FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[UfanBill]

It would be difficult for the NESCAC to compete head on with some of the D-3 power houses given the caps on the number of players 75 or 82 or 84.  These schools have larger squads to have enough back up to play a 15 game schedule. (The regular season plus the playoffs.) The NESCAC has good players, but if it decides to compete on a more even footing with other D-3 schools by adding a 10th game against an out of conference opponent, and participating in the D-3 playoffs.  The squad caps will also need adjustment as well.  Who knows if such a day will ever come.  NESCAC teams do well in various D-3 playoffs.  It is a shame to see football treated as the unwanted child by NESCAC.  At least there is an opportunity for some spring practice which is so important to have a time to work on the skills needed for the various positions. 

I'd like to point out that while other D3 football rosters are usually 100+ deep,(some nearly 200)   when it comes to the NCAA Playoffs Tournament rosters are limited to only 58 active players. In fact any additional players are even excluded from the sidelines whether active or not and I believe required to buy their own ticket and sit in the stands if attending. BTW this year's playoff field will be expanded from 32 to 40 to keep football on par with the programs to playoff participant ratio of 6-1 that's set in other sports. That's 8 more spots (out of over 230 schools) for those that meet the selection criteria.

[RedAndBlack]

I think you miss the point of where smaller rosters come in. Its got nothing to do with gameday, it has to do with the ability to practice and to replace athletes when injured. with only 75, any injuries can derail the entire season. Very hard to have depth at multiple positions, and even harder to develop it with limited practices. 

[westcoastnescac]

Thanks! We will definitely have to wait on most of these guys, but I think that the ROY candidate guys can slot in pretty early given their individual team situations.

Matt Diaz gives Wesleyan a potential true #1 RB. They haven't had an effective tailback for the better part of the last decade. They've largely done a committee. I think that kid can be the #1 guy.

Griffin Marshall, as has been mentioned on the board, is likely the most talented QB to come through Waterville in some time. Colby has a couple of decent offensive pieces for him to work with as well. He should take the job there day 1.

Keller Rogers is a very interesting receiver for Tufts. He doesn't look very big, but he's undeniably fast on tape. With Lutz and Richardson gone, Berluti only has Moore as a proven option in the passing game and Moore is more of a chain mover than anything. Have to assume they find a way to work Rogers' speed into the mix.

Nelson Dorsey is more of a longshot ROY candidate from a talent standpoint, but he walks into the best situation. Eden graduated (I believe?), and the only other RB to carry the ball for them was more of a fullback/Tight End. Dorsey could be as good of an option as anyone else on the roster given the situation. Making him at least a potential candidate to win it.

Scoops, love the research!

Really good stuff, great to see the talent roll into the league!

But....honestly we'll have to wait to see most of these guys;  the games this season will be decided by the Sr & JR classes...freshman impact (imo) is negligible with very few exceptions...

Bigger tell may be who has JR's & Soph's that haven't seen meaningful playing time...that's what I'll be watching.

Thanks for your in depth look at the class of '28...seriously appreciate the picks & gonna check out the film!

Luke Watson will be the starter

[Bowdoinmanfan]

Thanks! We will definitely have to wait on most of these guys, but I think that the ROY candidate guys can slot in pretty early given their individual team situations.

Matt Diaz gives Wesleyan a potential true #1 RB. They haven't had an effective tailback for the better part of the last decade. They've largely done a committee. I think that kid can be the #1 guy.

Griffin Marshall, as has been mentioned on the board, is likely the most talented QB to come through Waterville in some time. Colby has a couple of decent offensive pieces for him to work with as well. He should take the job there day 1.

Keller Rogers is a very interesting receiver for Tufts. He doesn't look very big, but he's undeniably fast on tape. With Lutz and Richardson gone, Berluti only has Moore as a proven option in the passing game and Moore is more of a chain mover than anything. Have to assume they find a way to work Rogers' speed into the mix.

Nelson Dorsey is more of a longshot ROY candidate from a talent standpoint, but he walks into the best situation. Eden graduated (I believe?), and the only other RB to carry the ball for them was more of a fullback/Tight End. Dorsey could be as good of an option as anyone else on the roster given the situation. Making him at least a potential candidate to win it.

Scoops, love the research!

Really good stuff, great to see the talent roll into the league!

But....honestly we'll have to wait to see most of these guys;  the games this season will be decided by the Sr & JR classes...freshman impact (imo) is negligible with very few exceptions...

Bigger tell may be who has JR's & Soph's that haven't seen meaningful playing time...that's what I'll be watching.

Thanks for your in depth look at the class of '28...seriously appreciate the picks & gonna check out the film!

Luke Watson will be the starter

A little birdy up in Brunswick told me that LB/DL Price may be making the transition to RB, similar to Tufts RB Reece.

