FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[lumbercat]

Welcome Retired Mule- looking froward to a strong CBB contingent on the board this year.

Polarcat- QB is the main concern for the Bobcats this year. Only 2 returning QBs in the program so they will bring in multiple recruits in an attempt to establish some depth.

SR QB Dugan won the starting job 2 years ago and played very well in the opener against Trinity but has been haunted with injuries since. Beleive it is his job to lose but hope he has the durability to stay healthy.

It was a killer to lose QB  LaSpada to Merrimack last year. They will be inexperienced at QB but very solid in the backfield and in the Slot. All conference WR Riley returns. Best hands in the league.

Along with Colby another team that is awash with QBs is Tufts. They lost a very fine QB in Doll but they return an impressive group and will add 2 highly touted FYs as well.

Alex Snyder Jr 6'5" 215
Drew Burnett Sr 6'1" 200
Grant Kraemer So 6'3" 200
Liam O'Neil Jr 6'1" 185
Matt Cahill Sr 6'0" 190
Mike McLaughlin So 5'11" 200
FY- Ryan MCDonald No Hunterdon, Va  6'3"  205
FY- Ryan Hagfeldt St Ignatius San Francisco, Ca. 6'3" 190

Tufts recruited very aggressively bringing in 33-35 FYs.
They bring in a great deal of size, especially on the the O line. Here are a few of their incoming linemen:

Dan Dewing St Johns Prep Danvers Ma 6'3" 275
Brendan Corwen Fordham Prep NY  6'7". 320
David Pyne Lawrence Acad MA 6'4" 280
Josh Thibeault Phillips Exeter NH 6'5" 315
Nick Misuraca Hanahan SC 6'1" 280
Dan MacDonald Central Cath MA 6'3" 270
Tommy Fenton Greenhope NC 6'3" 270
Jack Rhodes Viewpoint CA 6'2" 260
Nick Roy Redbank Cath NJ 6'1" 265

[NewtoNescac]

Wow! I'm floored by the size of Tufts incoming O linemen.

[lumbercat]

While the Tufts OL class is impressive, heights/weights can be exaggerated as we all know. Nonetheless this Jumbo class is impressive......on paper.

While the big FYs coming in are impressive, the three best offensive lineman in the NESCAC in recent memory all came in as "less than huge" freshmen and grew into dominant roles as the best in the NESCAC.

Ryan Moores Middlebury- came in at 6'5" 270". Tutored closely by Joe Early developed into an NFL prospect at 6'5" 314- signed by the Atlanta Falcons. 2 time all NESCAC. Grew and develped to become a pro prospect at Middlebury. One of the best in recent memory in the NESCAC.

Liam O'Neil Bates- Multi sport athlete reported to Bates with great potential at 6'4" 260. Worked hard in the Bates vaunted off season conditioning program and reported as a senior at 6'4" 312. Ran a 4.9 40. A credit to the Bates coaching staff and the main reason for Bates dominant rushing stats in 2013.2 time all NESCAC.

Joe Magardino Trinity- Came in at 270 and graduated at 275- not a huge guy but a great, dominant player probably the best OL in the league in the past 2-3 years.

The guys that come in big typically are not the overachieving offensive linemen in the league but that doesn't mean this Tufts group is not impressive.

[PolarCat]

Tufts must have hired Don Draper as their recruiting coordinator.  "Buford, we'd like you to be a Jumbo.  Yes, we have a 75 man roster limit.  Yes, we're bringing in 35 FY's, and there's no guarantee you will make the squad.  Yes we've dwelt in the cellar of the league for the recent past.  And yes, your parents will be asked to pony up $65,000 to send you to Tufts.  But you'd look smashing in our dog-poop-brown-and-teal uniforms.  Come join us in Medford!"  It's one thing for a school with a winning tradition (Trin or Wes) to close those deals, but Tufts?

Don Draper, indeed.

Serious question: if one of those 300 lb. FY's doesn't make the roster, has he burned a year of eligibility, in addition to 65 grand of his parents money?  Or can he transfer to a DI, DII or even a different 'CAC and play for 4 years?

[Pat Coleman]

As long as he does not play in a game, and is not on the roster/practicing after the first game, he does not use a year of eligibility in Division III.

[amh63]

Several comments on the subject of Tufts' football.
See that the recent recruits...in particular the OL ones....reflect the schools' mascot! .  Had to make that connection.  I know...weak humor.
Looking over the roster from last season, there are also a number of "jumbo" linemen in the soph class.  Did not dig deeper to see if any were starters on the offense.
Tufts' resurgence to winning ways maybe an indication to a overall  new emphasis to sports.  The big CAC school in the urban environment seems to appeal to student-athletes, IMO.  Check out the number of National NCAA titles won since 2010....impressive.
Tufts has upgraded its facilities recently...the new fitness center is a key one....and is presently putting in a new turf surface on the field used by the Field Hockey and Lacrosse teams.
Back to football....Amherst has done well against Tufts in football. Last season is an example.  Toughest games last year were against Wes, Trinity and also against the Panthers and Bobcats...IMO.
The Amherst defense was the key! 
Tufts present roster show small defensive players in general.  To win more games, the Jumbos need to improve their defense.....not an original thought here, I know.
Anyway, enjoyed the chatter here.  Oh yes....Amherst has to figure out it's QB situation too.

