FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Trin9-0]

From what I've been told about the departure of Malik Hall from Bates it has to do with a pending lawsuit related to a housing dispute in his contract. Apparently his contract guaranteed housing but the home provided to him had mold. From what I heard they could not come to an agreement over the issue and he subsequently filed suit against Bates. The College responded by terminating his contract.

If true this is spectacular incompetence... even for Bates.

[Trin9-0]

Trinity posted some pictures of their new white jerseys. They match the style of their blue and gold jerseys with the same number font and the Bantam head logo and NESCAC patches on the front with a truncated arched stripe on the shoulders. They look great paired with the white helmet and pants.

[Nescacman]

I think Nescacman's picks look good, but I also think Trinity finds a way to get to at least 7 wins.  I just think too much talent up and down the roster to not have a big bounce-back year.  And after years of being stacked at TB the 2019 squad had weird misfortune after misfortune at the position, which is a critical one for that offense.  I'm sure they brought in a few stars at the position to fix that issue.

nescac1...Hartford State will, or course, be in the mix (their admissions process guarantees that )...Our thinking on them being 6-3 was that they are definitely not better than Wes/Ephs and they will lose to one of the following...(Middlebury, Tufts, Lord Mammoths)....take your pick which of those 3 but we will go with the Pants...

To get more granular, HS's issues in 2019 were (not in any order) the OL, the secondary, QB and RB...RB had more to do with injury than anything else....QB play, by HS (albeit high) standards, was mediocre at best...the secondary, normally comprised of a bunch of ball hawks, only had 5 INTs....biggest issue IOHO was below par play of their OL (last in sacks against, 3.3 YPC rushing, 5th in rushing, 8th in TOP)...the OL is usually one of HS's strengths but in 2019, it was a major issue...Chris Simmons is back (as a coach)...maybe he can suit up if they need him??? Throw in that HS was 5th in first downs (dependent on the big play from Girard/Scholer/Reid) and 8th in penalties against and that is how you end up 5-4....

We do think they will be better but they need to figure out the QB situation (Lambert will apparently be back but they also have two other supposed stud back-ups/recruits in Fetter from FLA and Bailey from NH and who knows what other FY's are hanging around the Coop) and fix the OL....they have some talented players back like DPOTY nominee LB Casagrande but we will need to see some results before we start putting them in the same class as the Top 2/3 in the '21 NESCAC...this is a situation we will be paying close attention to...

[SpringSt7]

I continue to find myself much higher on Seamus Lambert than, apparently, everybody.

This is a kid who took over as the starting QB as a true freshman in the middle of a conference championship race and went undefeated against Middlebury, Amherst, and beat Wesleyan at Wesleyan to win the league. As a sophomore he was second in the league in yards per completion and yards per attempt. He's also underrated as a runner: has rushed for 88, 85, 75, and 67 yards in single games.

I'm not going to tell you he's the best QB in the league and I'm not going to paper over the INTs, but I do think that running back play and OL play were huge factors in his play as a sophomore year and I think he is more than good enough to lead a team to a league title.

I like them at closer to 7-2 than 6-3, but predicting records with the way those 4 teams play against each other the last 3 weeks is almost impossible.

[Nescacman]

I continue to find myself much higher on Seamus Lambert than, apparently, everybody.

This is a kid who took over as the starting QB as a true freshman in the middle of a conference championship race and went undefeated against Middlebury, Amherst, and beat Wesleyan at Wesleyan to win the league. As a sophomore he was second in the league in yards per completion and yards per attempt. He's also underrated as a runner: has rushed for 88, 85, 75, and 67 yards in single games.

I'm not going to tell you he's the best QB in the league and I'm not going to paper over the INTs, but I do think that running back play and OL play were huge factors in his play as a sophomore year and I think he is more than good enough to lead a team to a league title.

I like them at closer to 7-2 than 6-3, but predicting records with the way those 4 teams play against each other the last 3 weeks is almost impossible.

