QB Has Dartmouth 'Offer'

Dartmouth is in the running for a 6-2, 200-pound quarterback from Webster Groves, Mo., according to his coach, who told a writer, "Mike Whittier has received scholarship offers from Air Force, Dartmouth and Arkansas State."

Whittier completed 150-of-283 passes for 2,299 yards, 19 touchdowns and three interceptions last fall. Termed a "dual threat" quarterback in his Rivals profile, Whittier also ran for 315 yards and five touchdowns. To read a story featuring the quarterback before his final high school game, click here. To see video of him in action, click here.

Today's Daily Dartmouth has a feature on senior linebacker Justin Cottrell in the aftermath of his being named an honorable-mention All-American.

The Daily Princetonian has an interview with Jonathan Meyer, the Greenwich, Conn., linebacker who chose Princeton over scholarship offers from Florida, Michigan, UCLA and others (SI.com story). Meyer's story elicited these thoughts from a Green Alert reader praising his decision to go Ivy:

• He can play two sports and, at Princeton, compete for the national championship in lacrosse;
• If he can play, he can play. If he can’t, he can’t. The NFL is a long way off for any high school player. If he can play in the NFL, he’ll have his chance regardless of where he goes to college. If he isn’t good enough, it doesn’t matter where he went to college;
• All recruits are gambles and you never know how they are going to perform at a higher level. “Sure things” fizzle in large numbers every year. If he can’t cut it, he’s still going to Princeton;
• Injured?? He’s still going to Princeton.

Lessons for Dartmouth?

• Don’t be afraid to recruit good players who can be admitted;
• Quality men’s programs in other sports help football recruiting;
• The school and the education are paramount. Stay away from FBS rejects. Compete for FBS players by selling the school, the education and the opportunities.

In anticipation of cold weather in Green Bay this weekend, today's Boston Globe has a story about what is on record as the coldest game in NFL history: the 1981 AFC Championship game at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium when the temperature was 9-below and the windchill was 59-below. Playing for the Bengals that afternoon was former Dartmouth linebacker Reggie Willliams, who remembers the day well. From the story:

"I'll never forget the cold that day," said Williams. "I can still feel it."

And finally, this from the Dartmouth News Service: "The Campaign for the Dartmouth Experience reached an important milestone in December 2007, surpassing $1 billion in gifts since its launch in 2002." The release notes:

"More than 65 percent of alumni and roughly 66,000 alumni, parents, and friends of the College," have contributed.

and

Following a record fund-raising month in December, the campaign has raised $1.012 billion as of December 31, 2007 and is on pace to achieve its $1.3 billion goal by December 31, 2009.