Hoops School No Longer: FlyingHigh's Gonzaga Bulldogs (EA College Football 25)

[Flyinghigh]

Gonzaga added to the newly formed Pac-12

Spokane, Washington (AP) - As it was announced in September of 2024, it was made official today that Gonzaga University would be joining the Pac-12 athletic conference starting in 2025. What came as a surprise, however, is that Gonzaga would field a football team for the first time since 1941.

"We're absolutely delighted to announce the reincarnation of our football team," said Gonzaga Athletic Director Chris Standiford. "It's been almost 80 years since this prestigious school has been able to see their student athletes compete on the grid-iron."

This announcement came with much scrutiny from talking heads across the college football landscape. With many FCS schools dreaming of a position in the FBS, many are wondering if this immediate return to play in 2025 is fair. Will the Zags be able to compete?

At the same press conference, Standiford also announced the appointment of the teams first head coach. Coach FlyingHigh will lead the 'Zags in their inaugural season. High, previously an offensive coordinator at Western University in Canada, came as a shock hire.

The Bulldogs will begin PAC-12 play in the 2025 season. As of now, they will be joined by Washington State, Oregon State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Fresno State, Boise State and Utah State.

"I'm excited to get started in Spokane. Of course we're going to aim to be competitive right away, but the reality is that we'll be late to the recruiting trail, ultimately making this a process." said Coach 'High "We're permitted to hand out 12 athletic scholarships before we hit the field. My goal is to make sure these scholarships are handed out to players that will lay the groundwork to make this a successful football program.

The team will not compete in any capacity in 2024, but will fill it's roster with walk-on and juco athletes ahead of it's inaugural season in 2025.





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Game: EA College Football 25
Console: Xbox Series
Quarter Length: 7 minutes

House Rules
Recruiting: In Season 1 (games will be simmed) I'm able to hand out 12 scholarships. Until I reach 3-star prestige, I can only offer 3 scholarships to players not in the Pacific Northwest or California.

Starting Roster: Team Builder Cupcake

Staff: Must use playbooks that correspond to the schemes of my OC/DC

Transfer Portal/Players Leaving: Cannot stop players from transferring elsewhere or joining the NFL draft. Cannot recruit players in the portal.


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[Flyinghigh]

'Zags Announce Pair of Hires, OC & DC.

Nico Fox (Left), Dre Masterson (Right)


Spokane, Washington - Report by Cory Schuler (AP) - Ahead of the Bulldogs' inaugural football season, Coach FlyingHigh announced the first two hires to his coaching staff Tuesday morning.

On the offensive side of the ball, 'High has brought on 41-year-old Offensive Coordinator Nico Fox. Fox, previously the OC at Bradford Highschool (Starke, FL), has also spent time at Florida A&M as it's run game coordinator. In the past, Fox has liked to run a pro-style offense, often utilizing a fullback which has become increasingly more rare in the college game.

Defensively, 'High has turned to former Charlotte 49ers defensive back coach Dre Masterson. Masterson, a former linebacker at UConn, has a pretty short coaching history. In a recent interview with ESPN, he did mention that he believes in a base 4-3 defense. It will be interesting to see if he brings that style of play to Spokane.




Gonzaga first ever recruiting class finalized, led by 3-stars McHugh, Einstein & Cross.

WR Alex McHugh (Left), MLB Klay Einstein (Middle), QB Sam Cross (Right)

Spokane, Washington - Report by Cory Schuler (AP) - MCHUGH, EINSTEIN & CROSS: The top of Gonzaga's inaugural recruiting class sounds like a law firm and it might as well be one because these players have no purpose being on the gridiron. Underwhelming is the only way to describe Coach FlyingHigh's rag-tag group of recruits ahead of the teams inaugural football season in 2025.

Likely to have holes everywhere, the one saving grace about this recruiting class may be the fact that players were recruited at tentpole positions on both the offense and defense. Whether these kids are actual cutout for the Division 1 level remains to be seen, though.

One diamond in the rough might be WR Alex McHugh who snubbed Syracuse, Michigan State and Stanford to come to Spokane. McHugh racked up 1221 yards and 6 touchdowns in his senior year at Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey. The 6'2 receive primarily played the X spot but could factor in as the starting slot for coach FlyingHigh.

On the offensive line, in-state boysLT Sam Jewell (Yakima, WA) and C Cortez Creer (Sammamish, WA) could be day 1 starters and give the Bulldogs a strong foundation for the next four years.

Defensively, MLB Klay Einstein was second team All-State in Washington. Look for him to start as the mike linebacker and to be an achor in Masterson's 4-3 defensive.

Gonzaga Bulldogs Recruiting - 2024
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Alex McHugh	WR	HS	Newark, NJ	6'2	210
Connor Tompkins	ROLB	HS	Bellingham, WA	6'1	217
Klay Einstein	MLB	HS	Seattle, WA	6'0	223
Sam Cross	QB	HS	Palo Alto, CA	6'2	191
George Wooleyhand	LE	HS	Honalulu, HI	6'2	283
Sam Jewell	LT	HS	Yakima, WA	6'4	293
Cortez Creer	C	HS	Sammamish, WA	6'3	310
Zach Seubert	P	HS	Eugene, OR	6'5	323
Cameron Fowler	K	HS	Bellingham, WA	5'11	202
Mike Walton	TE	HS	Sacramento, CA	6'5	233
Cameron Honeycutt	RB	HS	Seattle, WA	5'10	185
Patrick Wayne	RB	HS	Tacoma, WA	6'2	226

[Deuce2223]

Curious to why just 12 scholarships. Seems like building a program from the scratch you would want to take full advantage of bringing in guys who can help you compete. Having grown up in Boise and having lived in Spokane for almost 5 years, I will be following for sure.