FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[AlDavis]

...Coach DiCenzo  , maybe but I think and guess Coach Whalen looking to grab another  Ring before and if he turns it over....it really seems Coach Whalen has been underestimated for his valued time at Williams  , besides an 8-0 season under his command ,  the year he left to go to Wesleyan his ex-team that he cultivated went 8-0....Coach Kelton ( who is a great guy and great coach) was gift wrapped a great Williams team and since Whalen left Williams has gone 8-0  then 6- 2 then 4- 4 and might go 3 -5 this year.

[lumbercat]

Good to see the board coming alive with the approach of the season.

Dunklee at Colby was healthy during baseball season so he is ready to go..... Not sure he is slated to be a QB with Ciero on the scene- The Blue and Grey are crowded at QB position with a great player like Dunklee who may assume another role but will be instrumental in Mules offense as a great athlete.
Great talent in Buco who was used both ways. Future star is
linebacker Henry Nelson. Mules need help on the O line.

QB is a question at Bates but the strength of their attack was a punishing rushing attack. They return the right side of their line with Mike Bernstein 6'3" 303 and all NESCAC tackle and D3 preseason All American Liam O'Neil 6'4" 310. Believe they are going to stick with the triple option attack. Good depth in their backfield with a great slot receiver in Shawn Doherty who will be all conference if he stays healthy.
Unanimous all American in every pre season poll is Bates co-captain and former NESCAC rookie of the year Andrew Kukesh who is a perennial all conference pick- pound for pound one of the very best athletes in the conference.

In Brunswick last years senior co captain Sean O'Malley who missed the season with an injury returns for a fifth year, a la Wesleyan, and will be a great addition to the Bears attack. Donnarumma a fine back.
Cardew, a great defender exemplifies the Bears credo on D which is -we are undersized but sped will get it done for the Bears.
A good recruiting year for the Black and White who have had a problem at QB...Coach Caputi has landed 2 of the top ranked QB's in Ct.......Tim Drakely, Taft, 6'4" 210 and Brendan Bilcheck, Hand, 6'00" 190- one of these Frosh may be under center for the P Bears.

[amh63]

Lumbercat....good stuff!  Selfish thoughts arise when I hear that that the polar bears have weaknesses at QB.  Bowdoin has given Amherst trouble/ scare the past few years, both at home and away.  With regards to Bates, if they are also looking for a QB, how can the triple option offense be run effectively?  I confess that I am a little dense in the complexity of the triple offense...being more knowledgeable with the "dark age" single wing system.

[AlDavis]

real good information past couple of days.....seems lacking though on information on Middlebury and Hamilton big time....tomorrow is August 1st , so getting there....would like to find incoming Recruit list....from the little bits and pieces I have seen trolling since February signing day that Amherst and Wesleyan has some good ones coming in....The Ivy's have really amped up solid recruits the past couple of years with the importance of Recruit Camps which has a great tickle down for the NESCAC

[lumbercat]

Bates has others in the program that have been schooled on the Triple Option as part of their offensive system. However, someone will be stepping into that role with little prior game experience. Junior  Matt Connone may be the heir apparent but they also have 2 very stong freshmen coming in.

Trevor Smith was basically a 3 year starter and was so tough that he missed very little game action despite the pounding that TO QB's need to withstand. He was a tough kid who ran the option so well. His 2nd team all conference selection was well deserved last year.

It's only my guess but Bates may mix in some conventional sets with the TO if needed but as a program they have executed the TO extremely well in all areas.

[AlDavis]

well Bates has Williams number for sure the past 2 seasons hanging 68 on them...

[Panthernation]

(2) Who will catch the ball for Middlebury?  Midd has easily the best QB in NESCAC and maybe in the country.  But after graduating two first-team all-conference receivers, including an all-American tight end, a few new faces will have to step up for Midd (Midd graduates over 2/3 of its receiving yards from last season).  Athletic and tall basketball/baseball player Dylan Sinnickson, now playing football as well, may help.  Is Foote so good that it doesn't matter, or were his numbers partially inflated by elite receiving talent? 

The guys we project to see competing for spots alongside junior Brendon Rankowitz (6'0", 27 catches, 343 yards, 3 TD in 2012) are sophomores Matthew Minno (6'3", 11 catches, 140 yards, 3 TD in 2012) and Harrison Goodkind (5'10, 18 catches, 146 yards, 1 TD in 2012) and maybe senior William Sadik-Khan (3 catches, 39 yards in 2013). Sinnickson has a higher ceiling than any of them but will have to adapt to football quickly to earn a spot in the receiver rotation. Minno is especially intriguing; when he got to play with the first unit last season against Hamilton, he put up 106 yards and 3 TD. At tight end, it will likely be junior Daniel Finta (6'5).

