Jim Harbaugh's U of San Diego

[GreenGramma]

This will get your foot in the door with recruits.

Toreros 2006 Mid-Major National Champions

16th-Ranked Toreros Defeat Monmouth 27-7

Dec. 2, 2006

Final Stats

USD vs. Monmouth Highlights

(West Long Branch, NJ) - For the second straight year the USD football team is the Mid-Major National Champion after they defeated 2nd-ranked Monmouth University today 27-7 in the inaugural Gridiron Classic. The Torero defense held the Hawks to just one score, while the offense generated 324 yards of offense. Eric Bakhtiari and Ben Hannula led the defensive effort, while Josh Johnson orchestrated the Torero offensive efforts. Bakhtiari had a monster game, finishing with 9 tackles (6 solo), 4.5 tackles for loss (-22 yards) and 3 quarterback sacks (-17 yards). Hannula pulled in two interceptions to stop Hawk drives, including a 37-yard interception return for a TD for the game's first score. The Toreros finish the season with an 11-1 record, and will be awarded the Sports Network Cup on December 14th in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

"I told the team after the game how proud I was of them," said head coach Jim Harbaugh. "This is the best USD football team in the history of the program. They went 7-0 in the PFL, played its toughest schedule, knocked off the 2nd ranked team in today Gridiron Classic, and were ranked as high as No. 14 in the national polls."

After Hannula's interception return gave the Toreros a 7-0 lead, JT Rogan busted in for two touchdown runs of 5 and 4 yards in the 2nd quarter to give the team a 19-0 intermission lead. Monmouth got back in the game in the 3rd quarter when David Sinisi scored from 1-yard out with 8:11 to go. The defense for both teams made the big plays throughout most of the 2nd half, but USD was able to add one last score on a Brendan Feliczak 3-yard score with 3:29 to go to ice the game.

Despite battling fierce winds, Josh Johnson was able to complete 18-of-30 passes for 180 yards. He also led the Torero ground attack with 104 yards rushing on 13 carries and was named the game's Most Valuable Player in post-game ceremonies. John Matthews hauled in 5 receptions for 71 yards, and was followed by Wes Doyle with 4 catches for 53 yards. Besides Bakhtiari and Hannula, the Torero defense was paced by Josh Brisco (6 tackles), Tyler Evans (5 stops) and Hanner Hart (5 tackles).

Monmouth, the Northest Conference champions, were led by QB Brian Boland (14-24 for 145 yards), RB David

USD Toreros win National Championship

Edited December 5, 2006 by GreenGramma

[SilverEagle]

This will get your foot in the door with recruits.

USD Toreros win National Championship

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His tenure as a pro football QB is what will get him in the door. I seriously doubt that many recruits in Texas will be impressed with the "Toreros" (whatever that is) and their accomplishments in a non-ship league.

[gangrene]

Here's another Harbaugh story I found on espn:

COLLEG FB PACKAGE: Ole! _ Harbaugh's Toreros brimming with confidence and I-AA ranking

Associated Press

College Football News Wire

SAN DIEGO -- Jim Harbaugh was musing about ways to pump up

the atmosphere at University of San Diego football games and

really, after turning the program into a Division I-AA powerhouse

in just three seasons, his wish seems pretty simple.

"Three thousand fans and a band more," Harbaugh said with a

laugh.

Yeah, a capacity crowd in their cozy, 7,000-seat stadium and a

marching band would nicely round out autumn Saturdays for the

Toreros, who have been so good at doing everything else to get

themselves noticed.

The Toreros (6-0) take a 14-game winning streak into a pivotal

game Saturday at Drake that will likely decide the Pioneer Football

League title.

They're also ranked for the third straight week in the Division

I-AA poll, a major accomplishment for a school that averages 4,000

fans for home games and doesn't give football scholarships. That

means players have to make it on loans and need-based financial aid

just like other students do, and an education at USD isn't cheap.

Tuition, room and board, and books runs about $43,000 a year.

So when the Toreros find themselves ranked No. 21, "that's

monumental," Harbaugh said.

And so is the job that Harbaugh has done since being hired to

his first head coaching job by a school where football was, at the

very best, an afterthought on a spectacular hilltop campus known

primarily for its academics.

"If you win enough games, you're going to attract enough

attention," said Harbaugh, an NFL quarterback for 15 seasons whose

father, Jack, was a successful Division I-AA coach. "Last year

going 11-1 focused people's eyes, although we never were ranked.

But 22 out of 23, I think, is tough to ignore."

The Toreros have lost only one time since midway through the

2004 season, Harbaugh's first at USD. That defeat was by three

points at Princeton on Sept. 24, 2005.

They rebounded to finish a school-best record and their first

PFL title.

