FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[nescac1]

I'm sure amh63 will enjoy this article on Brian Pederson, a DE recruit who chose Williams while his twin sister chose Amherst (not the first time twins have gone the rival route, for example there were the twin women's hoops players a number of years back).  Their father went to Amherst, and Pederson's coach is Kelton's brother, so ties galore to both schools! 

http://wellesley.wickedlocal.com/article/20140830/SPORTS/140839756/12429/SPORTS/?Start=1

You rarely hear Kelton rave about a frosh player to that degree, and when he does, they are generally going to play as underclassmen.  The Williams defensive line is a pretty stacked, veteran unit this: starting three seniors (the best of that group being Adam Datema, who I except will challenge for all-NESCAC honors) plus star all-NESCAC junior James Howe, with two senior back-ups returning as well, but after this season there will be major holes to fill in the unit.   With all the attention paid to Howe, if Pederson can come in and be a situational pass-rushing specialist as a frosh, that would make what figures to be a very strong defensive unit stronger and deeper.  I'm also curious to see if big defensive tackle John Fives can make an impact as a sophomore after playing (along with Tae Scott) for Kelton this summer in the U19 world championship. 

I am confident that Williams is pretty stacked at DL and DB (Scott, Lafontant, and Cabarle are a great trio there, Helmkamp is a returning starter, and there is a lot of experienced depth supporting them and competing for back-up roles).  Williams usually has at least one superstar LB, but last year that position didn't make much of an impression -- only two turnovers forced (both interceptions, NO forced fumbles), which is shockingly low, and not nearly enough tackles in the backfield.  Four guys return with meaningful experience, so hopefully someone (the top candidates are Bond, Ryan and O'Grady, all of whom played a lot as underclassmen) will make a name for himself as an all-league caliber leader and big playmaker this year -- Amherst, Trinity, Midd, and Wesleyan all bring back really strong LB units, so it will be tough to break into that conversation.  The DL made a lot of big plays last year, and I imagine will again, but the Ephs need the LBs to create more turnovers considering how often they are around the ball. 

Williams lost the TO battle 23-8 (!!) last season, just a terrible ratio.  Despite that fact, they were in nearly every game (save for the Colby fiasco) down to the last possession last year.  As D1 football expert Phil Steele is fond of saying, turnovers = turnaround, as the quickest way to rebound from a season that did not meet expectations is to change the turnover ratio.  It goes without saying that the Ephs need to take better care of the ball this year, but they also need to create a lot more than eight turnovers -- with the talent and now experience on hand on defense, there is no reason at all that number should not at least double. 

LB and OL are definitely the two units to watch early in the season in terms of making big strides as a group (along with, of course, QB) if Williams wants to return to its more typical level of results.  If the LBs can create more turnovers, and the OL can protect the QBs a lot better, that will really help the Ephs' chances.  Bowdoin's best unit by far is the DL (two seniors who have each been named all-NESCAC), so that will present an early test for what sort of strides the OL has made in the off season. 

[nescac1]

A few more tidbits I've learned re: the Williams facility:

-- there will be a grass field adjacent to the field (on the other side of the stands) that will be used for football practice and javelin throws, and can also accommodate tailgating on busier game-days.  With the turf field and the adjacent grass field available, football will now be able to practice at this facility, instead of on the (often-swampy) fields down by Cole Field, which will now be additional intramural fields.  This should avoid situations in the past where football practice was limited after heavy rains. 

-- there will also be tailgating in the main parking lot on the other side of the field, between the football field and golf course.  Lacrosse will play on the football field in the Spring, and field hockey will play on the field inside the track in the fall. 

-- behind the north goal post (next to Spring Street) there will be space for tents and special events

-- there will be NO permanent stands on the visitor side of the field.  Portable stands will be put in place during the football season, and additional portable stands can be added on as as-needed basis (for the Amherst game, mainly).  Off-season, there will only be stands on one side. 

-- rest rooms and concessions will be under the main football stands. 

-- One odd difference between the new Williams and Amherst facilities, Amherst did not put visiting locker rooms in its main support building, so visiting teams now have to dress at the hockey rink or Alumni Gym, which are a considerable distance away, and then walk over.  Bizarre construction choice for a new facility, unless it's an intentional effort to disadvantage visiting teams. 

[NothingButNESCAC]

Our first of what will be many articles before the start of the season is now up. Not too much heavy analysis in this one as it is mostly an introduction to the football season as a whole. Still we do look a little at Williams and give a couple of reasons why they could be ready for a comeback this season. Article tomorrow will look at the best five games of 2013 and what they could tell us about this year. If you like NESCAC football, we should make you very happy in the next couple of years.

http://nothingbutnescac.com/2014/09/01/welcome-to-2014/

[FightingCards]

"From NESCAC 1"
Wesleyan 8-0.  One of the more loaded teams in recent NESCAC history (return NINE guys who have been all-NESCAC, including several two-timers, which has to be some sort of record).  They have a feeling of unfinished business after the disappointing loss to Trinity to end the season.  Whalen has proven that he can manage a team with sky-high expectations.  This year, they get Trinity at home, which will make all the difference.  They also get Amherst at home.  Toughest game could actually be at Colby, but Wesleyan dominated Colby last year.  Best RB duo in the league, a tested senior QB, talented receivers, and a defense which returns virtually everyone and just looks absolutely nasty.  Led by a big senior class chalk full of 3-4 year starters, this is the Cards' year.
-->>Thank you for the vote of confidence NESCAC 1.  The critical game for the Fighting Cards is the opener at Middlebury.  Middlebury still has a very good defense, but they may have difficulty scoring points against Wesleyan.  The 'Whalen Operation" is back in full force.  This is definitely his best team since his return to Andrus Field...there are also 4 fifth year seniors returning on defense.  Things are looking up in Middletown...and for any of you baseball fans, Wesleyan has won the Little 3 the last 2 years, won the Nescac title last spring, and made it to the final game of the Mid Atlantic regional before bowing out to Baldwin Wallace.  "So then it's fight for old Wesleyan......" Where are you NESCACMAN??  Looking forward to your pregame rankings......Little known tidbit-Wesleyan baseball is 6-0 versus Williams in the last 2 years.  Rumor has it that kelton runs the baseball practices.

