Dartmouth President Jim Wright speaks with the assembled players during a lull in afternoon practice Tuesday. (click photo to supersize)Buddy Teevens will tell you he's known a lot of college presidents at a number of different schools during his coaching career but he's never had one who was as approachable, helpful and knowledgeable about football as Dartmouth President Jim Wright. The college president spoke with the team for about 10 minutes Tuesday and spent the better part of a half hour at practice. Here's what Teevens had to say about the visit afterward:
"We invite him every year but never know quite what his schedule is. They called over today and said he was in town and we told him our practice times. He's great because we just wait for an appropriate time and he comes out and says some things to the guys. He's so good with them.
"He'll see someone like (junior tight end Carroll) Papajohn and it's, 'How are things in Florida? Did the storm hit you guys? Or, hey (Muhammed Abdul) Shakoor, you're from Atlanta. Did you have a good summer?' To have a president of a world-class institution come down and remember stuff like that? A lot of them couldn't remember where the football stadium was, never mind who the on the team are or where they are from, or say hello to the moms and dads when they are here is special.
"For a guy 17-to-21 years old to have the president of their school come down and talk about football, knowing facts and figures and information is pretty special."
Long shadows are a hint that double sessions have begun. Defensive backs work on a scoop-and-score drill Tuesday morning on Memorial Field.
Coach Buddy Teevens instructs quarterbacks (from left) Will Deevy, Dan Rooney, Alex Jenny, Conner Kempe and Max Heiges. Missing from the photo: Tim McManus.The Daily Pennsylvanian, which along with the Columbia Spectator offers the most comprehensive football coverage each fall among Ivy League school papers, has a story about who will take over as the primary ballcarrier for the Quakers.
One week before Penn, Dartmouth will face off against what should be the best team on its schedule – New Hampshire. One of the best players on that team, who helped his New Hampshire high school go 44-0, is receiver, runner and return specialist Mike Boyle, who returned the opening kickoff 91 yards against Dartmouth last year. There's a story about Boyle here.
The game notes for the UNH opener against Army have been posted here. If you'd like to get a sneak peak at UNH, that game will be aired live this Saturday afternoon on ESPN Classic. Given the offenses the two teams play, it should be extremely entertaining.
Old friend Matt Dougherty, former FCS guru for The Sports Network and before that an intern in the Dartmouth sports information office, is the director of media relations for the Patriot League. In that capacity, he has a story about Holy Cross tailback Terrance Gass. Gass told Dougherty:
"Our offense really spreads the defense out. We're always looking to create more space and have more running room, and I'm able to get out and run and catch in the open field.And finally, that certain Hanover High junior ran her first cross country race yesterday after making the switch from field hockey this year. It was an open, non-scoring meet where the varsity candidates ran largely as a group. The Hanover team, which finished fourth in the nation in Oregon last fall, will officially kick off the season this Saturday in a huge meet up at Mount Washington. Later in the season, by the way, they will be running in the Manhattan Invitational down in New York City. ... That certain Hanover freshman, meanwhile, continues to grind through football preseason. The varsity opens Friday night but he and his classmates will see their first action Monday afternoon when the jayvees take the field.
"It's good for me because it's just the type of player I am. I can run and catch the ball better than doing the same thing over and over."
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