FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[GroundandPound]

Returning All NESCAC Players 2024 (? = senior this year and unknown if returning 2024)
Tufts: Luteri?, Comerford?, Timmins, Smith, Berluti, Reece, Cade-Moore, Butler?, Garza? (9)
Middlebury: Levy, Daniel, Fink, Jamin, Stola, Kenary?, Filias, Perry (8)
Trinity: DiNapoli, Clapp, Casillo?, Donvan-Jenkins?, Jumes, Jameson (6)
Wesleyan: Wilson, Carbeau, Abraham, Elkhoury?, Lockwood?, Welch (6)
Bowdoin: Fahey?, King?, Price, Brill?, Jacobs (5)
Colby: Sawyer, East, Robbins?, Young (4)
Williams: Freeman?, Forth?, Smith, Scott (4)
Amherst: Harmon, Yoffee?, Skirzenski? (3)
Hamilton: Hoey, Howrigan?, ROY Kurzman (3)

[Scoops]

A punter who split punting duties didn't make all-conference? Shocker.

Congratulations to all of the all-conf and season award recipients. Some very interesting choices were made, but there were some very obvious ones as well. I think the most notable and obvious omission is Donovan Wood not being a first team WR. Frankly it's embarrassing that Wood and Jamin were both left off of the first team, in particular when the likes of Fahey and Wilson were chosen over them. As well, leaving Eden and Fischetti off of the list was interesting. Particularly because the league seems to have typically given all conference nods to 2 backs on both the first and second team. I get that Fischetti was hurt, but he was clearly one of the best backs in the league prior to his injury. Reece and Dinapoli could have shared the first team honors, and Eden and Fischetti could have split second team honors. I'm surprised to see only one of the Tufts OL make first team, and only two overall. Didn't they have one of the top OLs in the country? How did OL from Bowdoin and Wesleyan make it on the list at all over guys from Tufts? Both Bowdoin and Wesleyan had absolute sieves up front.

Finally, why doesn't the league do an MVP and an OPOTY award. Wouldn't that solve the problem of splitting the offensive award? I think it would be easy to say Fetter as MVP and Richardson as OPOTY if that were the case.

Just took a look at the All NESCAC teams, very happy with the list and much of it makes sense but the hill that I will die on is that Williams punter Tim Brown has had an impact on games that is unrivaled against the league's other punters. Despite splitting reps with Maiuolo, Brown had the far greater average and was among the league leaders in yards per punt and punts inside the 20. His greatest impact comes from his ability to draw roughing the punter calls like no other. Brown's slow rhythm and quick release draws defends into thinking they can get the block. This ability led him to secure 5 roughing the punter penalties and first downs for a struggling Williams offense. From what I hear he is a first in last out type of team player.

[nescac1]

GroundAndPound, King for Bowdoin, Freeman for Williams, and Yoffee for Amherst each have played four years, so cannot return.  Not sure about the others. 

[GroundandPound]

Scoops,
Best OL in the country? I do not believe Tufts had the top OL in the NESCAC.  Trinity's OL gave up fewer sacks than Tufts OL and Tufts had the most athletic and best running and scrambling QB in the conference.  Also, I suspect in most fourth quarters that Trinity subbed in back up OL in addition to back up skill players, and still gave up fewer sacks than Tufts with a less mobile QB.  Trinity also gave up fewer sacks with 24 more passing attempts than Tufts. Lastly, Trinity's OL lead the way to 44 points per game versus 31 points per game for Tufts.  Again, this is despite the fact Trinity took their foot off the gas pedal in most fourth quarters, if not earlier.

[GroundandPound]

One of the most impressive plays I saw this year was King hurdling two defenders at the goal line in a game and landing in stride on his feet.  I hope he has some ground-level video of the play to show his kids one day.