[amh63]

nescac1.....thanks for the update/specifics of the new facilities.  I did see the "pad" for the temp seats on the visitor side of the field.
The distance from the available dressing rooms to Pratt Field is not really that far.  I would guess it is about the same distance as the legendary "walk" to the hair cut altar that the team takes.  Maybe twice the distance visiting teams to Williams take in the past
Last season the Wes squad took the walk and beat Amherst.
Young men in condition can make it without losing any weight.  Do not believe the fans will not heckle them.

[nescac1]

amh63, I don't think the distance is enormous, but it just seems strange to build a 16 million dollar new facility without visitor locker rooms on site, unless the omission was purposeful ... and in particular during a short halftime, for the home team to have direct access to a locker room but not the visiting team is certainly an advantage, even if only a minor one. 

NothingButNESCAC, great work so far this season, good to see a group of students taking the reigns from PantherNation after the extremely high bar they set over the past few years.  I agree with your generally optimistic take on Williams, although some will remain skeptical given the recent trajectory of the program. 

I'm happy to have FightingCards post some bulletin board materials for the Ephs in various sports.  Although Wesleyan is VERY new to the role of the NESCAC hunted (and kudos to the administration for rapidly improving the Cards' athletics program across the board, although basketball remains a glaring weak spot despite a lot of talented recruits in recent years) the Ephs, in nearly every sport, have been the biggest game on the schedule for many NESCAC schools for years (and I don't see that changing much anytime soon, despite a rough two year patch in football).  You may find that it's a lot easier being the team with low expectations, who can stay under the radar, as Wesleyan was until last year, than the team which every other team defines its season by ... for Wesleyan, anything less than 8-0 will be considered a disappointment this season, and that is a lot of pressure to bear.  I still think that Wesleyan is so much more talented and experienced than any other NESCAC squad that they will live up to those expectations, but on any given Saturday ... this is the first year that I can recall that Williams (for very different reasons) will come into the year as an underdog in both football and men's basketball.  I hope that provides the Ephs with a bit of extra motivation! 

[amh63]

Checking for info around the conference...on football....as teams in other sports started their season yesterday.
Came to the Colby site where the roster for the season is up.  Saw a player from my hometown....but attended another school.   Then while going over the roster, it struck me that there is no info on the players' size.  It must be the Colby way, I guess....as it was also the case last year.
Does any poster also find this a little unusual....especially in a men's' sport where size can have an impact.

[gridiron]

Colby included heights and weights all previous seasons.  My guess is the preseason roster on the website is a work in progress and will likely post additional data when once photos are taken and posted as well.

[muleshoe]

Checking for info around the conference...on football....as teams in other sports started their season yesterday.
Came to the Colby site where the roster for the season is up.  Saw a player from my hometown....but attended another school.   Then while going over the roster, it struck me that there is no info on the players' size.  It must be the Colby way, I guess....as it was also the case last year.
Does any poster also find this a little unusual....especially in a men's' sport where size can have an impact.

Colby has recently updated its entire website. I am sure that they are simply ironing out some wrinkles. The game program usually lists all of the heights and weights.

[lumbercat]

Yes the new Colby website looks great- presumably this will enable them to finally display post game box scores and stats in a perceptible format.

[NothingButNESCAC]

I don't think Colby is employing some type of Belichick methodology and keeping as much information as secret as possible. And you have to take all height and weights listed on school websites with a large dose of skepticism. It's why the NFL and NBA take height and weight at their combines because the school numbers are usually too large.

[LIOG14]

Coach Priore returns to Connecticut... nice article about Priore and the transition to Coach Devanney at Trinity

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-football/hc-chuck-priore-stony-brook-0905-20140904,0,613736.story

[NothingButNESCAC]

We have finished up our first week of football preseason coverage. Next week we will get into all of our specific team previews as well.

If you have any articles/ideas that you want written, then please let us know.

http://nothingbutnescac.com/

[muleshoe]

Blue-Gray game in the 'Ville tomorrow. The season is coming folks....

[amh63]

Caught a high school game on ESPN last night.  Yes HS!  Between two local national ranked schools..Gonzaga in D.C. And  Centerville in N.Va.   Both schools have sent impact players to the CAC in the past....as Nescac1 and I know.   This year's editions contain national ranked players...a 6.6", 300 lb lineman that plays both ways...and top QBs on both sides.  Gonzaga...an academic top school has a 6'4", 220 pound QB that can run and pass.  I thought about a former Williams QB from the same school that hurt Amherst for many years and wondered if The purple and white clad player was being recruited by CAC schools.  I believe that the top players on both schools are headed to top D1 schools.   Still...maybe Amherst can lure a couple with their new uniforms!