FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[PolarCat]

I love a conspiracy theory, but Ciero's LinkedIn page says he's at Fordham: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/justin-ciero/aa/16/b66

[lumbercat]

Thanks for settling the Ciero question Polarcat.
Will be interested to see if he plays this fall as he is not listed the preseason roster at this point.

[amh63]

PolarCat....Aw Shucks!  Have to give you credit though. Plus K.
Now I will give you some info about the QB battle at Amherst...my take only.
Lippe the 6'6" Sr QB has graduated with field honors as he led the team to the CAC title and a 8-0 season.  He played basketball his freshman year and I followed him on the football field...his sister played BB for Wes.  Anyway, Lippe was challenged for the starting position over the years...he had an injury early last year.  A hotshot recruit, J. Pieterse shared time one season and was Not listed on the team last year!.  Soph Bertuli got early season starting time in 2014.  There was also a hotshot QB recruit. R. Foy, from Hawaii last year that got a strong look....a transfer from UCSD that was listed as a FY.
All the above young guns had stronger long ball arms and could run the option like Lippe.
During Lippe's years, the OFC and offensive play caller transitioned to the front office and became the AD in 2014 after a year as interim AD.  Into the mix is the new OB coach and primary play caller that returned to Amherst last season.  The new QB coach spent 2013 at WPI as the QB coach and OFC, I believe.  He did a reported splendid job at WPI.  He was given added responsibility as the chief recruiter at Amherst.
I am interested in seeing if Pieterse returns to the team in 2015...do not know if he left/transferred out of Amherst.  His older brother was a star LB at Amherst after transferring in from Springfield College in his soph yr...was a starter and first team conference player as a freshman at Springfield.
Laying out the QB story at Amherst in 2015 without knowledge of any new recruits at the position.  Oh yes...Bertuli's younger brother is a WR recruit in the class of 2019.  The brothers tore up their HS conference with the long ball....the younger brother spent last year at a prep school.

[middhoops]

amh63.....just checked in for the first time in months.  your last post had enough information to cover the period of time I'd missed.  not that I expected less of you, my friend.
all the Maine schools stuff is reported really well here.  hope I didn't miss anyone for +k.  informative and gossipy.  great sports blogging. 
everyone keep up the good work.

[NewtoNescac]

Thanks for the info and link, PolarCat. Sadly, Ciero does not list football as an activity. Fully expected him to sit the year moving to D1, and then play. For some reason it's not looking that way. I hope I'm wrong.

[RetiredMule]

Hey everyone. I am glad you are all enjoying my posts and they are sparking more conversation about Colby. Now let us all sit back and listen to Uncle RetiredMule's undoctored, insider history of the Colby quarterback saga of the past 5 years.  So relax and read the whirlwind that has been the quarterback depth chart on Mayflower Hill:

2011/12 - Following "The Incident", both Nick Kemtz and Connor Sullivan leave/graduate opening the path for a new crop of quarterbacks.  Sitting on the roster were Connor Emmert (freshman), Luke Dunklee (freshman) and Justin Ciero (recruit).  Luke Dunklee was viewed as too explosive of a player who could be utilized in more facets of the game taking on a dual role between running back and slot receiver.  Connor Emmert looked to be the quarterback of the future as the best pure thrower on the team and without Ciero having stepped on campus yet.  Entering the beginning of Michaeles career as head coach Emmert looked to be the leading candidate in the spring. 

2012/13 - Connor Emmert takes the reigns through preseason and the William's game to open the season.  There Emmert puts in a solid effort though he is hampered by Dunklee breaking his foot, an injury that would sideline him for the season.  In the second game of the season, Emmert and Ciero begin to split time as the OC had a very high level of desire to see what Ciero could do in games.  Up until this point, Ciero had impressed in practice and been shown to use his legs extremely well, even if he was occasionally inconsistent in the passing game.  Opgenorth had a huge love for Ciero's boom or bust play style and coupled with the greatly depleted wide receiving core (Dunklee out for the season, and Nick Joseph suspended) created a perfect storm to input a running quarterback like Ciero.  Ciero carried the team through the rest of the season.

2013/14 - Ciero runs through the season as the starting quarterback with no interruptions. But following the season, Ciero left the school without much warning or announcement.  Most of the teammates did not know where he had gone or why he had left. His disappearance, still as most of you know almost unsolved to this day, left Colby without an heir apparent to the throne. Harrington looked like the major candidate after having a good freshman fall of practices.  There was talk of Ecke as he transferred from UConn and was a known commodity to incoming OC Fogherty.  This created an unknown factor coming into last season.

