Telling It Like It Is

At the Senior Bowl, graduating Dartmouth offensive lineman Delby Lemieux shares thoughts about being shifted from tackle to center, the benefit of his quick feet, the importance of recognizing defenses, the move up from Ivy League competition, and meeting with NFL teams:

Got to speak with former Dartmouth Tackle now IOL Delby Lemieux about his transition inside and jump in level on competition among many other things!

Happy to report he has met with Carolina #KeepPounding #TheDraftStartsInMobile https://t.co/MhFfTkdqLr pic.twitter.com/YJ9SCIska8

— The Real Ball Watcher (@thaRBW) January 28, 2026

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There are a zillion stories about former Dartmouth offensive lineman Vasean Washington grad transferring to Ohio State, including one from SI.com with the  headline, How Ohio State's Offensive Line Managed To Get Smarter that includes this smarmy bit (LINK):

While the Buckeyes are accustomed to adding starters and depth from the SEC, — generally with lots and lots of Alabama players — the ACC, and elsewhere amongst college football’s power conferences, it’s not often they go sniffing around the Ivy League.

If you can’t out-physical your opponent, why not try and out-smart them?

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On the subject of the portal and grad transfers, isn't it interesting that former Harvard receiver Cooper Barkate didn't make it official that he is leaving Duke to play a final season at Miami until now-former Duke quarterback Darian Mensah worked out a deal that will see him play next fall in Miami as well? (LINK)

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And if there's any doubt about Power 4 football being professional, consider this from Sportico under the headline Deion's Colorado Player Fines Push College Employee Issue To The Fore (LINK): 

Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders appears to have taken a page from his days as an NFL player—and an NFLPA union member—by telling his student players they face monetary fines for failing to attend practice ($2,500), missing film sessions ($2,000), being late to practice ($500) and other fumbling of their work responsibilities.

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Finally, the journalist in me has to share a story from The Dartmouth under the headline, College approached and paid student to write op-ed in The Dartmouth. The story begins this way (LINK):

The College approached a student to promote Evergreen.AI — the College’s wellness artificial intelligence project — in an op-ed in The Dartmouth and edited the article before submission to the paper.

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EXTRA POINT
The remote sensor for our indoor-outdoor thermometer was buried in the snow and did not offer up an accurate overnight reading. That being the case, here's a photo That Certain Nittany Lion '16 shared this morning from his place, about 40 minutes south of here. Even with our thermometer taking the day off I knew it was a little chilly. ;-)

 

The temperature around these parts the past week or so ought to make That Certain Nittany Lion '16 feel right at home joining 65,000 or so others Saturday afternoon for the first Penn State men's hockey game ever to be played outdoors at Beaver Stadium. The No. 5 Nittany Lions will play No. 2 Michigan State with the game-time temperature expected to be in the high teens . . . above. ;-)

Glückwunsch

Dartmouth social media

Konstantin Spörk, who could have joined others spending a grad transfer season elsewhere, has been rewarded for coming back to Dartmouth by being named to the Academic All-America second team.

Click HERE for a story about the offensive lineman from Germany who was elected with a 3.74 GPA in Engineering. Spörk has been an Academic Al-District selection for four consecutive years and this fall was chosen second-team All-Ivy League for his play on the line.

Selected to the Academic All-America first team from the Ivy League were Cornell defensive lineman James Reinbold and Brown linebacker John Perdue. Find the full Academic All-America team HERE.

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North Texas social media

Former Dartmouth wide receiver Grayson O'Bara is grad transferring to North Texas. O'Bara caught 44 passes for 590 yards and two touchdowns in a breakout season last fall. He had 63 grabs for 844 yards and four TDs in his Big Green career.

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Chicago Bears on SI has a piece headlined Six Senior Bowl Prospects Who Would Be Perfect Fits for the Bears that features players from Florida, Penn State, Boston College, Clemson, Texas Tech and . . . Dartmouth. From the story (LINK):

4. Delby Lemieux - Offensive Tackle, Dartmouth

The Bears drafted an Ivy League offensive lineman in 2024, and that didn't go so well, but I see no reason why that should stop them from taking a closer look at Dartmouth's Delby Lemieux. He's played both tackle positions and has even taken snaps at guard and center, too. He'll need to add weight and strength to compete at the NFL level, but he already plays with an aggressive, physical mindset that would make him an intriguing developmental piece for Chicago.

