FB: Liberty League

[Bombers798891]

I love the D3 website, great source of information, however, is there anything more arbitrary than being awarded a "preseason" All American.  I know it is all part of the hype leading to the real season (and every sports outlet does this), but does it make any sense to predict who the best players are going to be prior to a single snap?  It can't be good for the "winners", they can only under perform after being deemed the best in the country before playing a game.  Maybe it is good billboard material for everyone else.  There, said it, done venting....   

Arbitrary is the wrong word to use. There's obviously a lot of work and effort that goes into these lists. The names aren't pulled out of a hat

[ITH radio]

Yeah, especially when you consider like 50 inquiries go out to see who's coming back, who's not, etc. I was happy to see the east get some good credit on the offensive side of the ball, especially with Joe G and Gladney getting 1st team looks, Neu from RPI on the 2nd team, etc.

Kind of surprised Giorgio from SC didn't make the cut as a DE, but there were a lot of upperclassmen from Midwest teams that I am sure were deserving.

[Machiavelli]

'All right, yeah. Maybe we could just get together and eat
a bunch of caramels. When you think about it, it's just as
arbitrary as drinking coffee.'

[Bartman]

'All right, yeah. Maybe we could just get together and eat
a bunch of caramels. When you think about it, it's just as
arbitrary as drinking coffee.'

OK ,Mach, I am too slow to figure out what you are talking about that relates to D3 football. Unless, of course this is the substitute for football at the HWS Homecoming...some sort of coed caramel eating contest...clever, very clever 

[Machiavelli]

'All right, yeah. Maybe we could just get together and eat
a bunch of caramels. When you think about it, it's just as
arbitrary as drinking coffee.'

OK ,Mach, I am too slow to figure out what you are talking about that relates to D3 football. Unless, of course this is the substitute for football at the HWS Homecoming...some sort of coed caramel eating contest...clever, very clever 

It's all in the details Bartman.

[Pat Coleman]

Folks, just a reminder that Kickoff '18 goes live tomorrow! Register now if you haven't already!
http://www.d3football.com/notables/2018/06/order-kickoff-2018-now

[Bartman]

Folks, just a reminder that Kickoff '18 goes live tomorrow! Register now if you haven't already!
http://www.d3football.com/notables/2018/06/order-kickoff-2018-now

What time today?

[Bartman]

Just checked out Kickoff predictions (nice job)  for the Liberty League:

I  agree with this forecast. IC and RPI should battle it out with Hobart as a Dark horse(hmm, still adjusting to this reality). I know Union fans may feel slighted, but I think they overperformed last year(complements to coaching staff) and may do so again in 2018 , since you never know the contributions of Freshmen(excuse me First Years) recruits . The Saints could also be better than we think and I hope the Yellowjackets get back on track under the  new coaching staff.   I think the Nhabi to Gladney combination( may be as good as any combo in D3 if they develop further from last year) will be keeping LL coaching staffs up at night the way the old Sweeney to Shed combo did( more in 2016). I am not sure Gladney can be double teamed the way Shed was last year, he is a larger receiver and seems to thrive on the inside routes as well as down the field. RPI has a strong defense and will challenge IC, as the IC-RPI game should be a "coin flip" LL game of the year. Hobart and Union could surprise and I hope they do, because with 18-22 year old young men, anything is possible over a season as they develop in the first four games before the league schedule starts.  Good luck to the coaches and players in 2018. But most of all GO BART!

[ITH radio]

First time in a decade or so I have absolutely no idea what to expect out of Hobart. Could be a playoff team or have it's first losing season in 23 years. I think only Endicott, UofR and maybe SLU are "definitely" wins for the Statesmen, but every other game could go either way. Shenandoah sounds really strong and SUNY-MO won't be a cake walk either based on what I read in Kickoff.

One of the most surprising stats was how high in total defense Hobart was listed at, especially since they allowed over 250 passing YPG last season, which I think was either last in the LL, or close to it.

Should be an entertaining season.

PS - glad you enjoyed the LL preview!

