FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[nescac1]

So Amherst has a 23 year old (or thereabouts) D-I transfer from Lafayette coming in to play on the DL (former pro baseball player), sounds like he could be a big impact guy.  I think Amherst could be a big sleeper this year -- they have a ridiculously good and deep WR core, most of which was really banged up last year, but Bullock, Gary, and Kettering are a stellar top three who present match-up nightmares, a solid QB who should be even better with a year of experience, and an all-NESCAC TB returning. Plus, their always-stout defense returns two all-conference D-lineman, plus adds the big transfer.  Could be very tough.  Especially when you consider all the crucial skill guys the rest of the contenders graduate ... (or in Midd's case, some top notch skill guys and most of the OL). 

Anyone hear any buzz on impact frosh?  I realize that is very rare in NESCAC, but every year at least a few make their mark conference wide.   

[amh63]

nescac 1
  Thanks for the positive review of Amherst.  The receiving corp maybe even better if Div 1 transfer (U. of Cinn.) TE goes out for football.  Reggie Fugett sat out last year after a back operation over the summer.  He never got to play on the BB team.  Amherst could use his 6'6" pass catching talent.  However, the key for Amherst as in most conference teams is the QB.  To rise to the top, one needs a top notch QB.  I do not believe the QB from last year is that QB for the offensive system at Amherst.
   If things work out, I will be at the Hamiliton opening game to check out the field.....since my daughter's family lives near Cornell and is an Amherst grad. and fan.  It will be an interesting season.  Good luck to all the schools!

[Trin9-0]

I agree that Amherst has a legit shot to win the league. But they routinely finish in the top 3. Does that really qualify them as a sleeper?  The Jeffs could easily be 6-0 when Trinity comes to town in a game that could determine the NESCAC title.

I looked, I really did; but I just can't find a win for Bates on the schedule.  Sure they won two games last year but they were both at home and they were both close games.  The average score in their 6 loses was 34-10.  The only winnable games they have this year (Wesleyan, Colby, Hamilton) are all on the road.

Bowdoin is still a cut below the elite NESCAC programs and graduating three All-Conference players won't help.  However, they get a break not having to play Williams and a repeat win over Tufts isn't out of the question so if they can find a way to open the season with win over the Panthers in Brunswick they could finish a surprising 6-2. With that being said, I predict they'll probably finish 4-4.

I think Colby is in for a long season.  Middlebury will be out for revenge after losing in Waterville last season; so if the Mules can't win on the road at Wesleyan they could be in desperation mode heading into a road game at Hamilton. They should be able to get a win when they host Bates but that could be it. I see a 2-6 season for Colby.

Hamilton is another surprise team to watch. They had five losses of 7 points or less last season and they get Wesleyan, Colby and Bates at home.  Stetson has done a good job of turning the Continentals into a competitive team.  If they can pull-off an upset and beat the bottom tier teams they could finish with a winning record for the first time since 1996.
p.s. Here are some pics of the Steuben Field renovation at Hamilton: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamiltoncollege/3768342207/in/set-72157620486082760/

Middlebury loses 3 first team All-NESCAC players on offense.  I still think they'll finish with 5 or 6 wins because McKillop is clearly the best QB in the league. However they can't expect to challenge for the title unless they improve upon their 27 points per game allowed on defense.

Trinity won five games that were within 10 points last season and they lose the offensive and defensive players of the year. The good news is that they return 6 All-NESCAC underclassmen highlighted by RB Ollie Starnes and WR Michael Galligan. I think the defense will improve upon their 17.5 points per game allowed in '08. However, an inexperience QB will need to rely on a young offensive line if they hope to repeat as league champs.

Wesleyan won't be among the league's elite but they have a chance to finish .500 for just 'the second time in the last 5 years. This is especially surprising considering they had only one win in '08. They lost four games a year ago by a touchdown or less and their first four games are all winnable.  They return their QB, and most of their offensive line and TE.

Williams clearly has issues at running back, but they always seem to come up with a quality player at that position.  Of greater concern is losing four All-NESCAC defenders.  The Ephs have two tough road games at Trinity and Middlebury.  If they can at least split those games they have a good chance to win the league with the always satisfying win over archrival Amherst in Williamstown.  To pull that off they'll need Pat Moffitt to really gain from the experience he had as a sophomore.

[nescac1]

Bates returns the most starters of any team in the league, plus its QB was a frosh last year, so you figure he will probably improve dramatically.  I'd say they should win at least 2-3 games and are likely to finish above Colby and probably 1-2 others. 

As for Williams, they do lose a ton on defense.  But one thing to keep in mind, they lost two key starters on the front seven last year for the entire season, projected MLB Dylan Schultz and DT Dan Canina, as well as arguably their best linebacker, Dan Jonson, for the final few games.  With those three back plus expected improvement from some of the true frosh d-linemen who were forced into action last year (especially Curzi who looks like a future star), I think the defense will stay strong. 

The running game is the bigger question mark after losing three all-conference blockers (one of whom was an all-american) and three TB's including the all-time leading rusher.   Moffitt will have to carry a lot more of the load now that he is more experienced.  Fortunately he has a huge set of talented receivers in 6'4 JC Stickney, 6'3 Nick Caro (who would have been first team all-NESCAC had he not gotten hurt) and TE Jon Carroll, who could have a break-out year.  Less speed though, as they lost some quicker guys to graduation. 