Although we think Lambert is OK, from what we are hearing from our HS sources there is a possibility that he may not be the starter...besides the INTs (although some of those were def due to being under duress) the HS staff is not crazy about his height...

We strongly believe that the key to the HS season is the OL...if they turn that around, they win...

[The Mole]

Good intel here. One would think this kind of issue could be resolved, especially if there is a good working relationship. Perhaps an opportunity for both sides to move on. Bobcats only show 12 incoming recruits on website. Bad set up here...

From what I've been told about the departure of Malik Hall from Bates it has to do with a pending lawsuit related to a housing dispute in his contract. Apparently his contract guaranteed housing but the home provided to him had mold. From what I heard they could not come to an agreement over the issue and he subsequently filed suit against Bates. The College responded by terminating his contract.

If true this is spectacular incompetence... even for Bates.

[nescac1]

If this dispute at Bates came to a head a few months ago before he was terminated, it would not explain only 12 (!) recruits in the first-year class, since the vast majority of recruiting is typically completed by November's ED deadline.  Clearly, something was up for a long time. 

Bates by my count has only 59 guys total on its preseason roster ... that is just nuts in a year when nearly every NESCAC team is going to have 90.  The Bobcats better hope for some good injury luck this year but yeah, it's gonna be rough.  At least they have Costa and his three top wideouts back, but other than that, looks very ugly (only one starting OL returning, it looks like?). 

What's scarier for Bates is that 23 of the 59 guys on the roster are seniors, so at BEST you are talking about averaging 12 guys per class in the next three classes but likely much lower due to attrition, injuries, etc., and they have to recruit with the uncertainty of an interim coach at the helm and with Colby and Bowdoin very aggressively poaching guys that Bates might once upon a time have been competitive for.  As ugly as this year could be, at least the team has some capable seniors on the roster - the next few years look even rougher.

[lumbercat]

If this dispute at Bates came to a head a few months ago before he was terminated, it would not explain only 12 (!) recruits in the first-year class, since the vast majority of recruiting is typically completed by November's ED deadline.  Clearly, something was up for a long time. 

Bates by my count has only 59 guys total on its preseason roster ... that is just nuts in a year when nearly every NESCAC team is going to have 90.  The Bobcats better hope for some good injury luck this year but yeah, it's gonna be rough.  At least they have Costa and his three top wideouts back, but other than that, looks very ugly (only one starting OL returning, it looks like?). 

What's scarier for Bates is that 23 of the 59 guys on the roster are seniors, so at BEST you are talking about averaging 12 guys per class in the next three classes but likely much lower due to attrition, injuries, etc., and they have to recruit with the uncertainty of an interim coach at the helm and with Colby and Bowdoin very aggressively poaching guys that Bates might once upon a time have been competitive for.  As ugly as this year could be, at least the team has some capable seniors on the roster - the next few years look even rougher.

Nescac1

Most of your points here are quite accurate.

To clarify a few things-

Correct number is 72 on Bates Roster.

There were negatives developing in the 2020 Covid season prior to Coach Hall's departure.

Poor recruiting class.

3 good young Assistant Coaches left in the spring.

Only 2 of 16 from class of 2021 elected to stay for their final year.

There were others who transferred or left team.

The most notable loss is the transfer of RB Tyler Bridge to Endicott of all places. By all accounts Bridge was the best RB recruit at Bates in the last 25 years. 2018 Maine player of the year and winner of the Fitzpatrick Award (Maine HS Heisman trophy equivalent).
Great student and a quality kid. 6'3" 218 with speed. Only played 4 game in his FY 2019. Battled injuries most of the year, but was finally healthy for the Bowdoin game. Was unstoppable against Bowdoin running for 188 yards only to injure his shoulder late in game and missed final game against Hamilton.
Really hurts to lose this kid- essentially, losing him is the most significant blow to the program amid this adversity.
He will dominate at Endicott if he can stay healthy. Can't lose a kid like that.

