Eagles Ranked No. 13 by Sports Weekly

USA Today Sports Weekly rank the Eagles No. 13 in their Division III preseason top 25.

Sports Weekly costs $4.95, and will be on newsstands from June 26 to July 31. I've posted their preseason top 25 on BridgewaterFootball.com, click here to view it.

Earlier this month, both Lindy's and Street & Smith's ranked the Eagles No. 19.

Street & Smith's Ranks BC No. 19

Street & Smith's College Football preview went on newsstands June 23, dedicating four pages to Division III. They ranked the Eagles No. 19 in the country.

Street & Smith's magazine costs $6.99 (but I got it at Wal-mart for $6.29). I've posted their preseason top 25 on BridgewaterFootball.com, click here to view it.

A month ago, Lindy's Football Preview also ranked the Eagles No. 19. Click here to read that blog.

I'll be posting the USA Today Sports Weekly preseason top 25 on here come Monday or Tuesday of next week.

2006 Recruiting Class

The Bridgewater football office has announced its 2006 recruiting class. More than 70 newcomers will report to summer camp on August 12 to begin preparation for a sixth straight conference title and seventh straight trip to the NCAA playoffs.

The 71 players who committed by August 3 represent 62 high schools from nine states. The breakdown by state is: 54 from Virginia, six from Maryland, three from Florida, two from both North Carolina and Pennsylvania, and one each from Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio and Washington D.C. Other numbers of note: eight are transfers, seven will play in their state’s all-star game, six were starting quarterbacks in high school, and five earned All-State honors.

The following list was compiled by Matt Barnhart of BridgewaterFootball.com, so if there are any errors or omissions, please email Matt at kid@bridgewaterfootball.com. The information on pages two and three of the following release was gathered from high school coaches and reliable internet sources.

Click here for the complete list of recruits (updated through August 3).

Pictured: Wynn Sigmon (TE) from Franklin County

Jermaine Taylor Feature

Buccaneers.com posted this piece on June 16...

Finding His Strengths

First-year LB Jermaine Taylor, an eager prospect from tiny Bridgewater College, has steadily come to believe that he has the talent to succeed in the NFL

Though the combination of its abbreviation (BC), mascot (Eagles) and colors (crimson and gold) might mirror that of a certain big-time program in New England, Bridgewater College is not especially known for its football program.

You’ll find Bridgewater in Virginia, about 15 minutes south of Harrisonburg, which is home to the more well-known James Madison University. If you find it as a graduating high school senior, it’s probably because you are looking for a respected academic institution with excellent student-professor ratios, and not an avenue to a career in professional football. In fact, no Bridgewater player has ever made it to the NFL, though the program is very competitive in the Division III Old Dominion Conference.

Of course, not every high school senior knows exactly what he or she is looking for at that point in life. Many have yet to pinpoint their exact strengths. University life can help with that search; in fact, such a thought is included within Bridgewater’s own introductory statement.

“Recognition of one’s capabilities,” it reads, “is the beginning of wisdom.”

Jermaine Taylor could very well become the first Bridgewater alum in the NFL, but that certainly wasn’t what he had in mind when he chose the small, Christian college of fewer than 1,500 undergraduates. Somewhere along the way, he recognized a very serious capability – the scouts who started nosing around in his junior season were something of a tip-off – and he expanded his vision of the future to include the possibility of a career in the NFL.

“When I graduated from high school I didn’t think I’d end up here, to be honest with you,” said Taylor, the last player to trudge off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ practice field after a recent team session. “My main focus was education and I wanted to go to a small college and get that one-on-one experience with the professors, which I did get at Bridgewater. I was able to excel in football and track while I was there – I was blessed with that – and that gave me an opportunity to become a free agent for Green Bay, which brought me to the NFL. I know it’s pretty tough to get into and I was very grateful for the opportunity.”

Taylor made it tough for the scouts to avoid that 15-minute drive down from JMU. Over four seasons as a starter he led the Eagles to a 45-6 record, earned conference player of the year honors twice and set a school record with 148 tackles as a senior. Oh, Taylor also won the conference championship in the 100-meter dash for three years running, which plays no small part in why the scouts were intrigued. Even on the NFL level, Taylor is fast for his position, and that makes him a particularly interesting prospect for the Buccaneers, who have long valued range and instincts over size at linebacker.

Of course, the NFL waiver wire is littered with athletes with one or two outstanding attributes – massive linemen, blazingly fast receivers, instinctive safeties, quick-twitch defensive ends. Rarely is that one skill enough. Taylor knew he would have to work hard to develop as an all-around player after the Packers signed him as an undrafted free agent in the spring of 2004.

“When I started with Green Bay, they called me a “raw linebacker,” and I would agree with that,” said the very amiable Taylor. “They said there was a lot for me to learn, and they were right, but I think I’m coming along fine. I’m not as raw as I was before, but there’s still a lot to learn. You can never know too much. Each year so far that I’ve been in the NFL since graduation, I’ve been improving.”

Taylor got a second crack at the NFL in 2005 with the Buccaneers, who kept him around until the final cut, then brought him back after the season and allocated him to the NFL Europe League. That’s a common move with prospects who are “raw,” and ones who haven’t had much opportunity to play in the several years since they left college. Taylor fit into both categories. He landed with the Berlin Thunder and started all season at right outside linebacker. Back in Tampa, the Bucs’ scouts liked what they saw on the weekly game tapes that were sent back overseas.

“I felt that [I was close in 2005], but I still felt as if I needed to make some improvements,” said Taylor. “And I think I got some when I was over there in Europe, so I’m grateful for that experience. I’m also grateful to come back over and get a third shot at the NFL and a second shot at becoming a Buc.

