Mount picks up a local recruit with Jeremiah Thomas from nearby West Branch. While undersized, he was a dynamic playmaker over the years for West Branch. I will be interested to see where he lands positionally. Assuming he could be a Tim Kennedy-esque Slot and KR guy.

From the press release:

Jeremiah Thomas leaves West Branch as one of the most accomplished players in program history. During his career, Thomas earned First Team All-Ohio honors at two different positions, quarterback and wide receiver, and was named the Northeast Inland District Offensive Player of the Year twice. He was also selected to the WKBN Big 22 Team, recognizing him as one of the top high school football players in the Mahoning Valley. Thomas also etched his name into the West Branch record books, setting the school record with 241 receiving yards in a single game, while tying program records with 15 receptions and four receiving touchdowns in a game.

Quote from: The Third Division on February 09, 2026, 11:53:01 AMI'm confident this topic has been discussed for years in this website so I hate to bring it up again.

With NDSU moving up to FBS, My understanding is that mount union didn't move up their football program to D2 because it would have involved all their sports moving up to d2, and Mount Union didn't want to offer athletic scholarships.

Is there anything else I'm missing?

Hey this one thing that doesn't apply whatsoever to the topic I am going to discuss, but I will lead with it so I have an excuse to discuss it.


"Is there anything else you are missing?" Oh boy, is there ever.

Mount Union is adding Women's Flag Football as an official sport. I wonder if any current staff gets plucked to run that program?

Quote from: D3fanboy on February 01, 2026, 11:58:30 AM

Quote from: WRMUalum13 on January 29, 2026, 03:07:41 PM

Quote from: D3fanboy on January 28, 2026, 12:37:36 PM

Quote from: Dr. Acula on January 28, 2026, 11:28:08 AMListening to Zac Jackson's podcast from the Senior Bowl.  He said there was buzz of "who is this kid from JCU?"  Sounds like Montgomery is opening some eyes down there.  Also saw on Daniel Jeremiah's draft top 100 that the safety from Toledo is #19.  I'm curious what type of talent VK is going to be able to get to Cuse and develop.

boy are the Polian's taking a beating in the social media world the past week or so, hopefully the JCU WR can get drafted.  He is the type of athlete that can break the D3FB draft dry spell.

VK is one of the top DC in all of college football.  His 'Cuse defenses will be absolutely nasty within a couple of years.  VK is a leader of men to a tee

With all the videos I've seen of JCU WR Ty Montgomery absolutely torching FBS defensive backs, I've really got to hand it to Mount Union's D the last few years. 2024 playoff matchup we held him to 2 catches for 24 yards. This year he had a lot of catches (10) but he only had 89 yards receiving and 0 TDs. Kind of amazing, when you see how well he matches up against guys who will likely get drafted.

Ely could 100% coach them up.  he had plenty of defensive gems, I think it was time for a move up and Mount was hoping for some more consistency at high level defense.  Imagine if there wasnt such a D3 stigma and twitter when Pierre and Cecil were in school. The Mount boys would have been picked a few rounds earlier imo

Pierre's highlights would have broke the internet, that's how a D3 dominates the division

https://youtu.be/QDVYwm4khrc?si=YmooMGRunDQZtP47

That video is such a great trip down memory lane. Other WR have come and gone and had major success (and better stats), but no one was ever more dominant than #1.

Also.... Jorris had a CANNON. He tends to get forgotten due to a small window of time when he was QB1, but my goodness could he sling it.

Quote from: hsbsballcoach7 on January 21, 2026, 07:32:50 PM

Quote from: Dr. Acula on January 21, 2026, 06:46:57 PM

Quote from: D3fanboy on January 21, 2026, 02:05:58 PMa very tall member of the Mount Union coaching staff, who may or may not have played in the NFL has applied and is actively going after the Louisville HS coaching job that Kappas just left...at least that's what sources have said

Probably a safer option than bringing back Farrah since DeMarco has a good thing going at NW.  And yes, I know this is a total Stark county lifer post LOL.

Lol... As good as the teams were with Farrah, I'm not sure he'd be welcomed back and Demarco was passed over so many times in Louisville, so I doubt he'd go back. Louisville is a different place....

Does Miller feel passed over or looking for an opportunity to lead his own program?

I am not surprised to see Kyle looking around. Especially with the new coordinators that came back to town, he'd be 3rd in line to the throne, where just this time last year he was probably next in line (in-house).

Canton South just filled their opening, unsure if he applied there. Beyond Louisville, hard to think which EBC/NBC/Federal teams will have openings in the next year or two. Those leagues are full of teams that are either very stable with long time coaches, or terrible programs with coaches that change every 2-3 years.

Quote from: D3fanboy on January 06, 2026, 04:41:16 PMhearing rumors of a stark county HS coach leaving his position for a stark county college job....Kappas is the new DC

Facts. He's like the boogeyman. I post his name and he randomly appears.