Green Alert Take: Neat to see, but someone should tell the editors the photo they found of "Dartmouth" on the internet is actually of Dartmouth High School in Massachusetts. Ivy Leaguers may not generally be the size of Big 10 players, but they are bigger than that.  ;-)

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Landan Yount, who served as director of recruiting and external relations at Dartmouth in 2022 and '23 has landed at Boise State. 

𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 ➡️ Director of Player Personnel#BleedBlue | #BuiltDifferent pic.twitter.com/MBG3XgyxOk

— Boise State Football (@BroncoSportsFB) January 27, 2026

From a Boise State release (LINK):

Landan Yount has been hired as the director of player personnel while Shauny Fisk has been elevated to the director of recruiting.

As the director of player personnel, Yount will oversee the roster management of the program. He will play a major role in the Broncos' recruiting operation, including evaluating and scouting potential student-athletes. 

Yount comes to the Treasure Valley after working as the director of player personnel at Middle Tennessee State for the past two seasons. 

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Saw this live, but credit goes to a loyal reader for sharing a link to a story featuring Jake Bobo, son of former Dartmouth wide receiver and captain Mike Bobo '92. Jake's touchdown reception for Seattle helped the Seahawks advance to the Super Bowl. Find the story HERE and watch the TD below:

Did someone order a Jake Bobo touchdown?

LARvsSEA on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/kQXCvLVIty

— NFL (@NFL) January 26, 2026

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EXTRA POINT
I've turned this into a running joke here at our Vermont hillside home. The AAA magazine has a contest each issue where you have to find a little figure in one of their pictures. Given our road trip last summer, I was flipping through a story about Route 66 lo and behold, spotted the tiny figure. I immediately went online and filled out the necessarily information about our AAA membership and where the figure was in the mag, and hit send.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed to learn that spotting the figure so quickly only landed me in a lottery of those who found it,. But as I told Mrs. BGA, it's probably only a matter of days until my "major award" is delivered. A leg lamp would be just about perfect! ;-)

Here's Something

I warned a while back there would be days when BGA goes dark because I don't have anything to share. Some of those days are coming, so don't be alarmed when they do. Trust me, if the site isn't updated on occasion it (probably ;-) won't mean I got stranded in the deep snow on my daily hike and that it's game over.

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All I have for you today is this tidbit from PFSN, which took a look at FCS players at the Senior Bowl and had this on Dartmouth's Delby Lemieux (LINK):

Delby Lemieux, OL, Dartmouth

2025 PFSN FCS OL Impact Score: 83.8

The path from Duxbury, Massachusetts, to Mobile rarely runs through the Ivy League, which makes Delby Lemieux’s Senior Bowl invitation all the more remarkable.

One of only three FCS players granted entry to this year’s game among over 130 invitees, the Dartmouth offensive lineman represents a rare breed: the small-school prospect whose tape is simply too good for NFL evaluators to ignore.

Lemieux’s 2025 campaign was nothing short of dominant. The 6’3″, 285-pound blocker was named to the Associated Press FCS All-American first team after anchoring a Dartmouth offensive line that surrendered the fifth-fewest sacks in the country (0.80 per game) while ranking third in the Ivy League in rushing offense.

Most impressive? Lemieux did not allow a single sack all season.

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In the internet era any of us can buy a domain (or in BGA's case use a free service) to get their thoughts and opinions in front of the masses. That being the case, I'm always curious when I see a post from an organization that is unfamiliar. I did a little digging and learned that PFSN, which produced the Lemieux post, is the Pro Football and Sports Network, which offers its origin story HERE, and its "Editorial Standards, Verification Policy, and AI Ethics" statement HERE.

Editor's Note: I wish every online entity would follow PFSN's lead, so I guess I should play by my own rules. For the bona fides of the person who brings you BGA every day (or almost every day in the future ;-) click HERE.

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One more Lemieux note. His height and weight came in at an even 6-foot-5, and 305 pounds. (LINK) Dartmouth listed him at 6-4, 295, so he absolutely added weight. The difference in height is . . . interesting.

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EXTRA POINT
We have a high-powered (and high-priced) vacuum from a name you would recognize. Within the last year we added a well-reviewed cordless stick vacuum, and we also have a powerful handheld vac as well as Robo, our robotic vacuum. All are infantry in the righteous fight against golden retriever fur.

