FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[frank uible]

In the 50s Williams employed the triple option as part of the Don Faurot split T.

[amh63]

Boy, offensive talk is going "old school" here.  Brings back memories of the Texas " wishbone" set, the wing T of Delaware that the former coach of Trinity..Miller....ran to perfection.  Remember the " single wing"  offense in HS.
To run such offenses, one needs the coaches and the players to make it work, imo. Will surprise the opponents'  defenses for sure.  Georgia Tech has NOT been in the upper tier of the ACC for awhile, I think.  Have to give the coaches some credit to start the season.
It would not surprise me if this maybe the season where the kicking game and special teams play will shine in the Nescac....think Florida State vs Alabama game.
For Amherst fans, found a Swiss outdoor clothing company...Mammuth....that has the Mammoth logo on most of it's attire.  Came upon it in downtown Ithaca. Even got a Woolly Mammoth poster...free...in a Toy store in the Ithaca Mall.  Wife and I were "baby sitting" our granddaughter and spoiling her badly.  She is a big Amherst fan...third generation LJ hope .

[PolarCat]

WHOA.  I went to bed early in the 4Q with GT up 28-14.  I can't believe the Vols came back and beat GT - in 2OT, by stopping a 2 point conversion, no less.  Hats off to the Vols. 

(IslandTime, yes, Bates runs the triple option, thus my earlier tongue-in-cheek comment.  Though clearly not as well as the Yellow Jackets.  The GT QB carried 44 times for 249 yards and 5 TD's.  Amazing.  And amh63, special teams played a huge role last night too, with a missed FG and a blocked FG robbing the Jackets of the victory).

[nescac1]

Thanks for the insider perspective on practice, NESCAC.Football.Observer.  It's going to take time to rebuild the Ephs, but glad to hear the right level of enthusiasm and attitude is there.  Hopefully by next year, the final roster can at least get up to 75 guys, and by the following year, pre-season camp starts with around 85-90 players, which is how things were in the pre-Kelton days (seems hard to believe those were only eight years ago).  That will make a big difference in terms of depth and in terms of guys being ready when the inevitable injuries or defections occur. 

If the QB battle is fairly close, I very much hope that Williams gives Maimaron a chance to play a lot as a first-year.  This team is clearly building for the future, and any reps he can get this season will really help him, and the team, down the line.  Plus, a QB who can make plays with his feet is always a major bonus on a team with a questionable offensive line ... and I do hope at least 5-10 of the first batch of the new regime' recruits can make a significant impact on the field as the season progesses. 

[PolarCat]

As amh63 knows, I have a special respect for kickers, and his post got me thinking.  Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Hamilton, Midd and Trinity all have returning starters this year, and most of them are damn good.  I expect more than a couple games this year will be decided by clutch FG's, and a lot of kickoffs to be dropped inside the 5.

Tufts, Wes and Williams need to reload.  Tufts' stud Willie Holmquist is now on the Duke Blue Devils roster, but apparently third on their depth chart, as he did not see action in their 60-7 win this past weekend.  Wes will miss the presence of Ike Fuchs, a dual threat at P/K. 

And Williams is puzzling.  They have their 2017 roster published, but THERE IS NOT A SINGLE P OR K ON IT.  Wow.  Did they forget to recruit specialists?  Did they have a 3-star P/K lined up who tanked his grades in his HS Senior Spring?  Are they scrambling right now to recruit a kid with a big leg from the Ephs' soccer bench?  It will well and truly s*ck for Ephs fans if they can't convert on PAT's, if FG's are not an option, and if they can't punt more than 20 yards.

[lumbercat]

The 2017 roster showing on the Williams website has to be a work in progress. I see only 47 on the roster and several missing guys like Maimoron.

[nescac1]

That roster is not close to complete (and isn't even published yet). For starters, none of the incoming frosh are listed.  Adam Regensburg actually did a solid job in the kicking game, especially considering he was also the Ephs' leading receiver, last year.  The Ephs are also bringing in a PK from Mass with pretty good credentials. 

[PolarCat]

Here is the link to the published roster, which does show numerous FY's and shows Regensburg as a DB.  It may be a bit of mis-direction on the Williams' SID part, but it is not fake news on my end.  http://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/fball/2017-18/roster

[nescac1]

It is not PUBLISHED.  Yes, that link exists if you type it in by hand -- but it is obviously an in-progress roster.  If you actually go to the live roster link active on the website, last year's roster still comes up.  It would take all of 30 seconds to figure out that every "first-year" listed on that roster was a first-year LAST season.  As for Regensburg, I realize he is listed as a DB.  But again, if you look at what actually occurred on the field last season, in addition to playing primarily at WR, he also handled every single punt, PAT, and FG attempt for Williams last season -- and had fairly average numbers for a NESCAC players in all categories, which is impressive considering just how many responsibilities he had.

http://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/fball/2016-17/teams/williams?view=profile&r=0&pos=off

[PolarCat]

Afraid I am not creative enough to type a web address in by hand.  I Googled "Williams Football 2017 Roster" and that's what came up.  It didn't take any concerted effort by 400 Russian hackers to find it.  Whatever.  If you say Williams has an incorrect roster up at that web address, so be it.

[NESCAC.Football.Observer]

I specifically asked about Eph specialists.....

It seems that Regensburg will again be doing the punting.  Can't say there was (not) a 2nd punter practicing.......

The only place kicker was a kid who was about 5'7" (max) tall and 140 lbs who seemed to be good out to about the 30.  I was told he ended practice on Sat or Sun with approx a 45 yarder which enabled the team to avoid sprints..........

[amh63]

My take on this discussion of "whose on first" wrt the Williams' roster is that this is going to be an interesting and long football season for the Ephs.
My hopes wrt the Amherst's season is that Amherst is in the hunt for the CAC title.

[NESCAC.Football.Observer]

NbN is back up.....  Trinity is reviewed... Other 9 to follow........

http://nothingbutnescac.com/

[dadof4bz]

GREAT NEWS!!  You guys are the best!!

[JoeBag]

NbN is back up.....  Trinity is reviewed... Other 9 to follow........

http://nothingbutnescac.com/

This is not a very credible review. Brian Vieira and Will Connery have not returned to Trinity this year.