Mouldsie
July 31st, 2004, 3:02:29 PM
http://www.ubfan.com/install/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=26
"By BOB DICESARE
2/15/2004
There aren't many high school All-Americans playing football or basketball in the Mid-American Conference, the 13-member mid-major that includes the University at Buffalo.
Coaches in the MAC like to say their conference is all about development, that it's a place where athletes come to erase the perceived flaws that caused major programs to bypass them in the first place.
It's true. It's not as if Marshall won recruiting wars with the nation's football powerhouses to land future National Football League quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich. Nor did Miami (Ohio) outduel Duke and North Carolina to latch onto Wally Szczerbiak, who came of age and proceeded to dominate the MAC, eventually advancing to the NBA.
The MAC is a conference where reputations are made, not expanded. So it's atypical that UB's football recruiting class includes Gerry McGroarty, a place-kicker from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., who already has made the acquaintance of the nation's more avid football fans.
McGroarty's no secret. Scouting services, impressed by the 53-yard field goal he produced as a junior, ranked him among the country's top high school kickers heading into his senior season. But that 53-yarder only hinted at McGroarty's abilities and the remarkable strength of his leg. The depth of his potential was unveiled during McGroarty's final season at Bishop Hoban High School, when he kicked a state-record 64-yard field goal (on a calm day) shown on ESPN's SportsCenter and accumulated 32 touchbacks, which included a streak of eight straight kickoffs that sailed through the uprights.
Major programs are reluctant to spend a scholarship on a place-kicker. Most would rather fortify their depth at other positions while addressing their kicking needs via tryouts. More than 10 schools, including Notre Dame, Penn State and Arkansas, offered to bring McGroarty as a preferred walk-on, meaning he'd be invited to preseason camp and given the chance to impress the coaches. Some promised a scholarship beginning with the second semester if it was determined he deserved it.
McGroarty weighed his options, and there were many. UB, Michigan State and Delaware, the Division I-AA national champion, were offering full football scholarships. Penn State and Duquesne were dangling partial swimming scholarships in case McGroarty, a three-time all-state swimmer, elected to go that route. Or he could gamble and try to kick his way to a scholarship for a team with BCS ties.
McGroarty made an unofficial visit to UB in December and attended a Bills game with one of Hoban's assistant coaches. He returned for an official visit in January, met with coach Jim Hofher and his staff, and was quick to make a verbal commitment. His other four visits went unused.
"I just loved it," McGroarty said by phone last week. "I loved the area, the coaches and the people. And I loved coach Hofher, especially."
"I think Buffalo absolutely hit a home run with the kid," said Dwayne Downing, Bishop Hoban's coach and a cornerback on Penn State's 1986 national championship team. "Obviously he was looked at by almost everybody, but a lot of programs were afraid to pull the trigger in respect to a full scholarship."
Downing's right. Landing McGroarty was another indication that UB is making progress with its football program, even if it hasn't been evident in the tally of wins and losses. This makes back-to-back strong recruiting classes for Hofher, who continues to sell UB football with boundless enthusiasm and steadfast determination.
The sense that the Bulls may be inching toward competitiveness was part of the allure for McGroarty, whose career at Bishop Hoban coincided with the school's football turnaround. Hoban was in the midst of a 29-game losing streak when McGroarty joined the team as a sophomore. He debuted by kicking three field goals, including a 42-yarder, as Hoban triumphed and its fortunes began to reverse. So McGroarty's unconcerned that UB is coming off a 1-11 season and is still trying to find its footing in the MAC.
"Buffalo moved into Division I a few years ago, and I feel that it's a team on the rise," McGroarty said. "I'd really like to be part of it." "
..more
"By BOB DICESARE
2/15/2004
There aren't many high school All-Americans playing football or basketball in the Mid-American Conference, the 13-member mid-major that includes the University at Buffalo.
Coaches in the MAC like to say their conference is all about development, that it's a place where athletes come to erase the perceived flaws that caused major programs to bypass them in the first place.
It's true. It's not as if Marshall won recruiting wars with the nation's football powerhouses to land future National Football League quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich. Nor did Miami (Ohio) outduel Duke and North Carolina to latch onto Wally Szczerbiak, who came of age and proceeded to dominate the MAC, eventually advancing to the NBA.
The MAC is a conference where reputations are made, not expanded. So it's atypical that UB's football recruiting class includes Gerry McGroarty, a place-kicker from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., who already has made the acquaintance of the nation's more avid football fans.
McGroarty's no secret. Scouting services, impressed by the 53-yard field goal he produced as a junior, ranked him among the country's top high school kickers heading into his senior season. But that 53-yarder only hinted at McGroarty's abilities and the remarkable strength of his leg. The depth of his potential was unveiled during McGroarty's final season at Bishop Hoban High School, when he kicked a state-record 64-yard field goal (on a calm day) shown on ESPN's SportsCenter and accumulated 32 touchbacks, which included a streak of eight straight kickoffs that sailed through the uprights.
Major programs are reluctant to spend a scholarship on a place-kicker. Most would rather fortify their depth at other positions while addressing their kicking needs via tryouts. More than 10 schools, including Notre Dame, Penn State and Arkansas, offered to bring McGroarty as a preferred walk-on, meaning he'd be invited to preseason camp and given the chance to impress the coaches. Some promised a scholarship beginning with the second semester if it was determined he deserved it.
McGroarty weighed his options, and there were many. UB, Michigan State and Delaware, the Division I-AA national champion, were offering full football scholarships. Penn State and Duquesne were dangling partial swimming scholarships in case McGroarty, a three-time all-state swimmer, elected to go that route. Or he could gamble and try to kick his way to a scholarship for a team with BCS ties.
McGroarty made an unofficial visit to UB in December and attended a Bills game with one of Hoban's assistant coaches. He returned for an official visit in January, met with coach Jim Hofher and his staff, and was quick to make a verbal commitment. His other four visits went unused.
"I just loved it," McGroarty said by phone last week. "I loved the area, the coaches and the people. And I loved coach Hofher, especially."
"I think Buffalo absolutely hit a home run with the kid," said Dwayne Downing, Bishop Hoban's coach and a cornerback on Penn State's 1986 national championship team. "Obviously he was looked at by almost everybody, but a lot of programs were afraid to pull the trigger in respect to a full scholarship."
Downing's right. Landing McGroarty was another indication that UB is making progress with its football program, even if it hasn't been evident in the tally of wins and losses. This makes back-to-back strong recruiting classes for Hofher, who continues to sell UB football with boundless enthusiasm and steadfast determination.
The sense that the Bulls may be inching toward competitiveness was part of the allure for McGroarty, whose career at Bishop Hoban coincided with the school's football turnaround. Hoban was in the midst of a 29-game losing streak when McGroarty joined the team as a sophomore. He debuted by kicking three field goals, including a 42-yarder, as Hoban triumphed and its fortunes began to reverse. So McGroarty's unconcerned that UB is coming off a 1-11 season and is still trying to find its footing in the MAC.
"Buffalo moved into Division I a few years ago, and I feel that it's a team on the rise," McGroarty said. "I'd really like to be part of it." "
..more