FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[lumbercat]

Sure there are a number of different factors but at the end of the day if you have a lower acceptance rate it's more difficult to recruit. My premise is pretty basic.....Wouldn't it be a little easier for the MIT coaching staff if they had a 20% acceptance rate as opposed to a 7% rate?

Easier to what?  Win?  Get the players they want in?  Beat Curry each year?  Be better than Bates? 

All of the above Jonny.

Everybody wants to get better. You get better by bringing in better players.

Goals don't differ much among Football programs. There is one overriding common goal and that is getting better day by day and year by year.
A program will have a much better chance of attaining that goal with a broader applicant pool and less admission rejection of kids who can help your program improve. Gotta get good football recruits in. It's tough when you cant get enough good football candidates through the admission process.

Jonny, if Kurt Warner didn't get into Northern Iowa B.U. may have won that playoff game back in the 90's.

[middhoops]

Isn't Bowdoin best compared to Midd?
Academic twins.  Far from the real world, geographically. 
Midd has made a lot more investment in sports than Bowdoin in recent years.
Other than men's hockey, Midd's results since building the new sports center have been pretty good.

BTW, I agree with Lumbercat regarding admissions and success. 
Our women's lacrosse coach came from being head coach at Trinity.  Her first year of recruiting was, um, a surprise. 
In the end however, we all have to deal with the reality of the Williams and Amherst brands being SO strong.

[Nescacman]

Disagree with last 2 posts.

NESCACMAN-
Recruiting potentially may well have a lot to do with an omission like this. Recruiting isn't done yet. Many class of 24 recruits still hang in the balance. ED 2 and regular admissions still very much up in the air. Still many important final decisions to be made.

Fred "the Hammer" Williamson-
Bowdoin recruits are being recruited by other great academic institutions - Amherst, Williams etc. Of course it's about academics but don't think Football is not a big part of the decision nor is Bowdoin the only option.

Lumber, didn't say recruiting was done...our point is that most of your top recruits should be identified prior to ED2 and regular admissions...yes, there are a few additional recruits still hanging in the balance but we will tell you from first hand knowledge that the better teams in the conference have already identified/locked up the bulk of the incoming recruiting class way before ED2/regular admissions...

[lumbercat]

No question they lock up the 'bulk' of it by 1/1 but I can tell you as of mid week last week I know of 2 schools with decisions pending from 5 or more good prospects. When I wrote that post on 1/20 there were a lot decisions still pending. There have been a number of decisions made throughout the league recently.

[amh63]

Lot's of chatter here on SUPERBALL SUNDAY....but it's still on recruits?recruiting?.  Oh well, just finished watching a Nescac MBB game.  Went shopping and had a interesting chat with a NY Giants fan...in the check out line.  Yes, the Giant's QB from New Orleans has retired...so conversation drifted to where the Giants need to rebuild...with a new coaching staff....wow...pro talk on Superball Sunday
Back to D3....Amherst needs a new QB and a lot of other talented players.  Wondering if former HS QBs on the team will challenge for the starting QB spot? Know Nothing...period...at this time wrt to recruiting.  Amherst will still get a large number of applicants...will have a small overall acceptance %....and the Nescac limitation of 75/76 players on the football squad.
In closing...expect a winning season in the Fall with the players on hand.  Leave it to the talented Amherst coaches.  Very few new recruits will start, if history prevails.

[footballluv]

Sure there are a number of different factors but at the end of the day if you have a lower acceptance rate it's more difficult to recruit. My premise is pretty basic.....Wouldn't it be a little easier for the MIT coaching staff if they had a 20% acceptance rate as opposed to a 7% rate?

Easier to what?  Win?  Get the players they want in?  Beat Curry each year?  Be better than Bates? 

These are my points, each school and coach has a different goal.  The Curry staff probably drives around each league in MA talking to HS coaches.  I guess that's easier than what MIT does (calling coaches in different schools each year in different places all over the country?)  Is that the definition of "easy"?  I'm guessing it wouldn't be easier for MIT to recruit at 20% because then MIT wouldn't be MIT, and many of those players might be going to Pitzer or UChicago? 

And obviously the acceptance rate doesn't affect MIT at all as they win their league and games against schools with some of the highest accpetance rates in the country.

I think the problem with Bowdian is its in God's country. They pursued my son, but 6 hours from NJ is too much (we had better option closer to home) and their record.....who wants to get their brain bashed in for 4 years.....