Several weeks ago I enlisted more help. I broke out a human-powered carpet sweeper, and wonder of wonders, I discovered this humble holdover from the ancient past absolutely outperforms each of our three motorized vacuums when it comes to golden retriever fur on carpet. I don't know why, but there's something I find refreshing about that.

From The Senior Bowl

From a Pro Football Network story looking at offensive linemen in the Senior Bowl (LINK):

The only FCS representative in this positional group is Dartmouth’s Delby Lemieux. It’s safe to say that intelligence is probably a checked box.

Lemieux played left tackle for the Big Green, but he’s already preparing to work inside at the Senior Bowl due to a smaller frame and smaller arms. That was Grey Zabel, a year ago, from a small school, too.

I think his size means he’s a center-only prospect, but he’s certainly earned a step up in competition after allowing just six pressures in 271 pass-blocking reps this past season. It’ll be great to learn more about him in Mobile.

For the record, Lemieux is listed on his Dartmouth bio as 6-foot-4, 295 pounds. 

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This is from Dane Brugler in the New York Times (LINK):

A little bit of a surprise invite, Dartmouth’s Delby Lemieux played left tackle but will move inside to center at the next level. He has the foot quickness to hold up against better competition, but does he have the strength and recovery skills?

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From Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets On SI comes a piece headlined, Is Georgia Tech's transfer portal class being underrated nationally? that includes this (LINK):

The Yellow Jackets got three big commitments from Gavin Harris (New Mexico State), Spencer Mermans (Yale), and Chris Corbo (Dartmouth) and they all should fill the various roles that Georgia Tech expects from their tight ends under Brent Key.

Harris had 37 catches for 533 yards and 1 TD this year. He had the 8th-most receiving yards among tight ends in the FBS this season and he will add a different dimension to the Yellow Jackets' tight end room. For his career, Harris has 58 catches for 857 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 14.8 yards per catch. This past season, Pro Football Focus gave Harris a 61.3 overall grade in 715 snaps.  

Mermans was one of the top blocking tight ends in the FCS level, something that Georgia Tech covets. He was the second-highest graded player on the Yale offense per PFF, finishing with a 90.2 overall grade, including an 82.1 run blocking grade in 230 snaps. This is a nice addition for Georgia Tech and one that should help them have another great season on the ground.

Corbo finished with 45 catches for 516 yards and four touchdowns. In 2024, he finished with 32 catches for 315 yards and seven touchdowns. Expect him, Harris, and Mermans to be the top three tight ends in this rotation.

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EXTRA POINT
The final count on our Vermont hillside this morning is 10-11 inches of the lightest snow you can imagine. 

Elsewhere

He's not included in the writeup, but a piece headlined Ranking all 2026 Senior Bowl Prospects projects former Dartmouth offensive tackle Delby Lemieux as a "round 6-7 prospect."

Find the full ranking of Senior Bowl players HERE.

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The University of South Dakota issued a release Friday headlined Football Announces Signings Of Transfer Athletes; Signed Transfers At South Dakota In Time For Spring Ball that includes this look at former Dartmouth quarterback Jackson Proctor '25 (LINK):

Jackson Proctor // QB // 6-2 // 210 // Kent, Wash. // Dartmouth College & Northern Illinois University

Spent his first four seasons at Dartmouth College (2021-24) with his collegiate debut coming at Princeton in 2022 ... played in 17 games for the Big Green with 617 yards and five touchdown passes ... spent time at Northern Illinois University but not during a football season.

Editor's Note: Uh, Proctor ran for 617 yards and five touchdowns in his Big Green career. He passed for 2,355 in a Dartmouth uniform, including 1,564 as a senior to go with 13 touchdowns.

While Proctor didn't spend much time with the NIU program, that's not actually correct, either. From a December story in the Northern Illinois school paper headlined NIU football transfer portal tracker: Who’s coming, who’s going? (LINK):

Proctor’s stint in DeKalb wasn’t a long one. Unable to officially join the team until after spring ball, the former Dartmouth transfer played in just one game for the Huskies — filling in for an injured Josh Holst in the season opener — before leaving the program for undisclosed reasons in September. Proctor will look to recreate the success he had at Dartmouth elsewhere for his final year of eligibility.

