FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Scoops]

My basis for them and all the other schools is simply what I've observed off of their tape. I'm by no means an expert, but I like to think I know a little about the game. All of their tape is readily available, and this is just my opinion off of what I've seen around the league.

I'm curious what your basis is for diminishing Amherst's class.  They have a huge (by Amherst's standard) class of 27 (all posted to Twitter) and barely any of them are local.  There are kids from Ohio, New Mexico, Washington state, Kansas, TN, AZ, etc.  Two QBs, from California and Iowa.  So I doubt anyone has any real ability to evaluate such a far-flung group other than the coaches who recruited them.  Folks talk about Tufts as looking outside New England, but only two out of 27 Amherst recruits have New England hometowns.  That's wild!  EJ may be taking big fliers on guys, but may also be unearthing some hidden gems - who knows?

They do seem to have a huge infusion of skill guys, which is what they desperately need, and I assume some get chances to play right away given they have very little returning at TB / WR.  Maybe Cato Legaspi, the TB from Andover, or Carter Jung, a WR from CA who runs a 4.4?  Among lots of others ... the Iowa QB might be interesting too ...

[nescac1]

Gotcha Scoops, fair enough ... sounds like you've put in the time!

[RollConts18]

Always need to be careful evaluating guys off their high school film, many NESCAC guys were just bigger stronger faster and look average in the NESCAC. Opposite goes for guys who played in really strong leagues against D1 competition.

[Charlie]

Always need to be careful evaluating guys off their high school film, many NESCAC guys were just bigger stronger faster and look average in the NESCAC. Opposite goes for guys who played in really strong leagues against D1 competition.

I totally get that but just seems like the top teams like a Trinity bring in talented players and let them develop for a year`. This is why I thought the spring practices were so key to the development of these kids.

[LochNescac]

Always need to be careful evaluating guys off their high school film, many NESCAC guys were just bigger stronger faster and look average in the NESCAC. Opposite goes for guys who played in really strong leagues against D1 competition.

Exactly...

Stats are also readily available.   It's easy to look at a kids production every year of high school; Freshman thru Senior season.   You can get a real good look at what they put up in game after game, most importantly their final year.  In my opinion that's far more telling than the 24 second Twitter clip of the kids 3 best plays of his career!?!?

Granted, if you're watching their entire hudl film (usually 5 minutes or so) that should show you what the kid is...that plus the MaxPreps stats & I think we could all be "semi-effective" recruiters!

[lumbercat]

Lochman
Are you saying that you get complete complete statistics on any HS kids for their entire career?

[Charlie]

Lochman
Are you saying that you get complete complete statistics on any HS kids for their entire career?

I believe he means skilled positions. Having said that it depends on the school and how much they devote to their football program to have stat person monitoring these. I dont think though every school has this. I will say though that one can look at film and barring injury , academics or something else can tell if a kid will be a solid player at this level.

I will be curious to see what a school like Trinity will do when and if they bring back the roster limits. I have heard Trinity and a few other schools are over the 100 player mark. I thought and I could be mistaken that you were only allowed to dress a certain number of NESCAC players per game. I am assuming if this trend continues there would have to be player cuts across the league when the announcement comes down. This will also change the future landscape of the league because teams won't be able to herd players because of the roster limits and kids are going to have to be even more selective of the schools they choose on attending because they could potentially be odd man out.

This is why a Freshman would have really benefited from Spring football otherwise they only get the preseason to really be evaluated. I wonder on average how many freshman actually start on NESCAC teams anyone have a possible answer ?

[The Mole]

I believe the league rule is still only dressing 76 a game, but flexibility due to the pandemic with the roster limit at 90. Don't know what the official word is though. Players can be on the sideline in plainclothes with teammates but not suited up. On a related note, the Patriot League has had a roster limit of 90, which has hurt its competitiveness at the FCS level. They have 60 scholarships, but it appears have struggled (based on records and OOC play) how to manage to that 90. I don't see a huge gap between top of the NESCAC and the bottom of the Patriot League.

Lochman
Are you saying that you get complete complete statistics on any HS kids for their entire career?

I believe he means skilled positions. Having said that it depends on the school and how much they devote to their football program to have stat person monitoring these. I dont think though every school has this. I will say though that one can look at film and barring injury , academics or something else can tell if a kid will be a solid player at this level.

I will be curious to see what a school like Trinity will do when and if they bring back the roster limits. I have heard Trinity and a few other schools are over the 100 player mark. I thought and I could be mistaken that you were only allowed to dress a certain number of NESCAC players per game. I am assuming if this trend continues there would have to be player cuts across the league when the announcement comes down. This will also change the future landscape of the league because teams won't be able to herd players because of the roster limits and kids are going to have to be even more selective of the schools they choose on attending because they could potentially be odd man out.

This is why a Freshman would have really benefited from Spring football otherwise they only get the preseason to really be evaluated. I wonder on average how many freshman actually start on NESCAC teams anyone have a possible answer ?

[LochNescac]

Lochman
Are you saying that you get complete complete statistics on any HS kids for their entire career?

