FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[GroundandPound]

Wall Street Journal all colleges 6 of top 50 NESCAC

I would not have looked these up if it were not for Scoops.  I thought NESCAC colleges were very good based on liberal arts college rankings but did not know they kicked butt in national rankings of all colleges and universities.
Young men and women who attend NESCAC colleges are elite as are students at other elite colleges.  There are other elite d3 colleges with a couple other elite colleges in their athletic conference, but I do not think there are any with 6-10 elite colleges in the same conference.  Don't get me wrong there are plenty of elite student athletes at non-elite colleges. And there are plenty of non elite students who are extremely successful after college. But when it comes to football conferences with the highest academic standards I rate it 1. Ivy 2. NESCAC

[Charlie]

Hooray for Trinity? They beat up on the likes of Bates, Hamilton and Bowdoin. If that makes them top 25, then great for them. My whole point is that, in reality, the NESCAC schedule isn't very hard. In any given year there's maybe 3 truly good teams. High academic schools in other conferences face equal if not tougher battles every week. So let's not act like the NESCAC is really doing something special. It's a great league with very good football, but we're very much in a bubble here. The national D3 landscape is scarier than people on this board give it credit for.

Dont fall asleep on the bottom feeders in the league. Bates this year should make strides in the win department and this year more than any I have seen Bowdoin has thrown out a great deal of offers on Twitter. I think Bates more likely to turn things around and get to a .500 record but I do see improvement in Bates , Amherst and Colby. This bodes well for the quality of football in NESCAC

Thanks for proving my point...

Give me Trinity CT and the points against UChicago, thank you.

What about the elitist D3football contributors that voted for Trinity in their preseason top 25?

[The Mole]

Charlie: Dont fall asleep on the bottom feeders in the league. Bates this year should make strides in the win department and this year more than any I have seen Bowdoin has thrown out a great deal of offers on Twitter. I think Bates more likely to turn things around and get to a .500 record but I do see improvement in Bates , Amherst and Colby. This bodes well for the quality of football in NESCAC

Please explain how/why Bates will will more than 3 games. Bowdoin throwing out offers is hollow. Who else is offering those players and what is their yield ? More importantly, who are they beating head to head for the actual commits tells the tale. However, I think they are improved and could break into the middle of the pack. Amherst will certainly be better as will the Ephs. Serious question looking at White Mules first 5 games (@ Williams, Trinity, @ Bates, Wesleyan, @ Amherst)--what is a realistic record ?

Thanks Chuck

[lumbercat]

Mole -
I thought the same thing about all the Bowdoin offers right out of the gate on 8/1 but they secured 8 commits in 2-3 days so far from hollow.

[nescac1]

Williams has an in-progress preliminary roster that is accessible on its webpage.  80 players in total listed, including 23 first years (21 of whom were previously reported here).  Still a work in progress and maybe some guys drop off as I'm not sure any attrition from veterans is yet reflected there.  The Ephs are a very hard team to figure this year and anything between 3-6 and 7-2 seems like a reasonable projection. 

A few notes: six guys currently listed are 5th-year seniors, and most of them will be key players: John Freeman, Harry Walsh, Michael Bedard, Paul Harshbarger, Josh Wax, and Drew Michalek.  Key guys listed as seniors who I believe will have another year of eligibility if they choose to use it (at Williams or elsewhere): C.J. Vilfort, Calvin Jackson, Tim Forth, Tim Landolfi, Jack Dickinson, James Hemmer.   

The secondary should be deep if Wax and Michalek are indeed returning (both have been really banged up the last two years, but both played a ton when healthy even as frosh).  In addition to those two, seniors Sean Beaubein and Austin Dehmel and sophomores George Papadopoulos, Campbell Pang, and Justice McGrail all have seen playing time on a unit that performed well below expectations last season, with way too many mental breakdowns in particular, and needs to be much better despite some key personnel losses to graduation.  Papadopoulos and Pang looked like they could end up being really good based on how they started to come on late in the season as frosh.  Raymond likes to move safeties up to LB to add speed to that unit and I would not be surprised to see Pang or even Michalek play closer to the line of scrimmage this year. 

The Ephs have a lot of experience back everywhere expect the skill positions, where a lot of young players will have to make a big impact for the Ephs to return to a winning record.  Getting Mario Fischetti and and Jack Dickinson back is big on offense, Fischetti in particular should be one of the best overall players in the league and keeping him healthy will be critical, but after him there are a lot of question marks.  Cam Lee and Sam Jaffee showed some flashes last year and could make a leap this season.  First years to watch early on offense include WRs Holden Gering and Brady Stahleski, TB Luke Thorbahn, FB Jon Marvan, C Ethan Shames, ATH Austin Bongo, and QB/ATHs Owen McHugh, Will Baker and Owen Johansen (who could each be in the mix at multiple positions). 

Another big question mark is pass rush on the edge, where the Ephs will really miss Ian Devine.  DEs Calvin Jackson, Cameron Smith, and Ryan Carney are all now seasoned vets and will need to collectively replace his massive production. 

Of course QB is the biggest wildcard and the area where the Ephs have to dramatically improve in terms of passing production and efficiency after a mishmosh of guys cycled in and out last year.  Hopefully a healthy Dickinson seizes the position in training camp and shows that he can be a solid two-way threat.  If not, I expect one of four incoming first-year QBs to get a long look.  Last year, opposing QBs completed 63 percent of passes on a 20-5 ratio, while Williams completed 50 percent on a 7-9 ratio.  I expect Williams to once again - as it does every year - to significantly outperform its competition on the ground, but the passing game can't feature anything close to that sort of disparity if Williams is going to be more competitive. 