While a repeat league championship is the main goal, earning a

ranking has raised the intriguing possibility of an at-large berth

in the 16-team I-AA playoffs if the Toreros -- it's Spanish for

"bullfighters" -- can remain undefeated.

"I think we have a shot," said Harbaugh, who is 24-5 overall.

"I think we're definitely good enough and deserving."

While San Diego State is floundering at 0-5 under first-year

coach Chuck Long, confidence at USD couldn't be higher.

"Just looking at the Top 25, which includes all the I-AA

scholarship schools, I believe we beat most of them," Harbaugh

said.

With junior quarterback Josh Johnson putting up dazzling numbers

and the defense doing its part, the Toreros have attracted

attention by putting up scores like 68-7 against Valparaiso, 56-3

over Butler and 50-21 against Davidson in their last three games.

"It's well-deserved for our team and our program," said

Johnson, who's thrown for 1,607 yards and 19 touchdowns, with only

three interceptions. He's completed nearly 70 percent of his

passes, going 123-of-178.

Johnson is the prototypical Harbaugh recruit.

"I didn't even know this school existed until Coach Harbaugh

started recruiting me and I looked into it more and I found out

about the good academics," said Johnson, who's from Oakland. "It

ended up being a good situation."

Of course, it comes with sticker shock. "I'm going into debt,

but there's a lot of people who come out of college in debt," said

Johnson, who's majoring in communications with a minor in business

administration.

Harbaugh sees more than just a good student in Johnson, who last

year threw for 3,256 yards, 36 TDs and only eight pickoffs.

"He's the best junior quarterback in college football, in my

opinion," Harbaugh said. "He'll be a day one draft pick, when

it's his time. I've had pro scouts tell me that as well."

Harbaugh knows a bit about that, having gone from Michigan to

the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1987 NFL draft. He also

played for Indianapolis, Baltimore, San Diego and Carolina.

Most of Harbaugh's players will have to be content simply to be

able to play college ball.

The average Torero player is "the kind of kid who values a good

education, who knows what that can do for him for the next 60 years

of his life," Harbaugh said.

"Just because we're denied scholarships doesn't mean we can't

be great," he added.

Most of Harbaugh's assistants have either NFL or Division I-A

coaching experience.

"A kid who's a hard worker, who loves football, we've got a

spot for them here," Harbaugh said.

Jack Harbaugh is pleased for his son and everyone else

associated with the USD program. He coached at Western Kentucky for

14 years, winning the Division I-AA national championship in 2002.

"I know how difficult it is to get a ranking in the Top 25 for

programs like Western Kentucky, and we had 63 full scholarships,"

said Jack Harbaugh, now an associate athletic director at

Marquette, where his son-in-law, Tom Crean, is the basketball

coach. "USD doesn't have the opportunity to have scholarships, so

I think it is just a fantastic accomplishment."

There's more to be done at San Diego, for sure, on and off the

field.

"I want to accomplish the atmosphere of big-time college

football, where every seat is filled," Jim Harbaugh said.

Harbaugh couldn't help but chuckle, perhaps because he played at

Michigan Stadium, which has a whopping 100,000 more seats than

bucolic Torero Stadium.

"It shouldn't be that hard," he said. "We should have a band.

I had a board of trustee member who told me the other day that he's

going to have a band for us here next year. We're constantly

pushing to make it better -- with what we can."

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index

[foutsrouts]

His tenure as a pro football QB is what will get him in the door. I seriously doubt that many recruits in Texas will be impressed with the "Toreros" (whatever that is) and their accomplishments in a non-ship league.

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I question hiring a guy from that level of football who has no Texas connections. There's really not much of a recruiting process involved at the non-scholarship level, and unless he's really something special in many areas, it sounds to me like his hiring would require a very long rebuilding process.

[MeanGreenBuzz]

$43,000 a year?!?! Damn, you would think they are Harvard or something.

Back to topic though. To be able to perform that well while recruiting without scholarships shows that he is winning more on coaching than talent. THAT is what I want to see in a coach.

[Flash]

$43,000 a year?!?!  Damn, you would think they are Harvard or something.

Back to topic though.  To be able to perform that well while recruiting without scholarships shows that he is winning more on coaching than talent.  THAT is what I want to see in a coach.

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I believe that 1-AA is allowed at 50 or 60 scholarships and Div II is allowed abt 30. So......recruiting is very hard. They pick up 1-A players that are missed. Then......coach the heck out of them.

[MeanGreenBuzz]

I believe that 1-AA is allowed at 50 or 60 scholarships and Div II is allowed abt 30. So......recruiting is very hard. They pick up 1-A players that are missed. Then......coach the heck out of them.

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They are in 1AA but in the Pioneer Football league that only has non-scholarship football programs.

From the article; "a major accomplishment for a school that averages 4,000

fans for home games and doesn't give football scholarships."

Edited December 5, 2006 by MeanGreenBuzz