Colonel_Reb
Hall of Famer
Let's start with last year's champs, the Grand Valley State Lakers. These guys have 3 national championships in the last 4 years. Here are the whites starting for them this year, along with a good article on their record setting QB.
Offense
QB-Cullen Finnerty
WR-Mark Catlin
TE-Jake Topp
LT-Sam Allen
LG-Sean Stevens
C-Billy Eisenhardt
RG-Joe Wohlscheid
Defense
CB-Bill Brechin
S-Jacob McGuckin
LE-Dan Skuta
NT-Ryan Gaydosh
A Half White championship team isn't bad, especially in this day and age.
Here's the article excerpt:
By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY
Grand Valley State senior Cullen Finnerty is 37-4 as a starting quarterback with 10 playoffs wins and two national titles, and yet his coach jokingly likes to compare his performance level to a kitchen appliance.
"Watching him, when he gets the football, is like turning on a blender," Grand Valley coach Chuck Martin says, laughing. "Sometimes he drives you nuts, but more often than not he will find a way to make a play to win."
The rambling, multifaceted Finnerty and his No. 1 Lakers (1-0) will be looking for their 15th consecutive win Saturday when they meet Ashland (Ohio) in Allendale, Mich., located just outside Grand Rapids.
Finnerty is on a march to become the fourth quarterback in NCAA history  joining, among others, Alcorn State's Steve McNair, now with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens  to rush for 2,000 yards and pass for 8,000 in a career, but that's of secondary importance compared with his mission to preserve the Grand Valley football tradition.
The Lakers have captured three Division II national titles in four years, and they are 71-5 in their last 76 games. This year's senior class is 38-4 but would have to win every game this season to match the 51-4 record produced by last year's senior class.
"What Grand Valley has done here over the last several years is unbelievable," Finnerty says. "But we try not to focus on what happened before. We put that behind us to concentrate on one game at a time this season."
But clearly the winning tradition has fostered a campuswide enthusiasm that certainly helps motivate the team. Some home games draw 6,000  in the standing-room areas.
"Even though we are not as big as Division I crowds, the atmosphere around here is like a rock concert or a madhouse," Martin says. "Compare that to some (Mid-American Conference) venues, where they have 18,000 in a 35,000-seat stadium. That's not a great environment. But we have 14,500 crammed into an 8,500(-seat) stadium, and it's a pretty cool place to play."
With 7,904 career passing yards and 1,836 rushing yards, Finnerty, 6-2, 210, is the centerpiece of Grand Valley's program.
"He plays the game like the middle linebacker," Martin says. "He is half-crazy out there. He's not your prototypical quarterback. It's great to have this kind of leader because offensive linemen love to play for a quarterback who loves to stick his face in there and get after people." Edited by: Colonel_Reb
Offense
QB-Cullen Finnerty
WR-Mark Catlin
TE-Jake Topp
LT-Sam Allen
LG-Sean Stevens
C-Billy Eisenhardt
RG-Joe Wohlscheid
Defense
CB-Bill Brechin
S-Jacob McGuckin
LE-Dan Skuta
NT-Ryan Gaydosh
A Half White championship team isn't bad, especially in this day and age.
Here's the article excerpt:
By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY
Grand Valley State senior Cullen Finnerty is 37-4 as a starting quarterback with 10 playoffs wins and two national titles, and yet his coach jokingly likes to compare his performance level to a kitchen appliance.
"Watching him, when he gets the football, is like turning on a blender," Grand Valley coach Chuck Martin says, laughing. "Sometimes he drives you nuts, but more often than not he will find a way to make a play to win."
The rambling, multifaceted Finnerty and his No. 1 Lakers (1-0) will be looking for their 15th consecutive win Saturday when they meet Ashland (Ohio) in Allendale, Mich., located just outside Grand Rapids.
Finnerty is on a march to become the fourth quarterback in NCAA history  joining, among others, Alcorn State's Steve McNair, now with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens  to rush for 2,000 yards and pass for 8,000 in a career, but that's of secondary importance compared with his mission to preserve the Grand Valley football tradition.
The Lakers have captured three Division II national titles in four years, and they are 71-5 in their last 76 games. This year's senior class is 38-4 but would have to win every game this season to match the 51-4 record produced by last year's senior class.
"What Grand Valley has done here over the last several years is unbelievable," Finnerty says. "But we try not to focus on what happened before. We put that behind us to concentrate on one game at a time this season."
But clearly the winning tradition has fostered a campuswide enthusiasm that certainly helps motivate the team. Some home games draw 6,000  in the standing-room areas.
"Even though we are not as big as Division I crowds, the atmosphere around here is like a rock concert or a madhouse," Martin says. "Compare that to some (Mid-American Conference) venues, where they have 18,000 in a 35,000-seat stadium. That's not a great environment. But we have 14,500 crammed into an 8,500(-seat) stadium, and it's a pretty cool place to play."
With 7,904 career passing yards and 1,836 rushing yards, Finnerty, 6-2, 210, is the centerpiece of Grand Valley's program.
"He plays the game like the middle linebacker," Martin says. "He is half-crazy out there. He's not your prototypical quarterback. It's great to have this kind of leader because offensive linemen love to play for a quarterback who loves to stick his face in there and get after people." Edited by: Colonel_Reb