FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[nescac1]

That is certainly impressive for Bowdoin, even if not all those guys pan out, maybe jumping early on some guys nets them some recruits who they likely would not have been able to sign later in the fall.  Wonder what changed there, perhaps a more cooperative admissions office as that has notoriously been a sticking point for Bowdoin football?  And I don't recall Bowdoin beating out Midd and Wesleyan for many guys in the recent past. 

Henry Machnik, a QB who Bowdoin also offered signed with Williams, not sure if he will play QB at the next level or shift to WR/TB, but he looks like a really good runner:

https://twitter.com/MachnikHenry

[Charlie]

That is certainly impressive for Bowdoin, even if not all those guys pan out, maybe jumping early on some guys nets them some recruits who they likely would not have been able to sign later in the fall.  Wonder what changed there, perhaps a more cooperative admissions office as that has notoriously been a sticking point for Bowdoin football?  And I don't recall Bowdoin beating out Midd and Wesleyan for many guys in the recent past. 

Henry Machnik, a QB who Bowdoin also offered signed with Williams, not sure if he will play QB at the next level or shift to WR/TB, but he looks like a really good runner:

https://twitter.com/MachnikHenry

This player committed to Williams

[lumbercat]

There is nothing in writing on this but most NESCAC programs will typically back off on kids who have committed to another NESCAC school.
I'm not saying they can't contact committed kids but they generally do not.

It's true there is nothing in writing on these "commitments" and they are generally informal but it's like a handshake.

The informality of the commitment process with Twitter being the only public source of information certainly opens the door for continued contact under the guise of Coaches not realizing the kid has committed as Mole outlines with his son's recruitment.

[quicksilver]

The early moves by Bowdoin in nailing down 11 football commitments could be a sign of a change in attitude at the top. Bowdoin got a new president on July 1--Safi Zaki. Zaki was the dean at Williams and oversaw the athletic department as part of her duties at William. With Williams' generally good record in sports across-the-board, Zaki may have a better sense of how things should be done than the past Bowdoin president, who generally did not have much interest in sports.

[SpringSt7]

At Williams, all full time coaches are treated for staffing and compensation purposes as faculty, i.e they are on a similar version of the track that is followed by professors seeking and receiving tenure. Professor Zaki was the dean of faculty at Williams and was therefore theoretically in charge of the full time "faculty" in the athletic department, but she had no real athletics role. I would not expect a noticeable change.

[quicksilver]

At Williams, all full time coaches are treated for staffing and compensation purposes as faculty, i.e they are on a similar version of the track that is followed by professors seeking and receiving tenure. Professor Zaki was the dean of faculty at Williams and was therefore theoretically in charge of the full time "faculty" in the athletic department, but she had no real athletics role. I would not expect a noticeable change.

Zaki's Williams bio listed oversight of the athletic department as among Zaki's duties. And I do believe that change at the top matters in terms of things like decision-making through the preread process . .

[SpringSt7]

Yes and I'm telling you what that oversight consisted of. You'll also notice the only mention of it on the Bowdoin website in their release announcing her selection as President is as follows:

"Known as an advocate for both faculty and staff, Zaki is currently responsible for the curriculum at Williams and for the recruitment, appointment, and promotion of faculty. She oversees academic departments and programs, including their budgets and personnel, graduate programs, athletics, the grants office, the Rice Center for Teaching, the Center for Global Languages, Literatures & Cultures, the Oakley Center for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Center for Environmental Studies, the Williams-Exeter Programme at Oxford University, and the Williams-Mystic Program."

[quicksilver]

Who the president (and the dean of the faculty for that matter) is would likely play a key role in how Bowdoin handles athletics.

[lumbercat]

Did the AD at Williams report directly to Zaki ?

[lumbercat]

Agree with Quicksilver that a Presidential change may well have a profound influence on Bowdoin Athletics......But no way Madam Prexy kicked off her Bowdoin tenure on 7/1 with the issuance of an admissions directive to AD Boy Ryan and the Hammer to proceed to issue multiple offers at 12:01 am on 8/1 an push hard for fast commits.

The recruiting push we've witnessed in the last week has been in the works for months. I credit the Hammer for this. He's gotta hope his evaluations are good and all these recruits perform in the classroom with that contract coming up soon in the shadow of this administrative change. A lot of unknowns.

In lame duck administrations, sometimes liberties are taken before leadership changes occur if those involved are unsure of changes that may come with the new regime.

The biggest Football detractors in Brunswick have been the Faculty and some key administrators. Maybe the new leader will change  the anti Football sentiment of the past on campus which was pretty profound.

[quicksilver]

Actually, it is across-the-board in all sports so not likely just a Hammer initiative. There are many very early Bowdoin commits in multiple sports. As somene who follows Bowdoin sports closely, it feels like a major change in approach. I doo belive that that starts at the tops and that the departed president was not much of a supporter of Bowdoin sports . .

[Scoops]

A lot of talk about the Bowdoin commits, but can any of these kids actually play? I haven't had the chance to follow NESCAC recruiting closely yet this year, but historically Bowdoin has usually brought in big numbers early, and they haven't really amounted to much when it comes to wins. It's great that they're targeting and getting kids to commit, but what does it matter if the higher tier teams in the league just bring in better kids later?

For instance, it's often mentioned how Tufts waits until the last minute in recruiting, but they seem to get subjectively better talent. Then you look at the class of the league in Trinity, who seems to be somewhere in between those two approaches. Would Bowdoin be better suited if they waited for the more high level guys? The guys who tend to pop up mid-season after waiting it out for Ivy and Patriot League offers?

[lumbercat]

I could not have said it better Scoops- totally agree. Hammer is feeling the heat big time..... Boy AD Ryan fired prior coach Wells after 3 years.....the shortest tenure of any coach in NESCAC memory released without cause. Hammer has to be apprehensive at this point.

Other coaches would also be pressing recruits hard too if they were in that situation. He's 4 and 23 after 3 football season. His predecessor was fired with a similar performance after 3 years at the behest of a small well heeled enclave of Bowdoin Alums.

While I agree on your points I think the Bowdoin personnel is better than you may think. For example- The Bears have had the 2 standout premier running backs with back to back matriculations in the conference in recent years.
Nate Richam followed by Andre Eden who enters his senior year this fall. Arguably two the very elite backs in the league in recent years. The Bears haven't been able to ride these premier talents to wins though one would assume Eden will be a NESCAC statistical force again in his senior year.

[SpringSt7]

I have no idea what President Zaki's stance is on athletics and based on what you all have shared about Rose, I am sure Bowdoin athletics could see an improvement based on new leadership. All I am telling you is that it will not be because she is bringing some sort of institutional knowledge gained during her experience at Williams.

[Scoops]

While I fully agree that Eden and Richam were very talented backs, I think the argument can be made that neither one has ever been the best back in the league. The early days of Richam were dominated by Chipouras at Trinity who was, for my money, the unquestioned best back in the league. Even as a senior, Richam was out-produced by the rookie year of Maldijan at Middlebury. Richam only eclipsed 500yds once in his career, as a sr. As for Eden, I think he took a major step back as a sophomore after an incredible rookie campaign. In '22 Eden was outperformed by Johnson of Tufts for sure. But I think the argument can be made that both Trinity backs, and Joel Nicholas of Williams all had better seasons. Which again begs the question, is Bowdoin recruiting the RIGHT kids around the guys they have? Or are they just getting bodies to wear the jersey?

While I agree on your points I think the Bowdoin personnel is better than you may think. For example- The Bears have had the 2 standout premier running backs with back to back matriculations in the conference in recent years.