[dlippiel]

First off great job to ALL involved putting together Kickoff. My goodness how lucky we are to have such a quality preseason publication to read over. Thanks to all involved as dlip knows that none of you get paid and do this out of the love of d3football, d3 sports, and d3 athletes as a whole. dlip can't say enough of how appreciative he is of the sacrifice everyone made to put this together (although dlip is sure you guys certainly enjoy the process).

ITH great ****ing job man! dlip has no idea where you find the time between all you do. dlip will chime in tomorrow when he has some time to comment on what he's read and his thoughts on the LL in particular.

Thanks again everyone for putting this super **** together!

[dlippiel]

Just checked out Kickoff predictions (nice job)  for the Liberty League:

I  agree with this forecast. IC and RPI should battle it out with Hobart as a Dark horse(hmm, still adjusting to this reality). I know Union fans may feel slighted, but I think they overperformed last year(complements to coaching staff) and may do so again in 2018 , since you never know the contributions of Freshmen(excuse me First Years) recruits . The Saints could also be better than we think and I hope the Yellowjackets get back on track under the  new coaching staff.   I think the Nhabi to Gladney combination( may be as good as any combo in D3 if they develop further from last year) will be keeping LL coaching staffs up at night the way the old Sweeney to Shed combo did( more in 2016). I am not sure Gladney can be double teamed the way Shed was last year, he is a larger receiver and seems to thrive on the inside routes as well as down the field. RPI has a strong defense and will challenge IC, as the IC-RPI game should be a "coin flip" LL game of the year. Hobart and Union could surprise and I hope they do, because with 18-22 year old young men, anything is possible over a season as they develop in the first four games before the league schedule starts.  Good luck to the coaches and players in 2018. But most of all GO BART!

dlip also pretty much agrees with the forecast made by ITH from Kickoff and thinks bartman made some great points.

Almost certainly it will come down to RPI/Ithaca this season in the LL. If both teams can take care of business in the league than the 10/6 match up will most certainly determine the LL champion. With that said taking care of business in the league will not be all that easy as Hobart and possibly Union may throw a wrench into both RPI and Ithaca's plans.

dlip really doesn't know what to expect from Bart this season. He feels they may lose a game they "should" win and also win a game they aren't supposed to (hint IC/RPI). There are certainly more question marks coming from Geneva than in dlip's recent memory.

dlip has high expectations for both RPI and Ithaca. He was very impressed with the Engineers last season and was quite proud of their play and representation of the league against traditional South/East region powerhouse Wesley on the road during round #1 of the NCAA tourney. Marionopolous is a stud and there are also many other very solid players on both sides of the ball (look out for preseason second team All-American tackle Chris Neu to be a machine this season). dlip has the utmost respect for Coach Insernia and his staff and believes if the Engineers can avoid a "lull" they have the opportunity to go undefeated this season. To do so IDHO they must focus on more than just their 10/6 rodeo with the Bombers.

Of course IC had a great first season in the LL last season with a very tough defense and some offensive pizzaz to add (which is often not the case in Ithaca). Freshmen QB Walid Nabi certainly made a name for himself and first team All-American junior (gulp) Will Gladney was a beast. Sophomore Andrew Vito must also be mentioned as a real threat. To dlip IC has what it takes to win the LL outright but they too will most likely need to be flawless in conference to do so.

dlip is hoping SLU bounces back this season and that U of R makes some progress with their new coach. They really need to start from scratch and it looks like that is the attitude the Yellowjackets have heading into 2018. Everything is up for grabs in Rochester. Hopefully they can have some success within a very challenging schedule for a team in this position.

As far as dlip's beloved Dutchmen go he feels they will have another season of growth ahead of them this year. The U certainly had some great momentum going last season and they will look to continue that here in 2018.

The young O-line will still be working hard to grow and hopefully mature and develop into a real strong point for the team at the end of the season and heading into 2019. dlip expects very talented sophomore Louisiana sensation (dlip just wanted to write that) Will Bellamy to win the starting QB job with local sophomore John Germinierio pushing him to improve. dlip would love to see Germinierio (from Troy) continue to improve and possibly earn some snaps this season. U has some talented and nice sized receivers in Griffin Beal and Packy Brown and talent in WR Chris Nichols. Beal can be a game changer for sure.