2014/15 - There was debate with about the use or under-use of Ecke.  Harrington preformed ably but not generally to a very high level.  My earlier post summarized this past season and offseason in more depth as well as the leading into this season. 

But that is my little story about the quarterback situation during the Michaeles tenure as head coach.  I am always happy to continue to discuss my Mules. I hope this clears up a lot about what has happened in the past.

[quicksilver]

I love a conspiracy theory, but Ciero's LinkedIn page says he's at Fordham: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/justin-ciero/aa/16/b66

It is possible that Ciero has not updated his Linkedin page. After all, he is not out looking for a job so no reason to keep it current. Why if you look at his FB page, you would conclude that he never left Colby!! Among the three sources as to his current status, I would bet the Colby directory info, complete with an email address, a mail address, and a class designation, is more likely to be up-to-date. That's not to say that it is a guarantee as to his whereabouts in September but it remains an interesting teaser. .

[amh63]

RetiredMule......are you taking options for the sequel?  After the movie of the story being played out is made.
Why is it that all the roads to a winning season revolve around the QB?
Meanwhile, Middlebury has a returning starter of note that will have a top QB transfer pushing him. Good positon for the Panthers, IMO.
Hope the posters from Trinity and Wes....as well as the other CAC schools comment on their QB situations.  It's still Summer and no one will remember the speculations here when Sept. 26 rolls around.  Can always delete your posts then .

[NewtoNescac]

Amh63, my obsession with the QB position is a firm belief that you can have an average QB on an otherwise great team. But, a great a QB can elevate an average team to greatness. Green Bay could barely win a game with Rogers injured, but was hard to beat with him. And when measuring a great QB's qualities check off brains, heart, and toughness (which will likely equal to leadership), then look at his arm and legs. In that order. That's why I question how Colby has handled the QB situation.

[quicksilver]

Amh63 -- here is some slightly good news for the Polar Bears: Noah Nelson, a local boy and incoming QB recruit for Bowdoin, played very well in the Lobster Bowl, which is Maine's all-star summer game, pacing the west team to a win and putting up some nice gaudy stats both on the ground and in the air . .

[RetiredMule]

In further Colby QB news, no word of or from Ciero has been heard at Colby. He is a New York area kid and his dad was never a big fan of Colby in general. So it seems very unlikely that he will ever end up back on the hill.

But on the other hand I am all for a witch hunt to find the kid. He was a hell of a player but he fell off the face of the earth.

[NewtoNescac]

Switching gears a little, I assume Amherst is going to be fighting for a Championship, as usual. But, is rival Williams going to turn it around and compete with them this year? Again, the focus for me is on the QB position at Williams.

[amh63]

quicksilver.....love the name of the Polar Bear recruit.  A maritime flavor and both winner first and second name!  Lots to live up to, imo .

[nescac1]

NewtoNESCAC, I don't see Williams going from 2-6 to a championship competitor, when Midd, Trinity, and Amherst all bring back loaded squads, and Wesleyan will surely reload plus gets Drew back.  The thing is, Williams on any given day has the talent to compete with those teams, and could pull an upset, but I don't see them as likely to do any better than 1-3 vs. that group.  Williams really needs to first worry about beating Bates, who has dominated the Ephs in recent years, and Tufts!  I don't see QB as the biggest issue this year.  Austin Lommen and Mark Pomella are an experienced, reasonably talented QB duo, who should be better after a year sharing starting duties.  Pomella is a very good athlete who can work as a running QB / wide receiver and provides a lot of versatility, Lommen should be ready to be the main man now that he's had a year in the system.  Both have room to improve but really they were not the issue.  As I mentioned in my last post, there are much, much bigger issues -- will the OL finally give the QBs time and open some holes in the running game?  Some young players will need to step on that unit?  Which young RB (I believe they brought in four frosh, several with very strong pedigrees) will emerge as a starter, and will any give a jolt of speed on offense?  On D, will the smallish defensive backs be able to create more TOs in the passing game, and will the front seven generate more of a pass rush?  Will Howe have the kind of massive impact that he had as a sophomore?  And will the coaching staffs on both sides of the ball get more creative and less predictable with alignments and play-calling? 

[NewtoNescac]

nescac1, I appreciate your thoughtful analysis. If Williams can go 4-4, or 5-3, and beat their rival Amherst, I would consider that a very positive year. No Championship expected.