[The Mole]

I saw those too Lumber. Who else offered those commits? What teams at the top of the league are they beating out for those players?  Verbal commitments right now are just that and are subject to change once ED times rolls around.....

Mole -
I thought the same thing about all the Bowdoin offers right out of the gate on 8/1 but they secured 8 commits in 2-3 days so far from hollow.

[Johnny Eph]

Power/ Counter

[NescacFam]

Bowdoin commits with other NESCAC offers:

Nelson Dorsey III - Middlebury and Wesleyan
Jake Reiser - Wesleyan
Henry Sheldon - Wesleyan

Several additional commits/recruits have visited other NESCAC schools and are in touch with NESCAC coaches.

[The Mole]

that is a good sign, those are teams they will have to beat out for recruits, if they are the right ones (as has been discussed). Curious about the other 5....

Bowdoin commits with other NESCAC offers:

Nelson Dorsey III - Middlebury and Wesleyan
Jake Reiser - Wesleyan
Henry Sheldon - Wesleyan

Several additional commits/recruits have visited other NESCAC schools and are in touch with NESCAC coaches.

[Charlie]

Charlie: Dont fall asleep on the bottom feeders in the league. Bates this year should make strides in the win department and this year more than any I have seen Bowdoin has thrown out a great deal of offers on Twitter. I think Bates more likely to turn things around and get to a .500 record but I do see improvement in Bates , Amherst and Colby. This bodes well for the quality of football in NESCAC

Please explain how/why Bates will will more than 3 games. Bowdoin throwing out offers is hollow. Who else is offering those players and what is their yield ? More importantly, who are they beating head to head for the actual commits tells the tale. However, I think they are improved and could break into the middle of the pack. Amherst will certainly be better as will the Ephs. Serious question looking at White Mules first 5 games (@ Williams, Trinity, @ Bates, Wesleyan, @ Amherst)--what is a realistic record ?

Thanks Chuck

I gave high praise to Bates and noticed Bowdoin actively throwing out offers. I think Bowdoin more than any year has thrown out a great deal of offers. Should be interesting. I am wondering if Hammers contract extension is in correlation to the numerous offers sending out.

Colby I think is going to be okay this year. I think if they beat Williams away they could find themselves at 4-1 out of the five you mentioned Trinity seems like a reach win for them. However I will be home and should be tough game for the Bantams. I still believe will be a five hundred ball club or even have a winning record. They will be middle of the pack.

[lumbercat]

I saw those too Lumber. Who else offered those commits? What teams at the top of the league are they beating out for those players?  Verbal commitments right now are just that and are subject to change once ED times rolls around.....

Mole -
I thought the same thing about all the Bowdoin offers right out of the gate on 8/1 but they secured 8 commits in 2-3 days so far from hollow.

I have no idea of the quality of the committed Bowdoin players but these official offers hit the street at the earliest possible time so we won't know who else would have offered those kids.
That being said I'm sure the 8 commits knew the offers were imminent and had quite possibly made their decisions in advance of the 8/1 offer date.

I agree with your points but it looks to me like Bowdoin did some good scouting and pre recruiting. They trusted their evaluations and aggressively let the offers rip. I would guess these offers had some pressure/deadline conditions etc.

In my experience the verbal acceptance holds in the vast majority of NESCAC recruitments and most other programs back off on a "committed" recruit. That being said, the few commitments that are broken by the recruit are typically a result of the kid later realizing he was unduly pressured and may have made a hasty decision.

[quicksilver]

There are actually 11 Bowdoin commits so far. From what I understand, NESCAC coaches were able to talk to their targets throughout July but had to wait until August 1 for offical confirmatino through the preread proces.

[lumbercat]

yes, they can talk all they want prior to 8/1 but formal offers cannot formally be extended until 8/1. Looks like Bowdoin pounced early and pressed for quick decisions  which essentially takes other NESCAC programs with interest in those committed kids from pursuing them further.

[Scoops]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't the other NESCAC schools pursue them anyways? It's not like those kids have signed scholarships or anything. What's to keep a higher tier team in the conference from attempting to flip their commitment? I would have to assume that a recruit would prefer to play at a Trinity/Tufts/Middlebury over Bowdoin if given the option?

yes, they can talk all they want prior to 8/1 but formal offers cannot formally be extended until 8/1. Looks like Bowdoin pounced early and pressed for quick decisions  which essentially takes other NESCAC programs with interest in those committed kids from pursuing them further.

[The Mole]

You are correct. My son committed in August (no Twitter announcement and offered July 1st) and at least 4 NESCAC schools kept contacting him. 2 were just late to the game so you can throw those two out. He told the other two of his commitment and one was pretty aggressive while the other was just incredibly sloppy and disorganized--did not listen or forgot him communicating that he was committed--same coach would not call at times that he said he would, poor job, absent minded and scattered. A fifth school was on him early and he did not make it through the pre-read. That coach ghosted him, said he would let him know but we know how that goes.....similar high academic school that offered him in April was Rochester, also tried to change his mind.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't the other NESCAC schools pursue them anyways? It's not like those kids have signed scholarships or anything. What's to keep a higher tier team in the conference from attempting to flip their commitment? I would have to assume that a recruit would prefer to play at a Trinity/Tufts/Middlebury over Bowdoin if given the option?

Learned very much about NESCAC recruiting and who does it well and who does not. High correlation of standings and team success with the recruiting skill in his experience.

yes, they can talk all they want prior to 8/1 but formal offers cannot formally be extended until 8/1. Looks like Bowdoin pounced early and pressed for quick decisions  which essentially takes other NESCAC programs with interest in those committed kids from pursuing them further.