Quote from: D3fanboy on January 06, 2026, 01:57:53 PM

Quote from: WRMUalum13 on January 06, 2026, 01:47:10 PM

Quote from: D3fanboy on January 05, 2026, 03:38:08 AM

Quote from: Nate Riley on January 05, 2026, 03:27:44 AM

Quote from: D3fanboy on January 04, 2026, 10:43:49 PMIf NCC doesn't pull off the comeback, I really don't want to hear their "dynasty" compared to Mount or even UWW. 

I certainly wouldn't compare Mount or UWW of yester year to current NCC.
IMHO, dynasties repeat as champions during their reign. Unfortunately, on the national level, NCC does not qualify as "dynastic" for that reason. CCIW dynasty? Yes. D3 National dynasty? Not yet. Until NCC has an uninterrupted succession of championships, they can not be considered "dynastic" by definition. Congrats to RF on an outstanding effort all around, players and coaches. Congrats to NCC on their run this year. I feel for those players and coaches.

It is shocking that despite how much the D3 media entities slob all over NCC, that the Cards have never won back to back titles.  Especially in this era of D3FB...

NCC isn't as dominant as Mount or UWW were back in the day, but I think reaching 6 straight titles and winning 3 Stagg Bowls qualifies as some type of dynasty. It's definitely NOT NOT a dynasty of some sorts lol

NCC is on a historically great run, 99.9% of programs would kill for their type of success.  However, when you get into the rarified air of dynasty talk...I think not being able to go back-to-back, especially with no other super power at the top, is pretty damning. 

Mount's in the Dartt ages, UWW is no longer a thing, UMHB is an old Subaru running on fumes, Linfield has disappeared into the Oregon fog, St Thomas was ran out of D3 by a jealous rival, RIP Wesley....and still NCC can't win two in a row?

 

I want Chris Kappas. As HC.

Quote from: D3fanboy on December 10, 2025, 12:20:55 PMMount Union K Ivan Maric has entered the transfer portal

Eastern Michigan to Notre Dame College to Mount Union. What's next?!

Quote from: Raider 68 on December 10, 2025, 03:10:05 PMJust saw that Jason Candle is leaving Toledo for UMass and a new HC was announced. Apparently, Toledo did not want VK as a HC.
Hope he moves on from Toledo in a bigger assignment. Is he still a candidate for Nebraska DC?

VK was at least considered, if not offered, the Toledo HC job, which he declined in lieu of the Syracuse DC job.

Quote from: IC798891 on December 09, 2025, 10:57:04 AM

Quote from: pradierguy on December 08, 2025, 08:03:10 AMNo longer are extremely talented kids choosing to come to Mount knowing they might not play until their Junior or Senior years. Kids would rather take the "easier" route to playing time a join programs like BW, Wittenberg, etc. so they can play immediately


It used to be a honor to wait your turn at Mount Union, but now that is just an insult to the player and their families if they aren't starting.

What's wrong with a player wanting to play throughout their career?

This just reads like bitterness that every quality football player in the area doesn't worship at the altar of Mount Union, and like every other OAC program should have to make due with the players Mount doesn't deem worthy enough to play for the Raiders.
 

Could not have been further from the point I was trying to make, but clearly failed in doing so.

Quote from: D3fanboy on December 08, 2025, 06:48:27 PMDavion Grant is entering the transfer portal...

Yawn. Nothingburger.

Quote from: hazzben on December 08, 2025, 01:55:00 PMBut what about the university itself has changed to make it harder to win at Mount? That's a genuine question, zero snark implied.

I am the least political person I know, but several people I know that have inner ties to the university have used forms of the phrase 'go woke, go broke.'

The lack of attention put on the program that has turned Mount Union into the school today is mind numbing. It is almost like the football program is a badge of shame as it doesn't fit the image being put forth to be an athletic led institution.

Could be way off, but there are points of evidence that do support this theory.

And it was not always this way.

I think Mount's decline is largely due to coaching and the university itself.

That being said, there is something about this generation of players that plays a part. No longer are extremely talented kids choosing to come to Mount knowing they might not play until their Junior or Senior years. Kids would rather take the "easier" route to playing time a join programs like BW, Wittenberg, etc. so they can play immediately. This era of youth sports with the incredibly insane parenting has caused a paradigm shift where little Johnny has to continue being the star of the show, and team results be dammed. It used to be a honor to wait your turn at Mount Union, but now that is just an insult to the player and their families if they aren't starting.

In the golden era, the OAC was:
#1 - Mount Union
#2 - Mount Union 2nd Unit
# 3- Maybe a Capital/BW/Heidelberg mixed in
#4 - Mount Union 3rd Unit

Those days are long gone. And I think its a function of the NCAA landscape these days, but also the reasons I mentioned above. That competitive edge and depth is completely absent at Mount.

Mount Union turned off comments on their final score post on social media. Very on brand for this institution that continues to weaken and be a shell of its former self.