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Topic: Rourke 2019
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Kevin Finnegan
1/17/2019 12:13 PM
Nathan Rourke will come into the 2019 season as the highest scoring player from the last two seasons in FBS. He was 9th in 2017 nationally and 11th last year in points responsible for (passing and rushing). That has him with 462 points overall. With that, should OHIO push a longshot Heisman campaign? They could do billboards and press releases to make sure his name at least gets mentioned a bit, even if he really doesn't have a great shot. I'd love to see the national recognition for Nathan this upcoming season.
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MonroeClassmate
1/17/2019 6:56 PM
Jordan Lynch was a nominee in 2013.

Jimmy Garoppolo was awarded the Walter Payton Award.

A high school buddy was a two time All-American first team and he said his university had a full court press on to get him exposure starting the summer before kickoff. He said the PR pushed by his university must have earned him the accolade as he did not play for a football powerhouse.

Sounds good to me to push him for some well known award other than just MAC man of the year.
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Bobcat1998
1/19/2019 12:48 PM
I think for this to happen we have to show well early against non-con. He has been on Sportscenter a ton with his plays but OUr inability to take that team step holds him back.

He most certainly deserves this!
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L.C.
1/19/2019 5:32 PM
Bobcat1998 wrote:expand_more
... OUr inability to take that team step holds him back.

He most certainly deserves this!

I think this snippet is exactly it. Rourke will go as far as the team goes. If the team has a great season, he will get a lot more attention than if he makes a lot of plays, but the team just has another "good" season.
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OhioBobcat
1/20/2019 12:28 PM
Ohio could do a campaign but Rourke has 0% chance of winning the Heisman. That's not a knock on him either as I feel he could be a worthy contender. But there's no way in the world he stands a chance to win it with a non-conference schedule that consists of Rhode Island, Pitt, Marshall and Louisiana, not to mention some awful MAC opponents. He'd never generate enough votes facing that kind of competition. He could put up even better numbers next season and Ohio could go undefeated next year and he'd still never stand a chance to win it. That said, I do think he'll be the MAC POY next year and will lead Ohio to a MACC title and I give Ohio a shot at undefeated season based on having a very good team returning and facing another weak schedule.
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Diamond Cat
1/20/2019 12:50 PM
OhioBobcat wrote:expand_more
Ohio could do a campaign but Rourke has 0% chance of winning the Heisman. That's not a knock on him either as I feel he could be a worthy contender. But there's no way in the world he stands a chance to win it with a non-conference schedule that consists of Rhode Island, Pitt, Marshall and Louisiana, not to mention some awful MAC opponents. He'd never generate enough votes facing that kind of competition. He could put up even better numbers next season and Ohio could go undefeated next year and he'd still never stand a chance to win it. That said, I do think he'll be the MAC POY next year and will lead Ohio to a MACC title and I give Ohio a shot at undefeated season based on having a very good team returning and facing another weak schedule.
I see what you mean here but it would still be good to create the buzz on our own. Screw the P5 pundits and NCAA clown show. They couldn't stop us. And I will say it again to give anyone the opportunity to feel good about telling me how far off I am - Rourke was the best college QB in the great State of Ohio in 2018. He will easily leave as the best QB in Bobcat History. When he leads the team to the MACC, change that to Legend.

To quote the "great" Pop Fisher (The Natural) - You're better than anyone I ever had. And you're the best goddamned hitter I ever saw. Suit up.
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ytownbobcat
1/21/2019 8:25 PM
Two questions.
How fast is Nathan. 40 yd time?
What make him so hard to tackle in the open field? He seems adept at changing direction.
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bshot44
1/22/2019 10:44 AM
I love Rourke and I truly think he will cement his spot as greatest Ohio QB ever .... unless he goes full Tyler Tettleton and just inexplicably falls off the map his senior year.

But that's a different conversation.

Anyhow ... back to the thread.

I love the idea of hyping Rourke internally by Ohio .... in a perfect world.

