Clark Gets Plenty Of Bodies (Daily News-Record)

Now, the BC football coach has to figure out which ones will make a difference.

Daily News-Record By Jeremy Cothran

BRIDGEWATER — With Division III recruiting being so hit-or-miss, Mike Clark likes to take the Costco approach to filling out the Bridgewater College football roster.

It’s always smarter to buy in bulk.

"It’s like buying lottery tickets," Clark said after a practice for freshmen players Tuesday. "Your chances increase the more you get. We’re no different from any other college program in the country."

If only it were as easy for BC coaches to take their grocery carts down the aisles and pick out the exact ingredients needed for their recipe.

With 64 freshmen at practice this year, almost double the 34 who arrived at Bridgewater last season, Clark has more options to fill holes and more bodies to provide depth. And, much like the lottery, it’s a gamble which of the 64 will pay off as "difference makers."

"A friend of mine told me once, the only way to have success [in Division III] is to deal in volume," said Clark, a former Virginia Tech assistant now in his 12th season at BC. "When I got this job, I knew nothing about D3. My friend told me that of 50 or so players you recruit, you need to have 15 difference makers. That was the formula. There is a lot of truth in that."

The problem for BC last year was a large and established senior class, which scared off some recruits. This season, the perennially powerful Eagles – ranked 13th in d3football.com’s preseason poll -- had to fill plenty of holes. With more opportunities to play, freshmen arrived on campus in droves.

Some, like former Page County High School lineman Matt Ryman, could care less about the number of novices that arrive every year.

"At first, it seems like a lot," said Ryman, who has been practicing as a split-side guard. "But you see that it’s the stars that stand out. You just have to work hard, you know? Get better a little bit more every day. I don’t think it’s too much of a problem."

Another reason recruiting suffers some years is BC’s hefty price-tag. It costs about $28,000 to attend Bridgewater, which translates into sticker shock when dealing with recruits. D3 schools are not permitted to offer athletic scholarships, which means students either pay their own way or cobble together a variety of need-based and academic grants.

"Private education costs are always a problem," Clark said.

Defensive coordinator Grant Higgison said the increased competition recruiting against other Old Dominion Athletic Conference schools can be a hurdle. One way opposition coaches try to gain an advantage, apparently, is to get inside a kid’s head and tell him the Bridgewater roster is too stacked, too log-jammed.

"Kids these days," Higgison said, "they all want to play right away. … We lost 30 seniors this year, so there are a lot of spots open. We told them at the start of practice that we are going to play some freshmen this year."

Playing right away is not indicative of a recruit’s talent level, according to Clark. The BC coach pointed to former Eagles lineman Paul Getty as someone who rose slowly through the system and then exploded onto the Division III scene.

"In the past," Clark said, "we had Paul Getty, one of the better offensive players we’ve ever had. He played JV ball his first two years. Then he’s an All-American. If kids are willing to work, there is evidence of a return."

The type of kids BC coaches recruit range from those who finally realize Virginia and Virginia Tech aren’t interested and slip to Division III late in the process, to heated battles with conference foes like Hampden-Sydney and Randolph-Macon over more easily definable D3 players.

Ex-Stonewall Jackson quarterback Patrick Smoot decided on Bridgewater because of the success that another former General QB had with the Eagles.

"I talked a lot with Jason Lutz," Smoot said. "And he told me a lot of great things about playing here. I’d like to think I can have the same success that he did, but I know that it’s a lot of work."

Lutz led the Eagles to the 2001 Stagg Bowl, where they lost 30-27 to Mount Union in the national championship game.

Bridgewater coaches said Tuesday that it’s too early to identify which freshmen will be "difference makers." The rookies have practiced only three days and haven’t yet worked out with the veterans.

Clark, however, said several newcomers appear to have strong potential. Among them: Aubry Dicks, a defensive back from Pembroke Pines, Fla., and Ricky Milbourne, a quarterback from Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas.

Several former area stars are trying to display their talents, including ex-Turner Ashby quarterback/cornerback Seth Little, Harrisonburg offensive lineman Louis Sanchez, Broadway linebacker Mark Brenneman, Spotswood running back Matt Paulette and Smoot. Former Trailblazer receiver/quarterback Chet Landes also decided to attend BC this fall, but tore his anterior cruciate ligament in April and will miss the season.

The freshmen and veterans – all 142 of them -- will practice together for the first time this morning as the Eagles prepare for their season-opener on Sept. 2 at McDaniel.

"After next Monday," Clark said. "I should know the chosen few that are in the varsity plans."