AMH63, obviously you saw the QB more, but didn't he put up the best QB numbers in years for an Amherst QB, and he did it as a soph with no varsity experience, plus lots of his best receivers were injured much of the year? 

[amh63]

Surprised that the regulars here had not announced that Bates has posted their season's preview.  Their 09 roster is also posted minus the freshmen.  Bowdin's site has several interesting bits' of info.  They have three new assistant coaches!  They announced the start of football practice will be on Aug. 31.  Is this the norm?.  Freshmen arrived on campus at Amherst on the 31th.  This also includes the transfer students.  How about the other start dates in the conference.

[amh63]

First of the month....all team web sites are posting the 2009 rosters minus the freshmen.  Several interesting observations.  Williams has only one listed RB.  They must be expecting an impact freshman and/or someone is converting over....like a DB or a 250 lb. lineman.  Amherst's roster doesn't have the Div. 1 TE transfer.  Guess he will focus on BB.  There is a new 6'5" WR candidate.  The Scarsdale NY individual was on the BB team last year as a forward.  He rarely got in a game.  Wish him luck as a WR.

[nescac1]

I am guessing AMH63 that the transfer is in the same category as the frosh, and will appear on the next roster for Amherst.  Amherst seems pretty damn stacked at WR with Bullock, Gary, and Kettering plus a few other guys who got PT last year, so I am guessing there isn't much room at that spot. I don't think the transfer would be eligible for baseball since he already played pro ball (if he was, NESCAC guys wouldn't have a prayer against a 24 year old former pro). 

As for Williams, Lupo had a pretty impressive high school career and I think he is the presumptive starter.  There was at least one frosh RB on jv last year so there may be some other upperclassmen when all is said and done (the Eph roster is basically last year's roster minus the seniors, so there will definitely be some additionas and subtractions beyond the incoming frosh).  Still, I am guessing at least one and probably more than one frosh are coming in who are serious recruits and who will get a chance to play early ... RB is one position where frosh actually have a chance to make an impact. 

[amh63]

Made a mistake!  Wrong 6'5" Scarsdale player.  The WR candidate with the last name starting with a "Z" was on the team last year.  The same size BB player from Scarsdale in the class has his last name starting with "Z".  Getting old and forgetful.

[JustAFan]

Kevin Decker, the talented QB from UNH that had applied and been admitted to Trinity as a transfer this spring, has officially decided to return to UNH and is now listed on the UNH roster. Tough loss for the Bantams since Decker likely would have earned a lot of PT at Trinity this fall vs. his current situation in Durham.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090813-SPORTS-908130401

[lefrakenstein]

Interesting quote on ESPN today regarding Chip Kelly, the new Oregon head coach and former UNH assistant. Apparently he was very surprised to be named the successor to the Oregon job and originally considered his next coaching stop to be "a place like Williams".

From the article:

Nevertheless, Kelly's promotion to replace Bellotti came as a surprise. For one thing, Kelly says he never pined to be an FBS head coach. He had come to Oregon after 13 seasons as an assistant coach at New Hampshire, an FCS power.

"It just happened," Kelly said of his promotion. "My goal is to enjoy the job that I have."

For another, in a business of career climbers, Kelly's outlook puts him in the minority of assistant coaches.

"I spent many hours talking to Chip about where he may end up," New Hampshire athletic director Marty Scarano said via e-mail. "I remember like it was yesterday that he said he'd probably like to be a head coach at a place like [Division III] Williams because he really respected the intelligence of those kids. Yet he is one of the most fierce competitors that I've ever known."

Nice shout-out for Williams. Also, I didn't realize NESCAC head coaching jobs were that well respected. Here's the link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=4457449

[nescac1]

Great catch, Lefrak.  Plus one!  Speaking of D-I and Williams, three Williams alums are in prominent D-I coaching positions.  Dave Clawson won his first game as Bowling Green head coach.  Kevin Morris narrowly lost (to Kansas State!) his first game as heach coach of UMass.  And Mike Bajakian is the offensive coordinator / QB coach at Central Michigan, where the QB he has mentored is a likely high round draft pick in 2010. 

I saw that Amherst's season preview is posted.  They sound like they have a very strong team.  The big question mark seems to be offensive line, where they only have one starter returning, and only one senior in the depth chart.  Some young guys will have to develop quickly for them.  I noted that there was no mention of the big WR Kettering or the TE transfer from a few years back who was injured, but they are pretty stacked at wideout anyway.  They also lose a lot from the LB spot, but the huge D-I transfer should help there, and Amherst always has great LB's. 

[TheHerst2and4]

Kettering will be taking a year off and I don't think Fugett's back is ready for football and is hoping to be back for basketball season.

[LiveforSaturdays]

News on the preseason? Scrimmages this week? Very quiet board.

[mariner75]

Scrimmages tomorrow.  We'll FINALLY start getting some action around here.

[oldhamfan]

OK, maybr I missed this, but the kid who was Hamilton's rookie QB last year, Jordan Eck, is not listed on their roster.  The online edition of the HC school paper simply says  there is now competition for the QB spot.  Anybody know where he went/if he's injured?

As for Decker returning to UNH, not a transfer to Trinity, it's a Matt Cassel type scenario: good enough to play Div 1-AA, but better QBs ahead of him.