The love of the game, a great education and future opportunities outweigh a losing record on 9 football games a year. If a NESCAC education is the goal I doubt there are many that don't enjoy the benefits of that trade off. The winners bandwagon in the NESCAC includes more than the champ. Who outside these exclusive circles even knows what "NESCAC champ" means.

[Hawk196]

Sure there are a number of different factors but at the end of the day if you have a lower acceptance rate it's more difficult to recruit. My premise is pretty basic.....Wouldn't it be a little easier for the MIT coaching staff if they had a 20% acceptance rate as opposed to a 7% rate?

Easier to what?  Win?  Get the players they want in?  Beat Curry each year?  Be better than Bates? 

These are my points, each school and coach has a different goal.  The Curry staff probably drives around each league in MA talking to HS coaches.  I guess that's easier than what MIT does (calling coaches in different schools each year in different places all over the country?)  Is that the definition of "easy"?  I'm guessing it wouldn't be easier for MIT to recruit at 20% because then MIT wouldn't be MIT, and many of those players might be going to Pitzer or UChicago? 

And obviously the acceptance rate doesn't affect MIT at all as they win their league and games against schools with some of the highest accpetance rates in the country.

I think the problem with Bowdian is its in God's country. They pursued my son, but 6 hours from NJ is too much (we had better option closer to home) and their record.....who wants to get their brain bashed in for 4 years.....

The love of the game, a great education and future opportunities outweigh a losing record on 9 football games a year. If a NESCAC education is the goal I doubt there are many that don't enjoy the benefits of that trade off. The winners bandwagon in the NESCAC includes more than the champ. Who outside these exclusive circles even knows what "NESCAC champ" means.

when I say "brain bashed in", that is what happens when you are consistently 2-7 and have historically no chance in beating some of the other schools. With other NESCAC schools there are "great education and future opportunities", so no drop off from Bowdoin. You don't need to win every game and losing the majority every year weighs on a student athlete. To a degree, if its all about education, then maybe that is the type of athlete they are attracting that "don't care too much about football" and it could be a reflection of the programs success.

[Hawk196]

OK, the acceptance rate/quality football discussion has run its course.

I'd like to start a discussion on NESCAC school's offensive/defensive plans.

Start with Offensive...example XYZ runs a triple option offense. Defensively they run a 3-4

[footballluv]

OK, the acceptance rate/quality football discussion has run its course.

I'd like to start a discussion on NESCAC school's offensive/defensive plans.

Start with Offensive...example XYZ runs a triple option offense. Defensively they run a 3-4

Crickets.

[nescac1]

In some ways, the Williams offense is very traditional.  They rarely substitute players, other than a rotation at tailback.  They play two WR's, a traditional tight end (who can split out wide), and an H-back.  (At times they play three receivers and only one H-back/TE).  What makes them tough to contend with is that from that single personnel look, with Maimaron at QB they are extremely versatile.  Guys do a lot of shifting and movement pre-snap.  Maimaron can run the option, be a straight-ahead primary runner, roll out, or drop back and pass.  The drop-back passing game is only average at best, but a defense never knows what to expect and Maimaron is a master at disguising where the play is going, making the interior running game (along with the talent level of the runners on the field, of course) hard to diagnose and even harder to stop.   Maimaron, Nicholas, and Vaughn are already three top-notch between-the-tackles runners and all could be even better next season.   

I will be curious to see if Williams next year uses a wider range of personnel packages, because with nearly every skill guy back and some surely added to the mix, there will be a lot more depth at the skill positions, which have been loaded with front-line talent but generally very thin behind the starting group during Raymond's tenure.  And part of last year's single-lineup versatility was due to Horihan at H-back, who could line up all over the field and do a variety of different things from play to play.   Also, I imagine the offensive style will change, perhaps dramatically, after next season, when the Ephs will likely be playing Bischoping or one of this year's two (seemingly) big-time QB recruits, all of whom look like more traditional big-armed QBs and certainly don't have Maimaron's running ability. 

The Ephs on D play mostly a 3-4.  The defensive linemen (especially the NT) are gap-fillers mostly tasked with occupying the offensive line and trying to hold the trenches to allow the primary playmakers on the D, the linebackers, to run free and create havoc.  Undersized converted d-back Luke Apuzzi was especially good in that role, he moved around and used his speed advantage to make a lot of big plays.  Replacing him will be a challenge, and I would not be surprised to see another undersized speedy player, perhaps another converted safety, move into that role. 

