The Unofficial Furman Football Page

Look for Justin Roper (Holy Cross) to be named as the new OC- possibly this week.

I like the bio

Heard we need an ol coach now as well.

So he was OC at Holy Cross this past season
Holy Cross had a good season at 10-3

DungeonRealm wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 08, 2022 7:22 pm

So he was OC at Holy Cross this past season
Holy Cross had a good season at 10-3

He's also from Georgia and played at a high school where we do a lot of recruiting. So, that helps.

He sounds perfect!

https://goholycross.com/sports/football ... -roper/942

I believe Coach Roper was CCH’s number one pick all along.

Seems this rumor is known in Holy Cross land - there is a thread about Roper and another coach leaving.

A lot to like about Roper - he played at Oregon and Montana. Played under Chip Kelly back when IMO they run a great offense. I believe at HC he used a lot of H back stuff. I thought HC looked really good against Nova in their second-round loss.

I imagine he will be the Quarterback's coach as well - having served in that capacity at Northern Iowa and being a former QB himself.

dornb wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 08, 2022 9:31 pm

He sounds perfect!

https://goholycross.com/sports/football ... -roper/942

Sounding perfect doesn’t last very long around here.

Found an interesting podcast interview of Justin Roper.
https://volswire.usatoday.com/2020/07/2 ... tin-roper/

Highlights: A Buford, Georgia, native, and growing up a fan of Tennessee’s Peyton Manning, Roper’s collegiate playing career took place at Oregon under offensive coordinator Chip Kelly (2007-08) and at Montana under coordinator Jonathan Smith (2009-10).

Smith, now Oregon State’s head coach, showcases a spread offense out of the shotgun and one-back sets. Smith’s offense has zone-read concepts that also features bigger tight ends as H-backs.

Kelly, now serving as UCLA’s head coach, runs a zone-read option attack that sets up the passing game. Kelly’s offense also showcases a power run game and pin and pull sweeps.

Roper has been around many different offensive minds as a player and coach, including the Air Raid scheme at Valdosta State.

Obviously, I would expect an offense that is tailored to JW’s strengths. I think Jace will be even more effective this year because he will have a spring and August camp that he didn’t get last year. Jace missed a lot of camp last summer do to Covid. On paper the new OC appears to check all the boxes and is a former qb. Hopefully we have the pieces in place to run the type of offense that CCH and the new OC want. My gut tells me that this is an excellent hire! Then again, I can be an optimist.

Findlay 8-3 (31 ppg)
Valdosta St. 19-6 (32-36 ppg) 2 playoff trips
Slippery Rock 26-10 (35-40-37 ppg) quarters in ‘18.
Northern Iowa 10-5 (21 ppg) FCS quarters
Holy Cross 13-4 (22-32 ppg) 2 playoff trips

Some of these teams ran a little more than they passed. Some did it other way round. But all did pretty good. He’s worked in 5 good programs, and hopefully he’s learned a lot.

That resume would be hard for us to top.

I’m sure if we try hard enough we can find him a Furman connection somewhere.

bigpurple75 wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 08, 2022 7:18 pm

Heard we need an ol coach now as well.

That will be Roper's first assignment.

Davemeister wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 09, 2022 9:46 am

bigpurple75 wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 08, 2022 7:18 pm

Heard we need an ol coach now as well.

That will be Roper's first assignment.

great point… I would look for a move here to get an experienced OL coach whose schemes would mesh with Roper's offense. If you have some time to kill I recommend watching these playoff highlights:

I'd say this is highly unlikely but current OL coach Chris Smith would be a great get. He could be in line for a promotion to OC at Holy Cross - so this is a low probability.

Patrick Covington and Clay go way back - he also followed Clay to AFA. His lines at Coastal under Moglia were impressive. I'm not going to post salary numbers but I did a little digging on salaries at Lamar (public school so contracts are public domain). I would expect Furman to be very competitive salary-wise plus the cost of living in Gville is a plus. Might not be for long considering the escalation of housing costs.