Essentially yes...like Charlie said it does depend on how much the school devotes to stats;  that said, I was involved in sports equipment support at the HS level & I can tell you that the schools that are serious about recruiting & the athletes that want to play at the next level actively lobby for the team to track stats.  A very large percentage of schools now do this...the "new generation"...??   For better or worse, most athletes will ensure that their numbers are recorded if they can.  It's actually unusual to not submit data.

Very easy to see offensive skill guys, but defensive side tracks tackles, Sacks, INT's etc...

For example, lets do an easy one; go to MaxPreps, (no I don't work for them!) search "Ramapo" (since we've seen that HS often), select football, under the "more" tab select "previous seasons" & "stats" & you'll see more than you'd think...all compiled nicely.   You can click on any particular metric & sort it, very cool.   You can also go directly & search each athlete individually & jump right to that kid, but it's sometimes telling to see for example, if they led their team in tackles/INT's or if they were # 3 down the list....

Like I said a large majority of programs have this displayed...actually pretty nice.

As pointed out by several guys before...the entire hurdle film is an excellent indicator...but...I did notice in looking thru some random stats from last season, a couple "Coveted" recruits had very, very minimal production & in some cases were down the list on their own teams??   You can also see number of games played to rule out injuries as a reason....Interesting.

Hard to weed thru every kid, but with a six pack & a couple hours, you can certainly get an idea of your favorite schools '26 class....(or their rival's)

[Scoops]

You can also just review their Hudl film as long as their school doesn't lock their highlights. Most schools seem to have at least their highlights available. But like Loch said, make sure you have a six pack at the ready!

Lochman
Are you saying that you get complete complete statistics on any HS kids for their entire career?

Essentially yes...like Charlie said it does depend on how much the school devotes to stats;  that said, I was involved in sports equipment support at the HS level & I can tell you that the schools that are serious about recruiting & the athletes that want to play at the next level actively lobby for the team to track stats.  A very large percentage of schools now do this...the "new generation"...??   For better or worse, most athletes will ensure that their numbers are recorded if they can.  It's actually unusual to not submit data.

Very easy to see offensive skill guys, but defensive side tracks tackles, Sacks, INT's etc...

For example, lets do an easy one; go to MaxPreps, (no I don't work for them!) search "Ramapo" (since we've seen that HS often), select football, under the "more" tab select "previous seasons" & "stats" & you'll see more than you'd think...all compiled nicely.   You can click on any particular metric & sort it, very cool.   You can also go directly & search each athlete individually & jump right to that kid, but it's sometimes telling to see for example, if they led their team in tackles/INT's or if they were # 3 down the list....

Like I said a large majority of programs have this displayed...actually pretty nice.

As pointed out by several guys before...the entire hurdle film is an excellent indicator...but...I did notice in looking thru some random stats from last season, a couple "Coveted" recruits had very, very minimal production & in some cases were down the list on their own teams??   You can also see number of games played to rule out injuries as a reason....Interesting.

Hard to weed thru every kid, but with a six pack & a couple hours, you can certainly get an idea of your favorite schools '26 class....(or their rival's)

[lumbercat]

I get the whole HUDL and MAXPREP sites and what they deliver.

You are delusional if you think there are reliable, comprehensive stats on Maxpreps for skill position players at most New England High Schools. Any NESCAC recruiter will confirm that.

Are you referring to reliable stats being available somewhere else?

[SpringSt7]

I can't remember ever seeing complete stats on MaxPreps. Feel like the best you would get was like 6 games. Haven't checked in a long time so maybe it's changed

[LochNescac]

I get the whole HUDL and MAXPREP sites and what they deliver.

You are delusional if you think there are reliable, comprehensive stats on Maxpreps for skill position players at most New England High Schools. Any NESCAC recruiter will confirm that.

Are you referring to reliable stats being available somewhere else?

Actually...in our area, if you think they AREN'T reliable...you'd be wrong.   Can't speak to New England HS stats but I can assure you the HS's I worked with are VERY reliable....the posted Box Scores were the first thing each coaching staff reviewed every Saturday morning!   If the yards /TD's/INT's were off by ANY measure it was very public knowledge....& it was adjusted by noon!  .  These HS staffs were competitive as hell & watched every single snap & charted every play....saw it like clockwork...sat thru more "film reviews" starting at 0800 & ending at noon than I care to admit...lotta coffee . 

These schools were/are SERIOUS...lotta eyes on these programs; some friendly, some not!   You simply couldn't inflate stats....both staffs watched & kept each other honest.   I attended games that ended at 2200 & by 0700 both teams had entered every single yard...I'm not kidding.

I guess things are different in New England, I'm not familiar, but believe me Lumber...down here In SEC country...these HS stats were verified like you can't imagine ...different world I guess....not saying it's a good thing but that's the way it is.

So yes...if you see a major GA, AL, FL high school with stats for every game of the season; They are accurate.

[lumbercat]

I'm speaking for the northeast.

[LochNescac]

Roger that Lumber...

I have no doubt things vary by region. 

& I agree with you, hudl film shows it best...just wanted to let people know where they could explore some additional info, provided the HS participates. 

I think "back when" it was very unusual to see such a large amount of data input and it may be a recent trend; certainly in the last 3 or 4 years, but it's really changed at least for here.

Nice when the grades & the stats, match the film...I guess that's what every NESCAC school is looking for!

Looking forward to seeing the league in action this season!!