FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[AUKaz00]

Sorry, I should have gone back and read the original post.  I was looking at a different team's roster and all linemen.  Going with FY Amherst OL, I also would have thought Huge was talking about #66.  Maybe the player has changed positions?  Perhaps to OLB?

[Trin9-0]

Here's a link to the Trinity vs. Colby football preview by the guys at Trinity's student-run TSN (Trinity Sports Network).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7oP5_2iLWA&feature=channel_video_title
It may be more than a little Trin-biased but they do a great job.

Also, note the pictures from the Trinity - Wesleyan scrimmage; looks like new uni's for the Cardinals complete with black helmets.

[met_fan]

In a mass email from Coach Stetson at Hamilton, he said that their roster is around 60, with 30 frosh.  Needless to say, with a roster that size, they are hoping to avoid some of the injury issues that have plagued them in the past.

[amh63]

As anticipated, the Amherst vs. Bates game preview is up on the Amherst athletic website.  It gives probable starters for both offense and defense and for both schools with history and some limited statistics.  In general the previews are "neutral"....do not want to get the opponents mad before games.
The Hamilton roster of 60 is low for this conference where rosters are held to 75.....where before the restrictions, several schools kept rosters close to 90.  The schools, which shall remain nameless here played hard, and accumulated injuries...but also believe if a person wants to come out for the team, they should be allowed to dress.

[banfan]

amh63  don't worry brother.  I am used to (how can I say this without hurting anybody's feelings) a very passionate "board" at a D1 school with great tradition.  Let's face it, posting is something that is anonymous and folks write things that they would never say face to face.

This board is unique because its the whole frickin' league.  I shouldn't have to listen to Williams blowhards until the week before we play them.  lol

Also, sarcasm is not something you can write but I try often enough.  When I do I add tic (tongue in cheek).

SOOOOOOOO, let the games begin and I only hope Trinity has a chance against those semi-pro rosters in Amherst and Williamstown. tic

[Trin9-0]

Welcome to the 2011 College football season NESCAC fans (finally)!

You can file this new blog under the shameless not-so-anonymous self-promotion category:
http://athletics.trincoll.edu/sports/fball/2011-12/Blog
I believe a comments section will be added soon. Be kind.

The teams in bold are my week 1 picks against the (unofficial/self-created/not-taking-bets) spread:


Amherst (-13.5)
@ Bates
o/u: 35.5

Middleburry
@ Wesleyan (2.5)
o/u: 43.5

Trinity (10)
@ Colby
o/u: 32

Williams (12.5)
@ Bowdoin
o/u: 38.5

Tufts (8)
@ Hamilton
o/u: 28.5

Enjoy the games and GO BANTS!

[iamhuge]

Good luck tomorrow to all players and coaches!

[PistachioX]

 
Trinity still hasn't posted their 75 man roster yet... less than 24 hours until kick-off.  The players just found out late yesterday, whether they made the 60-man travel roster, or not.  They're killing me.

[mullethead]

Think it just got posted, although not final

[PistachioX]

A work in progress, I guess... still a man-over?  and they have a little housekeeping with to do, with 2 each @ #10, #26, #30, #39, #42 & #45.

I'll try to be patient.

[quicksilver]

Did not know that there is a 60-player limit on the size of the travel squad on top of the 75-player roster limit. Anyone know whether this come in with the travel squad restrictions imposed by the NESCAC a couple of years ago in response to the financial crisis or whether it is a long-standing limit? 

[nescac1]

Thanks for the links, Trinity posters, good to see there will be a lot of Trinity info this year.  Neither Trinity nor Williams can afford to look ahead: Colby returns a very dangerous QB and a lot of good defenders, and Bowdoin's offense, which featured many frosh in key roles last year, should be a lot more explosive (especially with the uber-dangerous Pat Noone healthy after playing through a broken hand last year).  Both will be very tough road tests, and Bowdoin has given the Ephs a lot of trouble in recent years.  Williams' biggest edge is up front, as Bowdoin has one of the smallest front starting front sevens I can ever recall seeing in NESCAC: (the front four averages about 215 lbs., I'm sure they are quick but they are giving up 50 lbs. a man vs. most NESCAC lines, and the starting LB's average only around 200 lbs.), so I imagine Williams will look to pound the ball.

I know this will be of interest to amh63, a great site filled with pictures and videos from the Williams/Amherst scrimmage:

http://ephsfootball.wordpress.com/

The two guys who stand out for the Ephs are TB Scyocurka who I expect big things from if he stays healthy, and Antonio Blanco who is I believe a frosh LB and made two highlight reel plays.   

Speaking of Williams, the final roster is posted, seems like a few frosh fell victim to the roster limits.  One athletic player who did not play last year returns, Markus Gonzalez, he is fast and could be a factor at LB. 

I notice in Amherst's final roster that the D-1 transfer is no longer listed!  Wonder if he got hurt or lost interest?  Or could he conceivably have been cut??  Amherst has REALLY bulked up on the o-line, the starting five average a D-1-esque 275-280, with a new, running QB and a lot of losses at WR/TE, I wonder if the Jeffs are going to slow it down and be more physical on offense this year, with a heavier dose of the run?  It would be hard for linemen that size to play at last year's pace, when the Jeff's smaller, quicker line was presumably an advantage for that system. 

[amh63]

Thank nescac1 for the video link of the scrimmage.  The clips of the Amherst players being inept is ok since the QB's are  either freshman or sophmores.  Seems the linemen were also deep on the roster charts.
Indeed, the FY from the U.of Del. is missing.  Maybe there was some confusion wrt to his transcripts or he just quit due to the low level of play he saw.  Who knows.  Will check on what happen at Homecoming when I chat with some knowledgeable people.
Your comment wrt to the offensive line's average weight is a bit high.  It tends toward the 270's.....but weight varies during the year as the players get use to all that "home cooking" in the dining halls.  Still, the line is small compared with Bates' right side that has a RG and RT that weigh in at 305 lbs.  Oh yes, Bates returns their 6'7" WR.
I see the main cuts are among the FY's.  Kept one FY TE from Las Vegas that looks like a well built WR.

[nescac1]

Even if had been Amherst starters, this was the highlights from a Williams perspective, I am sure there were just as many (or more based on what Frank said) for Amherst, and in all events it's just a scrimmage ... I don't get the sense that there is much of any correlation between the scrimmage and the results of the actual game later in the year. 

Speaking of transfers, one other interesting NESCAC name to watch: McCallum Foote, who transferred from Brown to Midd.  Midd has enormous shoes to fill after losing a four year starting QB who holds virtually every NESCAC passing record, but he may be able to step in and fill the void in the Midd's pass-heavy offense. 

[frank uible]

Foote may have attended Brown, he may be a perfectly wonderful football player, but if my eyes have not deceived me, his name does not appear on Brown's 2009 roster or Brown's 2010 roster.