A) That costs money ... money that, from the outside, appears OUr athletic dept does not have nor is willing to spend.

B) Rourke isn't even close to what Jordan Lynch was in 2012 & 2013. Other than being a MAC QB, that is pretty much where the comparisons end.

Lynch was from another planet.

In 2012, NIU went 12-2 ... won the MAC title and lost to Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

That was BEFORE he was a Heisman finalist in 2013.

So coming into 2013, he had some much national hype/buzz around him ... everyone in the country already knew who Lynch was and what he was all about.

He then followed that up with a 12-0 regular season where Lynch put up what could be argued the greatest stat line a D1 QB has ever produced ....

2892 yds passing, 24 TD, 8 INT ..... AND 1,920 yds rushing and 23 TD (all while setting NCAA records for most rushing yds per game by QB, 137.1 & most rushing yds in a season by QB, breaking the record he set the year before)

In comparison, Rourke is coming off nice back-to-back 9-4 seasons with zero national publicity other than a few "Canadian Player of the Week" awards on ESPN's College GameDay (I say that sarcastically)

His numbers are good ... but not other-worldly like Lynch's

2,434 yds passing, 23 TD, 8 INT & 860 yds rushing, 15 TD

I love the enthusiasm for Rourke. And he is one helluva QB .... but to think for a millisecond that he could be anywhere in the Heisman conversation is far-fetched.

Not in today's CFB climate where G5 are given ZERO respect.

Hell, Mackenzie Milton has gone 24-0 in this last 24 starts ... threw for over 4000 yards in 2017 and ran for another 600+ and got zero Heisman attention.

Rourke would have to throw for 3500 yards and run for another 1800 to even get a sniff.

And that's just not going to happen in a Frank Solich/Tim Albin offense ... they like to "spread the wealth" too much to give someone those kind of stat lines. That's not a knock ... that's just the reality.
Last Edited: 1/22/2019 10:46:18 AM by bshot44
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L.C.
1/22/2019 6:37 PM
bshot44 wrote:expand_more
...

I love the idea of hyping Rourke internally by Ohio .... in a perfect world.

A) That costs money ... money that, from the outside, appears OUr athletic dept does not have nor is willing to spend....

For a full blown campaign, absolutely that would cost money, but you can do a lot for very little. Someone could devote some time (I know, time is money...) to putting together some information on him, and they can email that to various publications, and also make it available to announcers for every MAC game, and have it ready to send out in response to every inquiry.

I think Ohio should take the shoestring budget campaign approach, and if he plays well, and leads Ohio to an undefeated season, who knows, maybe he'll earn some mentions.
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mf279801
1/22/2019 6:58 PM
L.C. wrote:expand_more
...

I love the idea of hyping Rourke internally by Ohio .... in a perfect world.

A) That costs money ... money that, from the outside, appears OUr athletic dept does not have nor is willing to spend....

For a full blown campaign, absolutely that would cost money, but you can do a lot for very little. Someone could devote some time (I know, time is money...) to putting together some information on him, and they can email that to various publications, and also make it available to announcers for every MAC game, and have it ready to send out in response to every inquiry.

I think Ohio should take the shoestring budget campaign approach, and if he plays well, and leads Ohio to an undefeated season, who knows, maybe he'll earn some mentions.
Small trinkets & knick-knacks to promote a Heisman campaign also seem to make the news...I vote maple leaves, for obvious reasons
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OhioBobcat
1/22/2019 11:12 PM
Ohio should save its money for a real nice glass case to put the 2019 MAC Championship trophy in, because it's coming next year. Book it.
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Buck.Cat
1/30/2019 9:15 AM
Diamond Cat wrote:expand_more
And I will say it again to give anyone the opportunity to feel good about telling me how far off I am - Rourke was the best college QB in the great State of Ohio in 2018.
I mean, facts and reality disagree with you. What a blatantly irresponsible proclamation.
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cc-cat
1/30/2019 12:10 PM
L.C. wrote:expand_more
...