Proctor joins a South Dakota program that made it to the second round of the FCS playoffs before finishing 10-5 last fall. Proctor is one of just three quarterbacks on the spring 2026 spring roster. With the starter graduating, the most experienced returning QB is fellow redshirt senior Evan Cremascoli, who threw one pass last fall and has three completions in his career. Interestingly, he also transferred from Northern Illinois – before the 2024 season.

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EXTRA POINT

I continue to receive periodic emails that appear to come from a long-ago BGA subscriber, as well as from the father of one of my former Little League players. I quickly realized the emails are actually spam using familiar, scraped addresses to try to “spoof” me into thinking they are legitimate.

When the emails first appeared, I contacted the former player’s father, who was understandably annoyed. He apologized repeatedly, but I assured him there was no need: I knew the messages were the work of a bad actor. I haven’t reached out to the former subscriber. Instead I simply ignore the junk emails that falsely claim to be from him.

But that has me wondering. Is someone using my address to spam others without my knowledge? I suppose it’s possible that recipients have recognized what’s happening—just as I did—and, like me with my former subscriber, haven’t bothered to touch base. I have absolutely no indication that it is happening, but if it is, you have my apologies.

Add One

To the list of incoming Dartmouth recruits add the name Harlem Taylor, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound defensive lineman from Manchester, N.H., and Saint Paul's School. Per his social media, Taylor chose the Big Green over offers from Bentley, Amherst and Colby.

#AGTG I could not be more excited to announce my commitment to the admissions process at Dartmouth College❗️Thank you to everyone who has made it possible. #GoBigGreen #TheWoods @SPSFootballNH @icegrillz74 @tayloricean4 @FBCoachTre @thelilcjay pic.twitter.com/5FVdXT5Du2

— Harlem Taylor (@HarlemTaylor_) January 23, 2026

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The Green, Gold & Bold website has a piece headlined, Here are the top five offensive transfers for USF football (so far) that has grad transfer Dartmouth running back DJ Crowther ranked third among offensive players joining the University of South Florida team. From the story (LINK):

D.J Crowther, in 10 games for Dartmouth this season, had 929 rushing yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Another senior who has one year of eligibility, but who should play a key role for the Bulls this season. Crowther is an elusive back from Sacramento and was a 3-star recruit in high school. Crowther is a fun running back to watch. He has an unorthodox upright stance similar to that of former Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. He has great size at 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds. He's not scared of contact and will run through anybody.

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The Patriot Ledger has a piece about graduating Dartmouth senior offensive lineman Delby Lemieux being selected for the Senior Bowl HERE. 

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A Dartmouth social media post reminds us that while the Ivy League football season lasts just 10 weeks,  the preparation to be successful has already begun for the 2026 season.

Week 1 in the books. ✅#GoBigGreen | #TheWoods pic.twitter.com/ZkURc4xYOh

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) January 23, 2026

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EXTRA POINT

Like other EV owners who know it's best practice, we seldom charge our electric cars above 80 percent. Normally, we'll go to a full 100 percent SOC (state of charge) only before a long trip. With the temperature plummeting and significant snow on the way, however, I set the car to 100 percent yesterday, and charged it all the way up last night.

If you've been hanging around this electronic precinct for a while, you know that our Ioniq 5 has the ability to port electricity back to our house. With a chance that the power could go out as a result of the impending storm, we thought it best to get the car fully charged and ready to go. At 100 percent SOC we can run most of our house for a few days and still have enough juice left in the car to get to a public charger to start the process all over again. Here's hoping it doesn't come to that. Stay warm and stay safe!

We Know That Guy

The Kent State football pages now has a bio of new running backs coach Braxton Chapman. Part of it reads this way (LINK):

Chapman comes to Kent State from Dartmouth, where he spent the 2024 season serving as the running backs coach before being promoted to special teams coordinator in 2025. He helped guide the Big Green to a share of the Ivy League Championship in 2024  while mentoring back-to-back First Team All-Ivy running backs. Under his leadership, Dartmouth’s special teams was in the top half of the Ivy League, with the punt unit finishing second in the conference and 28th nationally. Sophomore punter Luke Armistead earned 2nd team all-conference recognition.

If you go to the 2025 Dartmouth football roster and click on the coaching staff link, Chapman's name is no longer there. Soon enough, retiring defensive line coach Duane Brooks' name will vanish as well.

But here's the thing. Both did coach the 2025 Dartmouth football team, so that roster is not a true history of the team. The correct way to handle changes like that is to post a 2026 coaching roster with the replacement coaches, not to "disappear" them from the 2025 roster.