“I’m just excited to get on the field and show them what I’ve learned. It just gave me a chance to play in 10 games. I haven’t played much since college. It gave me a chance to play against quality guys, the kind of guys I would be going up against as I try to make it in the NFL. Game-time experience is great. There’s nothing like it.”

Taylor certainly has some pretty significant hurdles still to clear. At 6-0 and 220 pounds, he does give away size to most NFL linebackers. He is also competing for a spot on a unit that just happens to be loaded with both established and young talent in the likes of Derrick Brooks, Shelton Quarles, Ryan Nece, Jamie Winborn, Barrett Ruud and Marquis Cooper. Taylor might be most likely to make his mark on special teams, where he offers a great size-speed combination, or he might have to log some time on a practice squad before making the jump to an active roster.

But the opportunity is there, and for that Taylor is obviously and engagingly grateful. He is also grateful that Bridgewater, while not a football factory or an obvious conduit to the pros, allowed him to discover the depth of his talents. It also gave him a solid education, as he graduated with a degree in information systems management and has already made one foray into an alternate career path as a systems technician.

You could say that Taylor has definitely “recognized his capabilities.” Now he needs the Buccaneers to come to the same conclusion.

“When I got to Green Bay, I realized what it takes to get to the NFL,” he said. “I finally got confidence in the knowledge that I could compete at this level. When I got that confidence, I knew I could actually become a part of an NFL team.”

Article link: http://www.buccaneers.com/news/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=5174

BC Hires Defensive Coach

The Daily News Record - by Joe Lemire

BRIDGEWATER – Jack Johnson wanted to coach at a winning program, and Bridgewater College needed a new defensive line coach – it was a perfect match.

Eagles football coach Michael Clark said Thursday that he has hired Johnson to fill the defensive line position after Stephon Healey switched to coach the offensive line, which was vacated when Bob Colbert left to take the head coaching job at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pa.

"It’s hard to coach in this business if you’re not winning," Johnson said by telephone Thursday. "It’s not fun. I researched Bridgewater and know they have a winning program."

Johnson has seen both sides of the football spectrum. As a freshman defensive lineman at Mary Hardin-Baylor during the school’s inaugural season in 1998, he was one of 211 players who showed up for the first day of practice. Predictably, the Crusaders struggled, going just 2-8 in their first season and 5-5 the next year.

"There was a core group of guys – Jack being one of them – that really held us together," said UMHB’s Pete Fredenburg, who has been the coach all eight years of the program’s existence. "Especially in the first two years, there were some rocky roads. All they lived off was a vision."

By Johnson’s senior season, the 211 members of that first recruiting class had whittled down to nine, but the Crusaders made their first appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

"We stuck in there and we fought and we turned that thing around," he said. "...I’m still real good friends with several of those guys. It’s a special bond that we’ll always have together."

After finishing his playing days, Johnson stayed at Mary Hardin-Baylor, working on his master’s degree in education (which he finished in December) and serving as a graduate assistant football coach. The Crusaders have gone 41-6 the last four years, including a loss to Linfield in the 2004 Stagg Bowl.

Fredenburg described Johnson as a "great teacher" who successfully undertook the responsibilities of a full-time position coach and who commanded respect from his players despite being just a few years older.

"That’s the thing that’s just overwhelming about him," Fredenburg, a former defensive coordinator at Baylor, said. "If they needed scolding, he scolded them; if they needed praise, he praised them. He handled them with ease. He’s a mature youngster. We didn’t have a position to offer him or we would have."

BC Ranked No. 19 by Lindy's

The 2006 season doesn't start for another three months, but the first college football preview magazine has already been published.

Lindy's Football Preview went on newsstands May 23, dedicating two pages to Division III.

For the sixth year in a row, the Bridgewater College Eagles have found themselves in a preseason ranking. Lindy's ranks the Eagles - who lose 14 starters to graduation - No. 19 in the country. They also say that Bridgewater playing Ferrum on September 16 is one of the five biggest regular season games in the nation this coming season, which will match the reigning ODAC champ versus the reigning USAC champ.

Lindy's magazine costs $6.99 (but I got it at Wal-mart for $6.29). I've posted their preseason top 25 on BridgewaterFootball.com, click here to view it.

Coach Raeford Rookie Card

That's right. Bridgewater's defensive secondary coach has a rookie card (pictured).

Raeford played professional football in three different leagues. He was a defensive back for the USFL's San Antonio Gunslingers in 1984-85 before joining the NFL's Chicago Bears in 1987. In 1988, he played with New York Knights in the Arena Football League.

In 1984, Raeford was named to the USFL All-League Team by The Sporting News, finishing the season with five interceptions for 73 return yards and one touchdown. He also had two kick returns for 45 yards and one score. In 1985, he recorded two interceptions for 12 return yards for the Gunslingers. In 1988, Raeford tallied three tackles and two pass deflections for the AFL Knights.

Raeford's rookie card is #120 of the 1985 Topps USFL set. The set also includes Steve Young, Reggie White, Jim Kelly, Herschel Walker and Gary Clark, and the rookie cards of Doug Flutie and Sam Mills.

The back of Raeford's card says he scored the first touchdown in Gunslingers' history on February 26, 1984, when their opponent fumbled on a kickoff and recovered it and ran it in for six. The back of his card also mentions he had 12-career interceptions when he attended Northern Michigan University.

Various people on campus have ordered a handful of his rookie cards (including myself - I'm the proud owner of four). He is more than happy to autograph them, as he did for me. You can order his rookie card through Beckett.com or eBay.com.