I love the idea of hyping Rourke internally by Ohio .... in a perfect world.

A) That costs money ... money that, from the outside, appears OUr athletic dept does not have nor is willing to spend....

For a full blown campaign, absolutely that would cost money, but you can do a lot for very little. Someone could devote some time (I know, time is money...) to putting together some information on him, and they can email that to various publications, and also make it available to announcers for every MAC game, and have it ready to send out in response to every inquiry.

I think Ohio should take the shoestring budget campaign approach, and if he plays well, and leads Ohio to an undefeated season, who knows, maybe he'll earn some mentions.
Such an effort could coordinate with the Athens County CVB (re: tourism). The CVB I work with provides considerable financial/marketing support to the local small college. Looked up the Athens County CVB - $600,000 budget with over 40% going to personnel costs - absolutely unheard of ratio in the industry. See little support/coordination with the university - surprising since events, programs, alums, parents, etc. provide the majority of hotel stays in the county and thus pay the hospitality tax - the source of the CVB dollars.

http://athensohio.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/20180820...
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OhioCatFan
1/30/2019 9:49 PM
Buck.Cat wrote:expand_more
And I will say it again to give anyone the opportunity to feel good about telling me how far off I am - Rourke was the best college QB in the great State of Ohio in 2018.
I mean, facts and reality disagree with you. What a blatantly irresponsible proclamation.
Hmm . . . and you, sir, are letting your scarlet and gray bias show. I'll take DC one step further. I think NR was one of the ten best QBs in the country last year, and definitely the best QB in the Buckeye State. Just like with the Heisman thorpy, this says nothing about his NFL potential, but his ability and performance at the college level.
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yamaha45701
1/30/2019 11:00 PM
I was the first director of the Athens County CVB. $48,000 budget and myself and a part time secretary. We had, and I would assume it still is this way, a board member from the University that represented their interests. Hocking College had a board member, Chamber of Commerce, the hotel association, and several others. It might be different now of course. I would also assume though, that the current director is on a first name basis with Ohio University officials and attends functions to represent the CVB from time to time like I used to do. This town is to small to do otherwise.
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cc-cat
1/31/2019 8:42 AM
According to the powerpoint they provided that I linked to: $308,000 a year for personnel and no one on the Board from the University (OU Inn - I see that as hospitality, not College Green). Sounds like it was different under your term.
Last Edited: 1/31/2019 9:28:23 AM by cc-cat
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71 BOBCAT
1/31/2019 8:52 AM
Convince ESPN Saturday Morning Show to come to Athens. This would be the best way to start this process off.






GO BOBCATS
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BillyTheCat
1/31/2019 10:29 AM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
And I will say it again to give anyone the opportunity to feel good about telling me how far off I am - Rourke was the best college QB in the great State of Ohio in 2018.
I mean, facts and reality disagree with you. What a blatantly irresponsible proclamation.
Hmm . . . and you, sir, are letting your scarlet and gray bias show. I'll take DC one step further. I think NR was one of the ten best QBs in the country last year, and definitely the best QB in the Buckeye State. Just like with the Heisman thorpy, this says nothing about his NFL potential, but his ability and performance at the college level.
🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️
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Buck.Cat
1/31/2019 1:07 PM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
Hmm . . . and you, sir, are letting your scarlet and gray bias show. I'll take DC one step further. I think NR was one of the ten best QBs in the country last year, and definitely the best QB in the Buckeye State. Just like with the Heisman thorpy, this says nothing about his NFL potential, but his ability and performance at the college level.
For someone who constantly reminds the board of his/her lack of knowledge in sport(s), I find it funny for you to make absolute statements. If Rourke was the best in the state, why was he unable to guide his team to a conference title or even a division title?

If Rourke was one of the 10 best QBs in the country last year, which QBs do you have ahead of him?