One other problem: With the unfortunate decision to stop producing media guides, the website is where most will to turn in the future for the history of Dartmouth football. Unless Chapman, Brooks and anyone else who will be removed is added back to the '25 roster when the 2026 staff is completed, the site will not be accurate. Ten years down the road, when someone is researching the '25 team or digging into the background of a former Dartmouth coach, the information will be missing or incomplete.

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Apropos of nothing, FCS insider Sam Herder Xweeted this (LINK):

Interesting numbers after I cross-referenced my databases of 2025 FCS-to-FBS transfers, 2024 FCS All-Conference players, and FCS All-Conference players returning in 2025:

38% of 2025 FCS-to-FBS transfers were FCS All-Conference players - It's interesting how many players who aren't necessarily FCS standouts get signed by FBS schools

67% of 2024 FCS All-Conference players with eligibility remaining returned in 2025 - More FCS standouts returned than transferred to the FBS

Discuss among yourselves.

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After an outstanding season at Duke, former Harvard wide receiver Cooper Barkate is back in the transfer portal. Find a story HERE.

Lots of speculation Barkate is interested in following quarterback  Darian Mensah to Miami if that comes about. Barkate caught 72 passes for 1,106 yards and seven TDs for the Blue Devils last fall. (LINK)

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EXTRA POINT
You know the hassle you have each fall and spring when you have to change your clocks? I'm here to tell you that's nothing compared to what happens when you switch internet providers and you have internet TVs (including a "dumb" one that requires Chromecast), along with a cellphone, an iPod, an iPad, several laptops, a digital picture frame, a wi-fi extender and more. Now add in switching your landline (yes, they still exist) from a traditional phone company to VOIP and it's a lot. We have most of it working now, but I'm sure there are still surprises in store with our move from DSL to fiber. That said, I'm not going back.

In The News

From a NewYork Jets.com story headlined Senior Bowl Preview | Prospects to Keep an Eye Out for in Mobile (LINK):

Who Are Some Under the Radar Prospects?

OL Delby Lemieux of Dartmouth, CB Charles Demmings of Stephen F. Austin and RB J'Mari Taylor of Virginia were mentioned by (Senior Bowl director Drew) Fabianich as potential under the radar prospects.

Named a postseason All-American by various outlets in 2025, Lemieux (6-4, 280) was part of an offensive line that allowed the fifth-fewest sacks per game (0.80) among FCS programs.

"Great athlete, moves well, adjust well in space, protects well," Fabianich said.

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Wyoming News has a story headlined Who have the Cowboys added, lost in the portal? noting that the Wyoming football team lost around 20 players from last fall's team and is adding about 20 for 2026. The story has brief capsules on the incoming players including a familiar name (LINK):

Thaddeus Gianaris, DL: Gianaris is a FCS Dartmouth transfer who had 55 tackles, nine tackles for loss and five sacks last fall. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Interesting to see Gianaris, listed at 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds in his Dartmouth bio, categorized as a lineman. I suppose DL is a lot clearer than ER (edge rusher ;-).

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Missed this at New Year's. Dartmouth put out a quick video look at life on and around campus last summer and at the 38-second mark you can see Owen Zalc being hoisted on teammates' shoulders after his 51-yard field goal as time expired gave the Big Green a Homecoming win over Yale, 17-16.

 

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From a story picked up by MSN.com headlined What to know about Christen Press before USWNT retirement ceremony on Saturday (LINK):

Christen Press is one of the most decorated women's soccer players in U.S. history. She was born Dec. 29, 1988, in Los Angeles and is the daughter of Cody Press, a former Dartmouth football player, and Stacy Press.

Cody Press was a 6-1, 185 defensive back from Bethesda, Md., who captained the 1979 Dartmouth team.

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EXTRA POINT
As noted in this electronic precinct yesterday, the BGA World Headquarters joined the 21st century yesterday with the installation of fiber internet. For the record, yesterday's pre-installation download speed via DSL was 10.3 Mbps, and the upload speed was 0.94. When I checked earlier this morning, our download speed was a little over 100 Mbps, and our upload speed was just under 100 Mbps. Perhaps the most surprising thing is that, in addition to such a ridiculous improvement in speed, what we are paying for the internet (and phone) is dramatically lower than what we had been paying previously. Call it a win-win.