[Scoops]

I'm not saying they did or didn't have the best OL. I do recall reading an article that said they had one of the top OLs in the country statistically at some point in the season, and that at some point late in the year they had only given up one or two sacks and were the top rushing team in the league. I honestly don't remember where I had read it, or I would link the article. Either way, their group was more qualified to win all NESCAC honors than anyone on the Wesleyan or Bowdoin OL, which is the point that I was making. Not sure what that has to do with Trinity at all, but I also don't want to hear Trinity fans beating their chest about anything when they can't even acknowledge that they're not the real NESCAC champs. And before all the Trin fans get huffy again, just know that if you're going to quote some technicality in the tie breaker rules or whatever, then you also know deep down that you don't deserve to call yourselves champions, and you're using it as an excuse to justify your LOSS to the rightful champions. Which is incredibly weak.

Scoops,
Best OL in the country? I do not believe Tufts had the top OL in the NESCAC.  Trinity's OL gave up fewer sacks than Tufts OL and Tufts had the most athletic and best running and scrambling QB in the conference.  Also, I suspect in most fourth quarters that Trinity subbed in back up OL in addition to back up skill players, and still gave up fewer sacks than Tufts with a less mobile QB.  Trinity also gave up fewer sacks with 24 more passing attempts than Tufts. Lastly, Trinity's OL lead the way to 44 points per game versus 31 points per game for Tufts.  Again, this is despite the fact Trinity took their foot off the gas pedal in most fourth quarters, if not earlier.

[EphsML]

Very thorough all conference team selections. However, I do tend to agree with several other board members about some sketchy OLine picks. Seems as though the 11 players who were on both first and second team should have been filled by more Trinity, Tufts, and Williams selections. Upon watching all Ephs games from this past season, it seems blatantly obvious that players such as Jaheim Scott, Gus Bickert, and Michael Tartaglia should have rounded out the all-conference roster. Some questionable selections coming out of Wesleyan (for certain) and Amherst.

[SpringSt7]

Hard to argue for Williams having 3 of the top 11 linemen in the league if Freeman and Forth aren't getting snubbed, but agreed that Tartaglia had a nice year. It is an imperfect science although I was glad to see some more realistic positional guidelines this year.

Speaking of John Freeman, a hats off to him on another 1st team all-league nod, his 2nd career 1st-team, and 3rd overall. Will get lost in the shuffle of the prominent names from the Raymond era unfortunately due to the lack of team success during his upperclassmen years but he was one of the best players on the 9-0 team as a sophomore and he left it all out there every game even when the wins and losses weren't there.

This will also unfortunately end I believe a 5 or 6 year streak of a Williams OL from BC High on the all-league team - hope they have another in the pipeline!

[Back2BackBantam]

Speaking of John Freeman, a hats off to him on another 1st team all-league nod, his 2nd career 1st-team, and 3rd overall. Will get lost in the shuffle of the prominent names from the Raymond era unfortunately due to the lack of team success during his upperclassmen years but he was one of the best players on the 9-0 team as a sophomore and he left it all out there every game even when the wins and losses weren't there.

Speaking as someone who went against John Freeman for 3 years in a row, including the 9-0 year, I hope he does not get lost in the shuffle. He was always a great challenge to go against.

On a separate note, I was surprised to not see more Trinity defensive linemen on the second team. Sean Cangiano had a fantastic year for the Bantams at nose tackle, especially regarding eating double teams and making plays in the run game, and was a big part in the Bantams top tier run defense. Similarly, Kevin Clark, a Bantam DL/OLB had a great year as well. I may (or may not) be a bit biased, but those guys had great years and made fantastic contributions to a (some may say historic) Trinity Bantam front 7.

[BigKat]

I'm not saying they did or didn't have the best OL. I do recall reading an article that said they had one of the top OLs in the country statistically at some point in the season, and that at some point late in the year they had only given up one or two sacks and were the top rushing team in the league. I honestly don't remember where I had read it, or I would link the article. Either way, their group was more qualified to win all NESCAC honors than anyone on the Wesleyan or Bowdoin OL, which is the point that I was making. Not sure what that has to do with Trinity at all, but I also don't want to hear Trinity fans beating their chest about anything when they can't even acknowledge that they're not the real NESCAC champs. And before all the Trin fans get huffy again, just know that if you're going to quote some technicality in the tie breaker rules or whatever, then you also know deep down that you don't deserve to call yourselves champions, and you're using it as an excuse to justify your LOSS to the rightful champions. Which is incredibly weak.