As far as NFL potential, Haskins is predicted to be one of the top QBs taken in the draft and in the top 10 overall. For the 2020 NFL draft, where do you foresee Rourke being drafted?
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The Optimist
1/31/2019 2:27 PM
#rOUrke4heisman
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OhioCatFan
1/31/2019 2:57 PM
Buck.Cat wrote:expand_more
Hmm . . . and you, sir, are letting your scarlet and gray bias show. I'll take DC one step further. I think NR was one of the ten best QBs in the country last year, and definitely the best QB in the Buckeye State. Just like with the Heisman thorpy, this says nothing about his NFL potential, but his ability and performance at the college level.
For someone who constantly reminds the board of his/her lack of knowledge in sport(s), I find it funny for you to make absolute statements. If Rourke was the best in the state, why was he unable to guide his team to a conference title or even a division title?

If Rourke was one of the 10 best QBs in the country last year, which QBs do you have ahead of him?

As far as NFL potential, Haskins is predicted to be one of the top QBs taken in the draft and in the top 10 overall. For the 2020 NFL draft, where do you foresee Rourke being drafted?
You apparently missed the little qualifier, "I think . . ." This was not an absolute statement. It was an expression of my opinion. And, I also qualified my statement about what I meant by "best in the state." I'm referring to the kind of qualifications they look at for the Heisman. They make it clear that it is for performance on the college level and not for a player's NFL prospects. So, to break it down for you, what I'm saying is that if there had been an Ohio Heisman last year, Rourke should have won it for the value he brought his team. A team's W-L record is not always the best indication of a players overall value. It often is, but it's not a perfect correlation by any means.

Just for the record, here's a list of Heisman winners on teams with three or more losses:

Winners on Teams with Three Regular Season Losses
1950 Vic Janowicz Ohio State 6 – 3 – 0
1961 Ernie Davis Syracuse 7 – 3 – 0
1970 Jim Plunkett Stanford 8 – 3 – 0
1980 George Rogers South Carolina 8 – 3 – 0
1981 Marcus Allen So. California 8 – 3 – 0
1985 Bo Jackson Auburn 8 – 3 – 0
1987 Tim Brown Notre Dame 8 – 3 – 0
1998 Ricky Williams Texas 8 – 3 – 0
2007 Tim Tebow Florida 9 – 3 – 0
2011 Robert Griffin III Baylor 9 – 3 – 0
2016 Lamar Jackson Louisville 9 – 3 – 0

Winners on Teams with Four Regular Season Losses
1969 Steve Owens Oklahoma 6 – 4 – 0

Winners on Teams with a .500 Record
1935 Jay Berwanger Chicago 4 – 4 – 0

Winners on Teams with a Losing Record
1956 Paul Hornung Notre Dame 2 – 8 – 0
Last Edited: 1/31/2019 2:59:00 PM by OhioCatFan
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Buck.Cat
1/31/2019 3:16 PM
OhioCatFan wrote:expand_more
You apparently missed the little qualifier, "I think . . ." This was not an absolute statement. It was an expression of my opinion. And, I also qualified my statement about what I meant by "best in the state." I'm referring to the kind of qualifications they look at for the Heisman. They make it clear that it is for performance on the college level and not for a player's NFL prospects. So, to break it down for you, what I'm saying is that if there had been an Ohio Heisman last year, Rourke should have won it for the value he brought his team. A team's W-L record is not always the best indication of a players overall value. It often is, but it's not a perfect correlation by any means.

Just for the record, here's a list of Heisman winners on teams with three or more losses:

Winners on Teams with Three Regular Season Losses
1950 Vic Janowicz Ohio State 6 – 3 – 0
1961 Ernie Davis Syracuse 7 – 3 – 0
1970 Jim Plunkett Stanford 8 – 3 – 0
1980 George Rogers South Carolina 8 – 3 – 0
1981 Marcus Allen So. California 8 – 3 – 0
1985 Bo Jackson Auburn 8 – 3 – 0
1987 Tim Brown Notre Dame 8 – 3 – 0
1998 Ricky Williams Texas 8 – 3 – 0
2007 Tim Tebow Florida 9 – 3 – 0
2011 Robert Griffin III Baylor 9 – 3 – 0
2016 Lamar Jackson Louisville 9 – 3 – 0

