You can count on the fingers of one hand where one of those doxies worked this season. You need an athletic QB to make those plays work. Does he have one? Min might be the answer.

[Henny]

Things are going to get very interesting starting tomorrow. The new normal portal changes may even increase due to our move to FBS. Maybe some coaching changes as well.

There are a number of key football alumni now that will be a huge help to Chrissi in making this transition.

[hensfan40yrs]

you cant say lets get out of this watered down caa and then say the Hens arent mediocre when they cant dominate the watered down conference. the rose colored glasses some wear are pathetic. wins against non tournament teams says it all