[lumbercat]

I'm not sure what posters  are looking at.
Bates roster has been posted for at least a week and no changes have been made.
72 on roster.
12 FYs in the class of 2025.

[nescac1]

Hmmm, don't know how I miscounted so badly, I guess I must have failed to count first years.  My bad.  In all events, 72 (or more) is far, far, far less dire than 59.  Coach Raymond succeeded with fewer than 72 in his second and third year at Williams, although of course, the quality of the top guys in the program was as high as anywhere, which helped make up for the depth deficiencies. 

Only 2 of 16 electing to stay really hurts.  This may create even more distance between the top half of the league and Bates and any other teams who are similarly-situated, because at Williams, Midd and Wesleyan, at least, it seems like the top seniors are generally back for a fifth year, and I bet the same is true at Trinity, Tufts, and Amherst. 

Too bad about Tyler Bridge, what a big loss.  Surprised Colby didn't try (or maybe it did?) to poach him ... seems like Bates has basically none of its TBs from last year returning?  Costa may have to do a lot of the work on the ground. 

[lumbercat]

Nescac 1
Again you're right on.
Within the thin recruiting class is a FY RB from NJ who is said to have significant promise but hard to count on a FY as we know.

[amh63]

Been scanning the Nescac sites wrt football.  Amherst's orientation just started...big incoming class of over 500. Interesting times..early morning football practices, etc  Amherst should have a big practice squad, but lots' of unknowns....the 2019 season  was not a great one and ended with a terrible lost at Williams   Amherst is scheduled to open the season with Bates.....two teams with lots of unknowns!

[Trin9-0]

Amherst's orientation just started...big incoming class of over 500.

Wesleyan also has an abnormally large incoming Class of 2025. A record 910 first year students will soon arrive in Middletown.
All of the uncertainty surrounding COVID led many admissions departments to over admit from their applicant pools. When you add that to the large number of students accepted last year who deferred their admission to this fall and the huge drop off in students studying abroad it has created quite the housing crunch on campuses.

Wes has booked the entire Inn at Middletown for the year for use as student housing.

[Nescacman]

Hmmm, don't know how I miscounted so badly, I guess I must have failed to count first years.  My bad.  In all events, 72 (or more) is far, far, far less dire than 59.  Coach Raymond succeeded with fewer than 72 in his second and third year at Williams, although of course, the quality of the top guys in the program was as high as anywhere, which helped make up for the depth deficiencies. 

Only 2 of 16 electing to stay really hurts.  This may create even more distance between the top half of the league and Bates and any other teams who are similarly-situated, because at Williams, Midd and Wesleyan, at least, it seems like the top seniors are generally back for a fifth year, and I bet the same is true at Trinity, Tufts, and Amherst. 

Too bad about Tyler Bridge, what a big loss.  Surprised Colby didn't try (or maybe it did?) to poach him ... seems like Bates has basically none of its TBs from last year returning?  Costa may have to do a lot of the work on the ground.

The wager stands nescac1 

As far as HCOF Malik, mold issue aside, we heard he was officially let go about 30 days before it was announced and the main issues (no pun intended) were poor recruiting and weak fundraising, which unfortunately, in this almost post-COVID world has fallen on coaches at the D3 level...

[nescac1]

I still like Bates +180.  The big four are gonna play the second and third stringers if things get out of hand. 

Yeah Middlebury is massively overenrolled as well to the point that its giving students half off board to live ten miles away.  I think every Nescac campus is gonna be pretty swollen for the next two years at least.  Maybe not a bad thing - they all turn down so many uber qualified applicants and all could stand to grow a reasonable bit anyway.  I've long beaten this drum (without much support) for Williams which has basically doubled its campus square footage without adding much enrollment over 40 years and currently has at least three buildings on campus just sitting vacant with plans to keep building.