On defense Union should be quite solid. They have a plethora of athletes that proved themselves last season and are looking to tighten things up here even more in 2018. LB Jack Reilly is another game changer and LB Hunter Ordukhanyon is very tough. Junior Paul Chambers and senior Tucker Neumann have helped to improve the U's pass defense (which was honestly piss poor for the at least the past decade or so). DE's Vincent DiCaterinio and Bobby Law have a real opportunity to create pressure on opposing QB's this season as well.

Here is dlip's LL predictions for 2018:

1.) RPI 9-0 5-0
2.) Ithaca 8-2 4-1
3.) Union 6-3 3-2
4.) Hobart 5-4 2-3
5.) SLU 3-7 1-4
6.) U of R 1-9 0-5

*Of course Union/Hobart could absolutely flip as could RPI/Ithaca.
*If Alfred State defeats U of R dlip will be ****ing pissed!

[Oline89]

Preseason camp officially kicks off today, so here is my opinion regarding the enigmatic Hobart '19 team.  First off, IMO, the 2018 team vastly underperformed.   That being said, the difference between 3-2 in league and 5-0 was 8 points, and they beat eventual league champion RPI 30-0.   Coach Cragg and now Coach DeWall have had phenomenal recruiting years the past two seasons, and this year many Sophomores and probably a couple of freshman will get their chance. 
The offense has lost 2 All Americans, but I think they actually will be an improved group in 2019.  DeWall is back running the offensive scheme, which should be less complicated and less dependent on the big play to score.  We all know that the O Line wins games, and this year's group will be a force.  The left side of the line will feature a healthy/athletic John Devaney (6'5" 295) and powerful/experienced Alex Lanzana.  The right side will most likely consist of returning starter Micah Holloway (6'10") and very promising Sophomore Dillon Carey.  The center could easily become Freshman Ludner Mercy (6'2 300, check out his HUDL film).  The running back situation is outstanding, league rushing leader Dakota Harvey, Jr Brian Haeffner and So Alex Milliken (NJ standout with 27 rushing touchdowns as high school sr).  The receivers are fast with great hands, keep an eye on Ray Conley as the big play threat and Sr Captain Matt Woods at 6'6" will be very difficult for most OLB's to cover.  Admittedly QB is a huge question mark, since nobody saw much on field action last year with All American Sweeney taking almost every snap, but Jr Ryan Hoffman has great potential given a chance to play.
Things are also looking bright on the defensive side of the ball.  Clearly the defensive backfield struggled last year, but returning CB Sam Wheeler is healthy and will be joined by a great athlete in Sophomore Jared Leake.  The linebacking corps lost 2 big players from last year, but there several players ready to step in and help leading tackler, and captain Jayson Prince.  The D line is anchored by returning starter Sean Moore at DT, a mountain in Elijah Weiss (6'3 330) and keep your eye on several strong/athletic sophomores to step up at DT and DE. 

In summary, To (mis)quote Mark Twain, I feel the reports of the death of Hobart Football have been grossly exaggerated
My predictions for the year:
Ithaca: 4-1
Hobart 4-1
RPI: 3-2
Union: 2-3
St L: 1-4
U of R: 0-5

[Mr. Ypsi]

Oline79, better check your predictions again.  You're forecasting that the conference will go 14-16 amongst themselves, which is obviously impossible.

[Oline89]

Oline79, better check your predictions again.  You're forecasting that the conference will go 14-16 amongst themselves, which is obviously impossible.

You got me Ypsi, change Union to 3-2!

[Mr. Ypsi]

Oline79, better check your predictions again.  You're forecasting that the conference will go 14-16 amongst themselves, which is obviously impossible.

You got me Ypsi, change Union to 3-2!

Sorry, but that doesn't work either.  If St. L and U of R are 0-3 against the top four, Union and RPI cannot both win against each other.  Your only solution (other than a drastic revamp) is to predict that either Ithaca or Hobart sweeps.