[nescac1]

Been really quiet in terms of commentary on Eph football this offseason ... I guess that's what several losing years in a row do to you.  I had, as it turned our, unrealistically high hopes for a veteran returning squad last year.  Once again, Williams was competitive in nearly every game, and once again, every game that came down to the last possession or two, Williams was unable to find a way to win ... a pattern that has persisted for about three years now.  On the plus side, it seems that Williams has enough talent to be competitive with the top tier in NESCAC.  But on the negative side, Williams lost a big and talented senior class and is coming off two straight 2-6 years, with few underclassmen who seem like break out stars peppering the roster.  For those who follow the Ephs, is there any realistic hope for a turnaround this year?

Williams returns Austin Lommen who in his second year as a starter (he is listed as a senior but I think he may have two more years of eligibility left) figures to be improved -- he played pretty well for the most part last year but needs to improve on his deep-ball accuracy, especially given the fact that Williams has a slew of big, talented targets to throw the ball to down the field, especially Hayes and Sime.  Of course, to take advantage of that, Williams needs to find a way to get better offensive line play, which has been a collective disaster for years now.  Hopefully some changes will be made in the unit but the question is, is the talent on the roster there to improve?  TB is also a HUGE question mark, with basically no one who received meaningful number of carries returning.  Williams did seem to bring in a deep and talented class for FY RBs, so this is an area that I imagine they will be relying on young players.

Defense has more uncertainties.  James Howe was a superstar sophomore year but very, very quiet as a junior -- not sure if it was an issue of teams doubling him constantly, or something else, but Williams desperately needs him to dominate up front.  Williams lost a lot of veterans from the DL, so some young guys will need to step up -- who those guys may be, I have no idea.  LB basically everyone returns, but that has been a non-descript unit for a few years -- gone are the days when Williams always seemed to have a NESCAC DPOY candidate at MLB.  Again, a unit where someone needs to emerge as a star.  From the secondary, Williams lost Cabarle, its best player by far.  This is a quick-but-undersized unit which had trouble making plays on the ball last year ... again, big-time improvement is needed.  That is a lot of question-markes, and I'm curious to hear if any Eph observers see any hope for a turnaround ... if not, I imagine that there will be some major changes in the program because Williams has a proud football tradition and now, the best facilities in NESCAC to go along with that tradition. 

[lumbercat]

Correction to the Tufts OL list-
Tommy Fenton Greenhope NC will not be going to Tufts - switched to Furman.

QBs Cahill and McLaughlin will be moving to other positions.

[Eagle322]

Just like RetiredMule, long time reader, first time poster.

CBB this year should be an entertaining one, per usual. The Bobcats will have a tough time replacing the leadership of last year's seniors but have a plethora of talent in the rising sophomore and junior classes that will be looking to take the next step.

Just as Lumbercat said, look for QB Dugan to step up and run the Triple well this year -- as long as he can stay healthy. He had tremendous success in the first two games of 2013 leading the team to 250+ yards on the ground vs Trinity and Tufts before succumbing to a nasty foot injury. Dugan plus the 3 slotbacks from the class of '18 - Williams, Nichol, and Peterson - should be a force in the ground attack.

Quick note on the Tufts OL class -- while they look great on paper, they are 6'3 260lb+ and playing D3 ball for a reason. Most will lack the footwork, core strength, explosion, or motor (or some combination of those skills) to be the studs that they look like on paper.

[TheHerst2and4]

Quick note on the Tufts OL class -- while they look great on paper, they are 6'3 260lb+ and playing D3 ball for a reason. Most will lack the footwork, core strength, explosion, or motor (or some combination of those skills) to be the studs that they look like on paper.