Scoops,
Best OL in the country? I do not believe Tufts had the top OL in the NESCAC.  Trinity's OL gave up fewer sacks than Tufts OL and Tufts had the most athletic and best running and scrambling QB in the conference.  Also, I suspect in most fourth quarters that Trinity subbed in back up OL in addition to back up skill players, and still gave up fewer sacks than Tufts with a less mobile QB.  Trinity also gave up fewer sacks with 24 more passing attempts than Tufts. Lastly, Trinity's OL lead the way to 44 points per game versus 31 points per game for Tufts.  Again, this is despite the fact Trinity took their foot off the gas pedal in most fourth quarters, if not earlier.

There are egregious misses every year on these lists. There are great players on bad teams who get lost in the shuffle and don't get the number of slots that the chickens, elephants and pants do. It also seems very hard if you were recognized in years prior to not get it again regardless of performance.   There are specialists ( and others) who played 6/7 games getting recognized. Just absurd. Bottom line is coaches will usually get their one or two "guy(s)" on it. Maybe Bates is the exception this year.

[lumbercat]

There are egregious misses every year on these lists. There are great players on bad teams who get lost in the shuffle and don't get the number of slots that the chickens, elephants and pants do. It also seems very hard if you were recognized in years prior to not get it again regardless of performance.   There are specialists ( and others) who played 6/7 games getting recognized. Just absurd. Bottom line is coaches will usually get their one or two "guy(s)" on it. Maybe Bates is the exception this year.

It was a terrible rough year at Bates for a very young team which was besieged by an unprecedented rash of injuries late in the season. No excuses from Coach Coyne and his staff as he continues with his rebuild plan. He is building a culture of resilience and mental toughness and it starts with him. He setting that benchmark for the program through his own example in the way he handled all the adversity this year without a blink----no hesitation, no complaints, no excuses. Showing the student athletes what mental toughness is.

I wasn't going to post anything on it but based Big Kats accurate observations there actually were a couple of Bates guys who should have received all conference recognition. Most notable Junior LB and Co Captain Matt Juneau, every bit as good if not better than 2 or 3 LBs chosen.
Bates TE Steven Guerette arguably better than Zalankas from Trinity but typically the player from a winning program gets the nod as Big Kat points out.

[nescac1]

The Williams Sports Info article on the all-conference selections noted that Tim Forth will be returning next year, which is great news for Williams.  (Weirdly, the story missed that Ethan Scott was named second team all-conference, as he was omitted entirely). 

https://ephsports.williams.edu/news/2023/11/29/football-john-freeman-named-first-team-all-nescac-tim-forth-and-cameron-smith-earn-second-team-laurels.aspx

Tartaglia and Forth will anchor the interior offensive line but the other spots will be interesting to watch as OL will still be a bit of a question mark.  Joseph Ngnombouowo mostly started and Blaise Takvor played a fair amount at tackle, and Michael Sheskey was a spot starter at guard, so they will be the favorites to fill out the offensive line, but I expect that the rising sophomore group of Ingram, Shames, and Robke will challenge for time as well if they have a big off-season in the weight room. 

I do expect Williams to be at least somewhat improved on offense next year, with Freeman being the only major loss.  Fischetti needs to come back 100 percent, and the talented underclass group of McHugh, Gering, Stahelski, Jaffee, Baker, and Oris (plus maybe Marvan?) needs to make HUGE collective strides in the off-season for Williams to return to the top half of the league.  The defensive front seven looks solid with all-conference players Ethan Scott and Cameron Smith returning, especially if at least two from the Hemmer / Landolfi / Vilfort / Jackson group, all of whom have a year of eligiblity left, return up front as well, which seems more likely than not.  Uyi Osayimwen missed much of the year with injury and getting him back healthy would help as well. 

[lumbercat]

Question for the Williams followers.

