FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[nescac1]

Article on Maimaron and skipping the fall semester:

https://www.patriotledger.com/sports/20200722/maimaron-hits-pause-button-with-williams-football

I'm just glad we get to see him play again, he is one of the most fun football players I've had the pleasure to watch as a NESCAC fan.  Just everything you want in a QB and a leader. 

[The Mole]

Wesleyan just hosted 6 sessions over 3 days (one in the morning, one in the afternoon) of no contact camp with 350 kids. Other colleges in attendance from New England area as well.  Glad to see that kids are getting an opportunity to get recruited, get some work in and compete....

[monjmafb]

Heard that about 75% of current Williams players will defer fall semester to play another year.   So their next season may have still many of the top seniors like Maimaron.   Have to think that will restrict this year's recruiting class size somewhat.  Maybe they take 15 recruits give or take a few.

[Pat Coleman]

One would hope that the conference rules will be amended to accommodate a larger football roster in the short term.

[gridiron]

Possibility of expanding the football rosters in the nescac was underway prior to the pandemic. I would hope it would have some momentum to take place now under these circumstances of so many players so many teams taking a year off.

[SpringSt7]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but was the larger point about rosters, or the fact that they probably won't be bringing in as many kids because everyone is returning? I'm sure the coaches will want to take advantage of the larger rosters but that doesn't mean any recruits will be psyched about joining a 30 man incoming freshman class.

[lumbercat]

Interesting to see what Bowdoin is doing on the recruiting front. I see about 80 "offers" confirmed on twitter. I'm sure there are probably others that haven't been posted on social media, not to mention it's still early in the recruiting cycle. I'm sure there will be even more "offers" to come.

Covid and expanded rosters aside not sure what any of these 80 or more prospects really have. I know they won't all apply but how many recruits can Bowdoin Football actually "fully support in the admissions process" ?

Looks like a game of musical chairs to me but maybe they consider this a sound recruiting philosophy.

These kids are proud to receive the offers and they should be, just hoping all of the offer recipients understand what they have and where they stand in the bigger picture.

[fulbakdad]

30 freshman incoming class is common at other schools.....

[SpringSt7]

I can't imagine Bowdoin's batting average when it comes to recruiting is very high---if they're offering 80+ kids they're probably hoping they can get 15-20 of them.

What's more interesting is the timing of them all, obviously high school football is up in the air, but it's probably the smart move by them to get recruiting earlier, flex their academic muscle, and hope to steal a couple of kids early in the process before they prove to be higher NESCAC talents during their senior seasons.

[SpringSt7]

30 freshman incoming class is common at other schools.....

30 incoming freshmen is common at precisely 1 NESCAC school.

[fulbakdad]

30 freshman incoming class is common at other schools.....

30 incoming freshmen is common at precisely 1 NESCAC school.

I didn't say NESCAC schools.

[nescac1]

I do wonder if COVID is accelerating the process for both schools and recruits.  Considering there will likely be very limited if any high school football played this year, and no on-campus visits, there is a lot less incentive for both recruits and colleges to delay things ... what additional information is there to be learned, from either side, at this point?  It should make for interesting recruiting classes, perhaps more guys get scooped up who might play their way into D1 offers, but on the other hand, maybe some guys end up at schools that would sour on them following a more comprehensive recruiting process? 

I too have seen a ton of Williams "offers" out there, and the Ephs have what seems like a very high number of recruits announcing they are committed for only July, six so far ... perhaps it's just that more kids are announcing via Twitter, but I don't recall seeing quite so many so early in the recruiting process in past years.  Most of these guys had offers from several other NESCAC schools, as well ...

Jonathan Velasquez, 6'0 275 OL, Cheshire Academy
Ian McCarron, 5'11 185 S, BC High
Alec Washecka, 6'3 265 OL, Darien
Luke Bobo, 6'0 180 QB, Belmont Hill
Jack Ledden, 5'10 165 WR, North Shore (Long Island)
Anthony Morrison, 6'0 175 WR/TB, Bridgewater Raynham H.S.

[lumbercat]

You are referring to Trinity of course in reference to 30+ recruits- they have exceeded 30 and often significantly in recent years
Don't overlook the fact, however,  that there are other programs who have consistently been in the high 20's in recent years.  Tufts and Wesleyan
have enrolled 30+ recruits more than once in the last several years.

What baffles me is how this plays out when there is no season this year and a large number of players essentially re-classify. At the rate schools continue to recruit currently for the class of '25 you could possibly have 50 FY recruits in next years Frosh class.

Crazy times. My ear is tuned to the Ivies and to lesser extent the Patriot League to see how the schools handle all this as the NESCAC typically follows that path.

[lumbercat]

30 freshman incoming class is common at other schools.....

30 incoming freshmen is common at precisely 1 NESCAC school.

I didn't say NESCAC schools.

Fullbkdad-
thanks for clarification, I jumped the conclusion you meant NESCAC schools- my bad.

[fulbakdad]

No problem Cat.  When my son showed up at his freshman year camp and I saw 33 freshman, I thought, Oh Oh.  He had never sat much.  But starting the year as a special teamer was good for him.  Made him hungry.  Competition is a good thing.