useless info....but they mention me indirectly in there....(when they talk about religious high schools)

 

SoCon Ready To Kickoff 2004 Football Season

by David Kirkland, SoCon Intern

 

 

Here are a few notes and tidbits about the eight Southern Conference Preseason rosters:

 

There are 745 players listed on the eight SoCon preseason football rosters...There are players representing 28 states and Canada (Western Carolina?s Nicholas Wishart) on these rosters...Georgia has contributed the most players with 204...North Carolina is second with 185 and South Carolina is third with 137...Atlanta, Georgia is the city that has contributed the most players to the 2004 rosters with 22 ...Five of the eight SoCon schools have at least one player from Atlanta led by Chattanooga with nine while Furman and Elon each have four ...Also among the top five hometowns are Charlotte (18), Columbia, SC (13), Jacksonville (11) and Cincinnati (10)...There are Southern Conference players from Lexington, KY (Wofford?s Will Wheeler, Corey Dunn and Matt Beavin), Lexington, NC (Appalachian State?s Justin LaRose and Western Carolinas Scooter Dalton), Lexington, SC (The Citadel?s David Morbitzer and Dwight House and Appalachian State?s Grant Oliver), as well as Lexington, VA (Furman?s Michael Burant).

 

Four high schools are tied with graduating the most SoCon football players with four ...Columbia, SC Ridgeview (The Citadel?s Alex Hartsell and Kevin McCaskill, Furman?s Rico Scott and Chattanooga?s Trip Ward), Gainesville, GA Gainesville (Furman?s David Menocal and Brant Glover and Western Carolina?s Mike Malone and Phillip Young), Orangeburg, SC Orangeburg (The Citadel?s Raleigh Jackson, Western Carolina?s Russell Hemby, Elon?s James Murdaugh and Georgia Southern?s Derrick Butler) and Shelby, NC Crest (Appalachian State?s Phillip Shaw and Monte Smith, Elon?s Lamar Beam and Western Carolina?s LJ Williams)...There are 22 schools that have three players currently on a SoCon roster...

 

The SoCon has 25 players that weigh in at 300 pounds or better, topped by Brian Billings of Appalachian State and Western Carolina?s Joe Patton, offensive lineman who each weigh 340...Appalachian State leads the SoCon in 300-pounders with six while Chattanooga and Georgia Southern each have five...Western Carolina and Elon both have three 300-pounders and Wofford has two 300-pounders...The SoCon has five players listed at 150 pounds or smaller including two kickers, two defensive backs and a wide receiver...Five players tip the charts at 6-7 including Anthony Barcel of Elon, Wofford?s Derrick Wooten, Chattanooga?s Troy Blackwell and Western Carolina tackles Wendell Singletary and Joe Patton...Two players are listed at 5-6 or shorter including Appalachian State?s Sean Jackson and Georgia Southern?s Sam King.

 

The most common first name among SoCon players is Justin with 18 players taking the moniker...That is followed by 16 Michaels, 15 Joshs, 15 Brian/Bryans and 14 John/Jons... James and Ryan each have 12 players. J.T. Nash of Georgia Southern has the least amount of letters (6) in his name while Western Carolina?s Muhammad Ahmad Abdus-Salaam has the most (24).

 

Chattanooga leads the league in hometown players with eight student-athletes hailing from Chattanooga...Georgia Southern has the most instate players with 79, Appalachian State and the Citadel are second with 51 instate players...Wofford has the most out of state players with 79, Furman is second with 65 out of state players and Chattanooga is third with 58 out of state players.

 

As for religious preference, the league boasts graduates of Evangelical Christian, Dematha Catholic, Trinity Prep, Christ Presbyterian, Melbourne Central Catholic, Christ Presbyterian Academy, Bishop Verot, Lexington Catholic and Charlotte Christian as well as Saints (James, Paul, Xavier and Augustine).

 

Among the high schools that have produced graduates now on SoCon football rosters are four brand names (Crest, Marlboro, Land O?Lakes and York), three of the four seasons (Winter Park, Summerville and Spring Valley) and bodies of water that are small (Pebblebrook), beautiful (Calhoun Falls, Newton Falls), and raging (Roanoke Rapids).