[Scoops]

Watson may indeed be the starter, but he was pretty bad at times for the Mules in his starts, and was replaced by the end of the year. There should at least be a competition for the job.

And as for Price, it would be "robbing Peter" if they take what is really their only effective defensive player and put him on offense. Have to think they'll have a better plan than that in Brunswick.

Luke Watson will be the starter

A little birdy up in Brunswick told me that LB/DL Price may be making the transition to RB, similar to Tufts RB Reece.
[/quote]

[westcoastnescac]

Scoops - luke watson is a rb for bowdoin not colby

[lumbercat]

A little birdy up in Brunswick told me that LB/DL Price may be making the transition to RB, similar to Tufts RB Reece.
[/quote]


I'd be very surprised if the Bears move Price to offense. He's the best returning DB/LB Hybrid in the NESCAC and one of the elite athletes in the league as well. He's the cornerstone of the Bowdoin Defense.
Unless they plan to keep him on D and utilize him in selected offensive schemes I would strongly doubt it.

As for Luke Watson he was used exclusively as a receiver out of the backfield- very few touches as a ball carrier so he may have something to prove as a ball carrier before they hand him the job.
Bowdoin OC did not do a good job mixing up his touches to the point that later in the season most opposing DCs were looking for that screen pass to Luke when he came into the game and the Bears did not disappoint.

To Lukes credit I believe he scored a long TD on that screen against maybe Hamilton ??....and then he broke some nice gains on that same scheme a couple of times in subsequent weeks. However, later in the year opposing DCs new it was coming.
Bears OC should have mixed it up a little instead of continuing to go to the well with Luke on that play.

There is scouting in this league.

Watson has a lot of promise but it would have been nice to see him get some sequences of straight ahead touches out of the backfield. Thats tough with a guy like Eden ahead of him but why not give the kid a few more running reps if they really think he is the heir apparent to Eden.

[westcoastnescac]

Lumber I'm sure you remember the 60 yard play he had down the sideline against Bates?

[lumbercat]

Lumber I'm sure you remember the 60 yard play he had down the sideline against Bates?

Vividly

[LochNescac]

Any new "NESCAC News"...??

[Charlie]

Has anyone heard that there maybe some preseason games and or scrimmages planned in the NESCAC. I understand that Trinity and Wesleyan had a scrimmage last year for the freshman and back ups. I was curious to know if this was going on again and if any other teams had planned on this. I remember years ago Tufts did a scrimmage against Bowdoin I believe and did not know if this was a published item or could lead to anything. Are there any rumors on adding any games or potential playoffs or is that still off the table.

[LochNescac]

Has anyone heard that there maybe some preseason games and or scrimmages planned in the NESCAC. I understand that Trinity and Wesleyan had a scrimmage last year for the freshman and back ups. I was curious to know if this was going on again and if any other teams had planned on this. I remember years ago Tufts did a scrimmage against Bowdoin I believe and did not know if this was a published item or could lead to anything. Are there any rumors on adding any games or potential playoffs or is that still off the table.

Haven't heard, but probably too early.

[Charlie]

I do not usually listen to the hype on social media. However I do not know who else viewed this. But there was a site indicating that in 2025 certain schools were going to be lowering there academic standards for admittance to their institution. A list of all the NESCAC schools were on this in the top 15 starting with Williams. If this is true would be interesting on how this affects football programs going forward. I do not lend a great deal of credence to this especially since a few have already boasted a 20 to 30 % increase in admissions applicants. I do not know if it is a financial based on tuition or if this is just B.S.

[nescac1]

I'm not sure what this list is that you are referring to, but at least with respect to Williams, and I suspect with respect to ALL of NESCAC, this is indeed B.S.  If anything, at Williams (and again I doubt it is alone) the academic standards for athletic recruits have risen steadily over the years to the point that there is little difference between athletic recruits and the rest of the student body.  Whenever Williams football recruits post their academic stats to their social media profiles, they always have near-perfect GPAs and astronomical test scores, and almost all are from academically elite high schools as well.  NESCAC schools like Williams, Amherst, and Colby are all now at well below 10 percent acceptance rates, historical lows. 

[LochNescac]

I'm not sure what this list is that you are referring to, but at least with respect to Williams, and I suspect with respect to ALL of NESCAC, this is indeed B.S.  If anything, at Williams (and again I doubt it is alone) the academic standards for athletic recruits have risen steadily over the years to the point that there is little difference between athletic recruits and the rest of the student body.  Whenever Williams football recruits post their academic stats to their social media profiles, they always have near-perfect GPAs and astronomical test scores, and almost all are from academically elite high schools as well.  NESCAC schools like Williams, Amherst, and Colby are all now at well below 10 percent acceptance rates, historical lows. 

https://interculturalinsights.com/nescac-schools-ranked-by-acceptance-rate/

I have to agree with Nescac1...Calling BS on this...going the other way in fact.