FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[nescac1]

Wow NescacNerd, is quite the addition!  He clearly knows personnel thanks to his recent time in the league but also putting in work to scout incoming players.  Kudos!

Speaking of incoming players Amherst had been struggling to bring in big time skill guys for years but they just signed two who look very interesting. 

Michael Champagne, QB out of Illinois who had great production, is fast, seems to have a strong arm and accuracy.  He's short for the position which is why I imagine not getting higher-level looks but has (according to his Twitter) an impressive group of offers: Trinity, Middlebury, and Mount Union, all schools that know how to scout the QB position. 

Zeke Kane, a TB from PA who looks like a classic Amherst big, bruising back with good straight ahead speed.  He also had Trinity and Midd offers. 

Unless Amherst has a big time frosh at either position (they do have an incoming TB at least who is reputed to be very good), given what was on the roster at those spots last year, I would not be surprised to see either or both in the mix early in their careers. 

Whether it's changes to admissions policies or new energy in the recruiting coordinator ranks, Amherst seems (starting with the incoming frosh) to have rebounded from a few moribund recruiting years. 

Back to the NESCAC previews, I'm most curious to hear what folks think of Wesleyan.  I still don't understand how a team with two legit D1 players (including a guy now in the ACC!) in Tomlinson and Helbig and a slew of other hyped all-league players (many of them multi-year all league guys) around them finished at 6-3, including somehow losing to Bowdoin and barely escaping an Amherst team that it seemed to totally outclass in terms of explosive playmakers.  On paper Wesleyan loses easily the most talent in the league, but will it be a Ewing theory situation where maybe lower expectations ends up being helpful?  Candido at least seemed like the real deal at QB, although he won't have Tomlinson and Simco just destroying smaller DBs anymore ...

[The Mole]

2 things hurt Wesleyan last year: poor special teams play/inability to kick field goals and rotation of QBs hurt the consistency of the offense.

In the losses, those things stand out like a sore thumb, particularly in specific situations (go for it instead of kicking a FG, miss a FG, fumble a punt inside your 5, etc). Cards were up 14-10 at half vs Trinity and getting beat upfront at the LOS in the second half was the deciding factor.

Fumbles, penalties and interceptions kill teams and a few of those in the losses did not help either.

[BigKat]

Yes, good additional coverage and much appreciated. Hopefully nescacnerd can preview all three phases of the game as alluded to above. The Cards Specials ( punting, kicking and coverage teams)were very poor last year and definitely cost them wins. 

[Charlie]

Just heard that Trinity is going to be having a JV team much like Wesleyan and playing a limited schedule. This bodes well for the NESCAC Spring practices and now JV Football or whatever you want to call this. I think this is big strides for the NESCAC and if comes to fruition big accomplishments in a short span of time. I am curious to see how the Maine teams respond and if they are following as well.

[lumbercat]

Nice to see the escalation in NESCAC coverage this year.

For the record I've got to post some information on NESCACNERD......Far from a nerd, a play maker on the Bates D who played in a kind of hybrid role. He was overshadowed by the best linebacker in the league Tony Hooks the last couple of years. The Bates D struggled last year but Formus was a guy who could play in any NESCAC program. A very good, vastly underrated player who excelled in the classroom.
The kid was a great credit to the Bates Football program and the Bates commitment to academics.

[lumbercat]

Just heard that Trinity is going to be having a JV team much like Wesleyan and playing a limited schedule. This bodes well for the NESCAC Spring practices and now JV Football or whatever you want to call this. I think this is big strides for the NESCAC and if comes to fruition big accomplishments in a short span of time. I am curious to see how the Maine teams respond and if they are following as well.

How many JV games ?

[Charlie]

Just heard that Trinity is going to be having a JV team much like Wesleyan and playing a limited schedule. This bodes well for the NESCAC Spring practices and now JV Football or whatever you want to call this. I think this is big strides for the NESCAC and if comes to fruition big accomplishments in a short span of time. I am curious to see how the Maine teams respond and if they are following as well.

How many JV games ?

So far I am hearing about 3 games but they are in midst of adding I beleive a few more losgistics being the issue.

[lumbercat]

 If Lord Jeffrey would take his starters off the field sooner he could get his younger guys some experience. The guy loves to run it up but I commend the JV move.
They should schedule Milford Academy.

[nescac1]

The Duxbury-Williams pipeline, which started with Bobby Maimaron and keeps going strong, continues with two early commits:

https://twitter.com/FCarley17/status/1692665194453901586
https://twitter.com/Zach_Falls24/status/1694418168263950571

Williams could have as many as six Duxbury guys on the roster next year -- Landolfi (listed as a senior but has another year of eligibility), Massingham, Murphy, Pang, plus these two recruits.  Pang btw is a guy to watch as a break-out defender for the Ephs as a sophomore.  Crazy coming from one mid-sized (under 1000 students) public school. 

[lumbercat]

Early Camp feedback in the CBB-
QB Baldwin at Colby was to be Cosgroves guy but he's being pressed hard by 2 other Mule QBs.
At Bates RB Mouehla is a physical beast who has worked himself into a role as a potential elite NESCAC RB.
In Brunswick Lefty QB Robbie Long battling Jersey QB Boel but they are both hearing footsteps from FY phenom from Texas Sean Ramos. Polar Bear followers say Hammer would be just the guy to go with the FY QB Ramos after his frustrating 3 years at Bowdoin.

[GroundandPound]

Ramos' HUDL is very impressive.  Bowdoin coaches need to get him the ball somehow and sooner rather than later.

[VoodooDoc]

Lumbercat
Bowdoin is fortunate to have 2 experienced quarterbacks in camp along with an exciting freshman quarterback from Texas.  Football in Texas and the rest of the South is a religion.  Football under the Friday night lights is incredible in small towns and large.  There are high school stadiums that seat 25,000+ and fill the stands up.  They have jumbotrons and sky boxes.  There is nothing like being in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge on a Saturday night with Alabama coming to play.  Or try Kyle Field in College Station, or where Texas plays in Austin, or try Tuscaloosa when 'Bama has a home game.  Athens and Knoxville are also crazy on a Saturday, along with the Swamp in Gainesville, or the party in the Grove in Oxford before an Ole Miss game, and many other venues across the South.  Bowdoin will enjoy Ramos bringing some of that Texas football spirit with him to Brunswick. 

[nescac1]

Per the Berkshire Eagle, four Ephs are in a battle for the starting QB job - Senior Jack Dickinson, Sophomore Jack Wallace, FY Owen McHugh, and FY Drew Renzella.  Hopefully one or two from that group will shine in the pre-season I imagine the other two returning upperclass QBs have been moved to other positions. 

Whoever wins the job (and Dickinson remains the best bet as by far the most experienced guy on the roster), I expect to see a lot of dual-threat run-heavy attack early, as most of the Eph QBs (not sure about Renzella) are very capable runners but still largely-untested passers, Fischetti might be the best TB in NESCAC, the Ephs have a huge, veteran O-line and TE corps plus some added FY talent in the RB group, but the WR group does not return much production and is the team's biggest question mark, after QB.  If one of the first years looks really promising I would not be surprised to see two QBs play early, especially if they have different styles of play.   

[LochNescac]

Media Day at some schools this week.

Can only imagine the "snappy banter' from the onlookers during the photo shoot...

[Trin9-0]

While we wait for more preseason news to trickle out, how about a little fun; who has the best throwback logo in the NESCAC?