I agree that there's usually some sort of suspicion surrounding a player of that size playing at this level, but sometimes small schools just nab a player that is "out of their league". Kids pick school for various reasons, maybe he had a midseason injury, maybe he wanted a great education, maybe he just somehow fell through the cracks.
Taking a look at the biggest incoming kid on that list, Brendan Corwen, he looks like he has some tools. Decent drive and footwork for a kid that size and that age. Looking forward to seeing how he develops.
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3112516/highlights/180903375/v2?utm_expid=74649800-50.qttEDvhsRhq8UxOskYCLgA.0&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hudl.com%2Fathlete%2F3112516%2Fbrendan-corwen

[amh63]

TheHerst.....Thanks for the link to Brendan.  With little knowledge of Fordam Prep's program and their league, the big player at 6' 7", 320 lbs does show promise...and I do trust your "eye".
I agree he will be an interesting player to follow and I hope he has a "career" without setbacks.
I do have questions wrt to his position on the right side and his weight....could lose 20 plus lbs.
He reminds me a bit of another HUGE player from a small prep school in Wash.D.C.....Jonathan Ogden from St. Albans School...a place that has sent many students-athletes to the CAC.
Mr. Ogden was 6'9" in prep school...less than 600 enrollment.  Went to UCLA because they let him play football and Track & Field.  Drafted by the newly established Ravens in 1996....4 th player taken in the draft.  Played 12 seasons in the NFL, primarily at LT and carrying 324 lbs on his 6'9" frame. Yes, he was elected to the NFL Hall of Fame. ergo...basis of my comments above.
Followed Ogden from his prep school days. 

[RetiredMule]

I was away for a few days, but I wanted to speak to the main issue you all are wondering about with relation to Colby...the QB situation and Harrington. 

The Harrington-Ecke issue is one we have seen playing out starting last fall when Ecke transferred in.  Harrington looks more like your prototypical pocket-to-dual threat passer.  At 6'4 and around 200 pounds, he looks the part.  He has good arm strength and his ability to read the field improved steadily throughout last season.  He stands tall in the pocket and when he has protection will stay in to deliver a good ball.  He excels in the short the medium pass game but has been known to put good touch on the long ball, but also tends to overthrow.  His major deficiency is in running the ball on a consistent basis.  Colby's coaches would love to work in more read option style plays and soft reads into the run game, but that requires a quarterback who can accomplish that.  We have seen Harrington be a decent who can take a hit.  But is he a true dual threat? I would say no.  Passable at best in the run game. 

Ecke is more similar to Duncklee than to your standard quarterback.  He is a shorter, more-compact body who can lay a hit as well as take one.  He is the yin to Harrington's yang.  Ecke is an explosive runner who has enough speed to breakaway from 95% of guys in the open field while maintaining an ability to be shifty in a start-stop way to shake defenders.  He is a tough runner to bring down.  His reading skills on the read still need to be developed but that will come with time.  His passing game is improving where he is proficient in the short range game and into the medium.  But his long balls leave something to be desired.  Ecke is your dual threat type quarterback who can run perhaps better than he can pass.

So where does that leave the Mules? I would expect to see Ecke moved to a slot receiver and running back dual role ala Dunklee.  He is a player who Colby cannot afford to have sitting on the sidelines because of his explosive nature and natural athleticism.  Ecke perhaps should have been moved there last season, but he had an established relationship at QB with Colby's one-year OC Fogherty.  (Fogherty coached at UConn before Colby where Ecke was a scout team QB)  Colby has reaffirmed its belief in him as their QB #1 by naming him captain.  The captainship came out a desire from graduating seniors (in particular) and rising players to see Harrington mature and step more fully into a leadership role.  Word is that Harrington needed to grow up in his command of the huddle and offense (though he progressed significantly during the season) and forcing the captainship on him would hopefully drive those changes to full maturity. 

Sorry for the wall of text but I am more than happy to continue on this train of thought or any others you may have revolving around the Mules.

BTP

[RetiredMule]

TheHerst2and4 and amhs63.  To continue on your thread of Brendan, he does show good drive and decent footwork in the run game.  Couple of other things I see from his tape are a consistency to drop hands to hips before firing them and then latch outside.  These are common high school errors (and sometimes taught behaviors) that can be corrected by a good oline coach.  The other issue is that he tends to play high after contact, rising up and using his size to drive.  Works well in high school, but not as well when you have guys who bench 350+ and squat 400+ across from you. 

Overall, he looks like he will be exciting to watch for sure.  Good strength to his punch in pass pro and some decent lateral pop when sliding.  Could be interesting is he is asked to move to tackle with his size, but I am guessing he won't be because if he couldn't/didn't in high school, college is less likely.

[PolarCat]

Great insights.  Thanks for posting these.

Naming a kid captain because you hope he can grow into a leadership role is an "interesting" concept.  As is having your #2 QB playing slot.  If Harrington goes down, will Ecke be ready to step up?  On the whole I applaud risk taking, so it will be fun to watch and see how these play out.

[RetiredMule]

Polarcat:

I believe that Ecke would be prepared to step in at QB allowing that he took some reps there in conjunction to his other reps.  But it is easy to learn RB/Slot if you know QB like Dunklee did. 

The Harrington issue is interesting because it was equal parts a vote of confidence by the team and a kick in the ass towards the right direction.  Hopefully it all works, but I think it will as he was progressing that direction last season.  How many kids at 19 didn't need a kick in the ass once or twice though?