Winners on Teams with Four Regular Season Losses
1969 Steve Owens Oklahoma 6 – 4 – 0

Winners on Teams with a .500 Record
1935 Jay Berwanger Chicago 4 – 4 – 0

Winners on Teams with a Losing Record
1956 Paul Hornung Notre Dame 2 – 8 – 0
So the QB with 50 touchdown passes and 4800 yards passing while leading his team to division and conference titles brought less value? Got it.

Let's try answering these questions, again -

If Rourke was one of the 10 best QBs in the country last year, which QBs do you have ahead of him?

For the 2020 NFL draft, where do you foresee Rourke being drafted?
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OhioCatFan
1/31/2019 3:26 PM
Buck.Cat wrote:expand_more
You apparently missed the little qualifier, "I think . . ." This was not an absolute statement. It was an expression of my opinion. And, I also qualified my statement about what I meant by "best in the state." I'm referring to the kind of qualifications they look at for the Heisman. They make it clear that it is for performance on the college level and not for a player's NFL prospects. So, to break it down for you, what I'm saying is that if there had been an Ohio Heisman last year, Rourke should have won it for the value he brought his team. A team's W-L record is not always the best indication of a players overall value. It often is, but it's not a perfect correlation by any means.

Just for the record, here's a list of Heisman winners on teams with three or more losses:

Winners on Teams with Three Regular Season Losses
1950 Vic Janowicz Ohio State 6 – 3 – 0
1961 Ernie Davis Syracuse 7 – 3 – 0
1970 Jim Plunkett Stanford 8 – 3 – 0
1980 George Rogers South Carolina 8 – 3 – 0
1981 Marcus Allen So. California 8 – 3 – 0
1985 Bo Jackson Auburn 8 – 3 – 0
1987 Tim Brown Notre Dame 8 – 3 – 0
1998 Ricky Williams Texas 8 – 3 – 0
2007 Tim Tebow Florida 9 – 3 – 0
2011 Robert Griffin III Baylor 9 – 3 – 0
2016 Lamar Jackson Louisville 9 – 3 – 0

Winners on Teams with Four Regular Season Losses
1969 Steve Owens Oklahoma 6 – 4 – 0

Winners on Teams with a .500 Record
1935 Jay Berwanger Chicago 4 – 4 – 0

Winners on Teams with a Losing Record
1956 Paul Hornung Notre Dame 2 – 8 – 0
So the QB with 50 touchdown passes and 4800 yards passing while leading his team to division and conference titles brought less value? Got it.

Let's try answering these questions, again -

If Rourke was one of the 10 best QBs in the country last year, which QBs do you have ahead of him?

For the 2020 NFL draft, where do you foresee Rourke being drafted?
These questions indicate you have a reading comprehension problem.
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BillyTheCat
1/31/2019 3:41 PM
OCF, not sure how you say Buck Cat has a reading issue. You clearly stated that Rourke was a Top10 QB in your opinion, he’s simply asked for your list that you feel is better.
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UpSan Bobcat
1/31/2019 9:02 PM
ESPN's Raw QBR rated Rourke as the seventh-best QB in the country and Haskins' ninth. It takes into account all types of things a QB contributes toward winning. The Raw QB does not account for quality of opponent. When adjusted for strength of the defenses they played, Haskins was third and Rourke was 17th. This all seems reasonable.

You could make a case that Rourke did as much or maybe even a little more for Ohio as Haskins did for Ohio State but clearly it was against a different level of competition. There's no way Rourke this year would have won any award over Haskins. I have high hopes that Rourke truly could be the best QB in the state of Ohio next year, however.

I will agree with OCF that the question about where Rourke is going to be drafted is completely irrelevant to the discussion. Who has better potential as a pro has nothing to do with who is the better college player.
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