 

Conference average

Height: 72.70

Weight: 222.12

 

Team-by-Team Results

Average Height (in inches)

1. Chattanooga 72.91

2. Western Carolina 72.89

3. Georgia Southern 72.81

4. Furman 72.72

5. The Citadel 72.69

6. Elon 72.68

7. Wofford 72.48

8. Appalachian State 72.43

 

Average Weight

1. Chattanooga 227.84

2. Appalachian State 223.12

3. Georgia Southern 222.83

4. Furman 222.11

5. Western Carolina 221.25

6. Elon 220.72

7. Wofford 220.19

8. The Citadel 219.13

 

By name

1. Justin 18

2. Michael 16

3. Brian/Bryan 15

3. Josh 15

5. John/Jon 14

6. James 12

6. Ryan 12

8. Andrew 11

8. Brandon 11

8. Matt 11

 

By State

1. Georgia 204

2. North Carolina 185

3. South Carolina 137

4. Florida 55

5. Tennessee 44

6. Virginia 31

7. Alabama 20

8. Ohio 16

9. Pennsylvania 6

9. Kentucky 6

Maryland 5

New Jersey 5

Oklahoma 5

Texas 5

15. Mississippi 4

16. Oklahoma 3

17. California 2

Indiana 2

Louisiana 2

18. Arkansas 1

Connecticut 1

Delaware 1

Illinois 1

Kansas 1

Nevada 1

New York 1

Oregon 1

Washington 1

Wisconsin 1

Ontario, Can 1

 

By Class

Freshman 278

Sophomore 191

Junior 146

Senior 128

 

By High School

1. Crest, Shelby NC 4

Gainesville, Gainesville GA 4

Orangeburg Wilkinson, Orangeburg SC 4

Ridgeview, Columbia SC 4

5. Approx 22 schools have 3 players

 

By Hometown

1. Atlanta, GA 22

2. Charlotte, NC 18

3. Columbia, SC 13

4. Jacksonville, FL 11

5. Cincinnati, OH 10

6. Chattanooga, TN 8

Asheville, NC 8

Shelby, NC 8

 

SoCon players by class

School FR SO JR SR

Appalachian State 32 27 20 14

The Citadel 45 27 20 13

Elon 36 24 17 14

Furman 33 14 29 14

Georgia Southern 46 28 17 19

Chattanooga 39 19 14 14

Western Carolina 17 30 18 15

Wofford 29 26 17 28

MCC :plain

woot woot.

 

That school has gone down the tubes. If I was a parent looking for a private school to send my kids...it would be Holy Trinity over MCC easily.

If I was a parent I would never send my kid to a private school.

Elon woo woo, why you say that NC?

private school = better education in most states in the Southeast.

 

As a parent, I would want my kids to receive the best education possible.

First off, I'm talking high school not college.

 

My reasoning is that private schools often keep kids sheltered from the real world. I see kids who transfer from private schools to my school and they have a tough time adjusting and making friends. I'm not saying this goes for all people or that all private schools are bad just I prefer public schools.

 

Also, the private school nearest me, Greensboro Day School, is almost all white rich kid pot heads. I'm white and I'm very well off but I like some diversity.

 

And finally, I go to one of the best public schools in the state of North Carolina which probably explains my bias a little.

Oh I actually agree with you when it comes to high school and below. I went to a private Catholic school from fourth to seventh grade. It was good and I made a lot of friends but I was with the same 25 people every year, and after making friends with them there is no need to go out and try to meet new people type thing.

 

I prefered public school personally, but I know a lot of people who prefer private because the public schools in the area are very poor education wise and don't have the best reputations.

 

But in any situation someone is going to be a little shy when coming into a new school with new people around. Weird stat btu did you know 90% of Americans consider themselves shy.

 

As for college I'm a big fan of private, but I haven't been to public so I can't really compare.

I understand where you are coming from nc marlin...i do feel that as a parent, i will want my kid to have the best education...and yah, North Carolina has great public schools compared to its neighbors...so to have a top public school in the state, means it must be good.

 

I'm a firm believer I wouldn't have gotten into Furman if I had been at a public school (either Merritt Island High, or Rockledge High).

 

As for colleges, I had to make the decision between big public school and small private school. Being a Gator fan, I obviously looked at UF (I also looked at Univ. of South Carolina). Besides the fact that I wanted to play football, and UF and USC were not gonna do it for me in that regards, I liked Furman because of small class sizes, a high professor/student ratio, and great relationships b/t students and the professor. I've found out that ALL my professors I've had (whether general ed, or upper level) have been easy to get in touch with, meet with to discuss papers, lectures, tests, etc., and actually have a personal relationship. I know I wouldn't be able to get the same thing at UF.