[ColbyFootball]

I've been out of the loop, merely observing by design. But, I'm really interested in hearing about the projected offensive and defensive schemes of all the teams, not just the top dogs. It would also be great to get some updates on team recruits, again not just for the elite teams. I know a few of you guys really keep on top of this. Now I'm going back into comfortable obscurity to merely observe.

[quicksilver]

This site has been updated since I first posted the link so should be checked periodically: Connecticut football commitments. There were 3 Trinity commits when I first checked the list and now there are 8 . .  And commitments for several other NESCAC schools, including Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Middlebury, Williams . .

[GameBall14]

Isn't Bowdoin best compared to Midd?
Academic twins.  Far from the real world, geographically. 
Midd has made a lot more investment in sports than Bowdoin in recent years.
Other than men's hockey, Midd's results since building the new sports center have been pretty good.

BTW, I agree with Lumbercat regarding admissions and success. 
Our women's lacrosse coach came from being head coach at Trinity.  Her first year of recruiting was, um, a surprise. 
In the end however, we all have to deal with the reality of the Williams and Amherst brands being SO strong.

And Coach Livesay is 80-10 with 2 national championships and a runner up in her 4 years at Midd. Picked right up from what she was doing at Trin. Exceptional coach who is an even better person.

[Trin9-0]

A running list of Class of 2024 Trinity commits:

Maxwell Taylor OL, 6'5", 290 lbs, New Hampton School, New Hampton, NH hudl
Jan Kaufmann OL, 6'4", 280, Choate Wallingford, CT via Vienna, Austria hudl
Anthony Casillo OL, 6'2" 285 lbs, St. Peter's High, Staten Island, NY hudl
Jaheim Scott OL, 6'0", 255 lbs, Lehman High, Bronx, NY hudl
Daniel Donato TE, 6'3", 215 lbs, Dexter Southfield High, Brookline, MA hudl
Nick Mangino, DE, 6'3", 240 lbs, Choate, Wallingford, CT via Masconomet Regional High, Topsfield, MA hudl
Sean Cangiano DT, 6'2", 250 lbs, Cheshire High, Cheshire, CT hudl
Kami Nader, DT, 6'2", 250 lbs, Suffield Academy, Suffield, CT via Kinkaid School, Houston, TX hudl
Sean Ryan LB, 6'0", 230 lbs, Governor's Academy High, Byfield, MA hudl
Dan Calderon LB, 6'0", 200 lbs, General Douglas MacArthur High School, Levittown, NY hudl
Colin Cunningham DB, 6'1", 285 lbs, Middlesex School, Concord, MA, hudl
Quentin McCauley WR, 6'2", 185 lbs, Archbishop Stepinac High, White Plains, NY hudl
Will Kirby RB, 6'1", 195 lbs, Darien High, Darien, CT hudl
Colin McCabe RB, 5'11", 210 lbs, Daniel Hand High, Madison, CT hudl
Terrence Bogan RB, 5'8", 175 lbs, Sheehan High, Wallingford, CT hudl
Mason Bolivar QB, 6'1", 210 lbs, Wayland High, Wayland, MA hudl
Zander Zebrowski QB, 6'0", 180 lbs, Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, NJ hudl

[Trin9-0]

I've previously mentioned the new Trinity football stadium project and have posted some images below from a presentation on the overall Trinity Athletics Fundraising campaign that took place at Homecoming. The total athletics campaign goal is $65 million with just under half of that total being allocated to an addition to the existing Ferris Athletic Center. The next largest bucket, $25 million, is going toward endowment (presumably for coaching positions), there is an Annual Giving goal of $5 million to offset operating costs, and finally $5 million for the stadium.

Some additional information on the Trinity stadium project can be found here. It states that "Stands will now stretch from goal line to goal line, and the grandstand will have a similar number of seat as the old bleachers but with aisles and railings." Additionally it notes that it will be ready by next season. The Jessee/Miller Field capacity listed on the Trinity Athletics webpage is 5,500 but I'm assuming that number includes the seating along the visitor's sideline which was removed a few years ago. I'm still uncertain as to whether or not there will be any seating installed on the visitor sideline. My guess is that, at most, there will be a few benches built into the small hill that leads up to the adjacent soccer field.I also have a feeling I'll need to step up my donations in order to get a seat in one of the "viewing rooms".
The article also includes two new renderings of the facility (I've included the football side below):