In preseason I posted about the glut of incoming Eph recruits at the QB position. A few were moved to other positions and it seemed to boil down to 3 very good FY QBs.

McHugh (who looks like the guy going forward)
Renzella form Williston- heavily recruited with great talent.

The third QB was Owen Johansen of Northport NY.  All New York State player with a fantastic tape who I thought could actually be capable of emerging as the top QB in the group. 6'2" 215 went both ways and looked to also have the ability to be a great NESCAC LB.

He was a summer commit to Williams class of '27 but did not appear on the roster this year from what I could see.

Any idea what happened with the kid- did he see a game of musical chairs at the QB position and change his mind? Or maybe injured in preseason?

[Charlie]

Speaking of John Freeman, a hats off to him on another 1st team all-league nod, his 2nd career 1st-team, and 3rd overall. Will get lost in the shuffle of the prominent names from the Raymond era unfortunately due to the lack of team success during his upperclassmen years but he was one of the best players on the 9-0 team as a sophomore and he left it all out there every game even when the wins and losses weren't there.

Speaking as someone who went against John Freeman for 3 years in a row, including the 9-0 year, I hope he does not get lost in the shuffle. He was always a great challenge to go against.

On a separate note, I was surprised to not see more Trinity defensive linemen on the second team. Sean Cangiano had a fantastic year for the Bantams at nose tackle, especially regarding eating double teams and making plays in the run game, and was a big part in the Bantams top tier run defense. Similarly, Kevin Clark, a Bantam DL/OLB had a great year as well. I may (or may not) be a bit biased, but those guys had great years and made fantastic contributions to a (some may say historic) Trinity Bantam front 7.

I have to totally agree with you John Freeman from Williams one of the best OL have seen in NESCAC in a long time. Had a great career with Williams College. I have to say one of the top lineman in last 10 years next to Clyde Simmons from Trinity and Kyle Woodring from Trinity. We should compile decade teams and he would be on it for sure.

In second part to Trinity had a very formidable front seven this year. I have also heard that many young prospects coming up the ranks who had a great deal of playing time this year. Many two or three deep at positions. I have a feeling providing injury their DL & LB corps are going to tough to handle going forward

[Charlie]

A punter who split punting duties didn't make all-conference? Shocker.

Congratulations to all of the all-conf and season award recipients. Some very interesting choices were made, but there were some very obvious ones as well. I think the most notable and obvious omission is Donovan Wood not being a first team WR. Frankly it's embarrassing that Wood and Jamin were both left off of the first team, in particular when the likes of Fahey and Wilson were chosen over them. As well, leaving Eden and Fischetti off of the list was interesting. Particularly because the league seems to have typically given all conference nods to 2 backs on both the first and second team. I get that Fischetti was hurt, but he was clearly one of the best backs in the league prior to his injury. Reece and Dinapoli could have shared the first team honors, and Eden and Fischetti could have split second team honors. I'm surprised to see only one of the Tufts OL make first team, and only two overall. Didn't they have one of the top OLs in the country? How did OL from Bowdoin and Wesleyan make it on the list at all over guys from Tufts? Both Bowdoin and Wesleyan had absolute sieves up front.

Finally, why doesn't the league do an MVP and an OPOTY award. Wouldn't that solve the problem of splitting the offensive award? I think it would be easy to say Fetter as MVP and Richardson as OPOTY if that were the case.

Just took a look at the All NESCAC teams, very happy with the list and much of it makes sense but the hill that I will die on is that Williams punter Tim Brown has had an impact on games that is unrivaled against the league's other punters. Despite splitting reps with Maiuolo, Brown had the far greater average and was among the league leaders in yards per punt and punts inside the 20. His greatest impact comes from his ability to draw roughing the punter calls like no other. Brown's slow rhythm and quick release draws defends into thinking they can get the block. This ability led him to secure 5 roughing the punter penalties and first downs for a struggling Williams offense. From what I hear he is a first in last out type of team player.

I also think Nolan O'Brien WR Trinity should have been considered for rookie of the year candidate. He got hurt at Williams game but had breakout year as a WR and KR.