None of them can do what Driscoll and Chapman could do, but the cupboard isn't bare.

[PistachioX]

Tufts is getting a workhorse of a RB in freshman, Chance Brady - a local talent from a blue collar town who started out as a 125# guard in a floundering program. 

Putting the ball in his hands (combined with the addition of a bright and motivating coach) helped to end the school's 32 game losing streak, and eventually turn around their program.  I'll be curious to see how he develops for the Jumbos.

http://massprepstars.com/spotlight/players/chance-brady-13

[lumbercat]

Chance Brady is a fine back who should have immediate impact at Tufts.

Bowdoin and Bates also have couple of very impressive RBs among their incoming recruits:
Bowdoin has Andrew Grant of Exeter NH 6'0" 190 NH player of the year.
Bates landed Ivan Reese of Savannah, Ga. 6'1" 226 who had D1 recruiting interest from Kentucky and So Miss among others.

[frank uible]

Love to defend against a freshman QB who is starting to learn an offense featuring the option.

[nescac1]

I don't know Frank, depends on which freshman QB -- Manziel (a redshirt frosh, but still) fared pretty well in the read-option last year ...

Seems likes Bates' program continues its upwards trajectory.  Still, even with an all-American in the secondary, with an untested QB and a new TB to boot, they might struggle a bit early.  I think that Bates has often been a let-down game for Williams after playing Trinity, but you can bet the Ephs will have that game circled on the calendar this season after the last two debacles. 

Bowdoin does seem like the NESCAC team most likely to make a big leap forward this fall.  They do have talent at QB, just plagued by injuries and inexperience next year but they should be much improved, and the defense should likewise be much improved, and is led by one of the top LB corps in the conference.  Plus they get back that injured WR and have one of the top TB's in the league.  I could easily see them adding three wins to last year's total.  I think Tufts, on the other hand, just has too far to go for much to be expected this season.  A great frosh class will help, but you can only expect so much if you are overwhelmingly relying on first year players.

[PistachioX]

Bowdoin, Bates and Tufts all appear to be on the upswing in recent years, with higher quality athletes.  The recruiting efforts by Hamilton and Colby, however, have reportedly been unenthusiastic and half-hearted.  Hopefully the new head coaches at those schools will find a way to bring their programs into the fray in the next couple seasons - make it a bit more interesting than a two or three-way race.

[gridiron]

Regarding differences in football recruiting within the NESCAC...This perspective from a high school football coach who regularly sends players to NESCAC football programs (and some Ivy).

Wesleyan—football coach is also the athletic director, president is highly supportive of the program.  Recruiting focuses on prep schools, transfers, and private schools.  Sprinkle in a few legacies (which don't count against the recruiting number).

Williams—Committed and capable coaches.  School largely continues to rely upon outstanding academic reputation (as well as athletic) to get the recruits they want. 

Amherst—coaches have great relationship with admissions and president who are willing to go the extra mile for the recruits they want.  Flexibility in admissions provides an edge over rival schools (consider recent successes in other sports).

Middlebury—track record academically and athletically combined with stability at coaching level.  Focus on those who are on the edge of Ivy (e.g., Foote).  Not as flexible as some others.

Colby—second year coaching staff working to put the off-field incident of two years ago in the rear view mirror--and appear to have done so with solid past season.  Admissions more rigid than some others in the league.

Hamilton—new coaches and an administration trying to figure out how to commit to the football program.  Most success recruiting from different geography than rest of NESCAC (NY, NJ, PA).

Bowdoin---relies largely on academic reputation to attract recruits, tends to stay within the bands without much flexibility.

Tufts---new coaches trying to get things on track, but admissions less flexible than some others making it much more difficult to recruit.

Trinity—largest pool of potential recruits combined with committed and capable coaching staff results in consistent success on the field year in and year out.

Bates—recruiting intensity on the rise and more recent success working with admissions. 

[frank uible]

Any NESCAC college can markedly upgrade the quality of its intercollegiate football by annually making a few greater selective concessions at its Admissions Office - given its high supply of applications from relatively good football prospects (yet with respectable academic credentials), which it rejects for admission. It is merely a question of the nature and extent of concessions that it is willing to make.

[AlDavis]

great info....that Chance Brady looks awesome , looks like if he had tighter fitting Jersey he would have had 300 more yards the way he was dragging players around in his highlight....the Tufts @ Wesleyan game is at 6:00 and will be the first ever Night NESCAC game , they  are bringing in Portable Lights