More Recruiting Background

A little more background has trickled in on early decision H-back/tight end Charles Bakes of Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. Here's what originally appeared on Big Green Alert:

H-back Charles Bakes, 6-2, 240, Hotchkiss School, Conn.
An H-back/tight end who helped Hotchkiss to a 7-1 regular-season record before a 20-14 overtime loss to Exeter in the New England Class A Championship game. ... Like a good number of others in the early class, he attended football camp at Dartmouth. ... Fifth in the New England prep championships in the discus last spring. ... Coach Teevens: “He would remind you of (freshman) Justin Foley. He’s a similar size. He’s a productive blocker and a capable receiver. Physically he’s a little further ahead than some guys his age. Hopefully he’s a guy who contribute early as an H-back.”

This is from his high school coach:

'Dean' Bakes was a key player for the Hotchkiss School team this past season, helping them to a second consecutive Erickson League title. A two-year letterman, Bakes started at TE for the Bearcats this fall and caught 22 passes for 211 yards and three TD. He also added 14 tackles from his spot on the defensive line.

Joe Dowdell is a Dartmouth-bound receiver from Bishop Kelly HS in Oklahoma. Here's what appeared on Big Green Alert about him:

Wide receiver Joseph Dowdell, 6-3, 190, Bishop Kelley HS, Okla.
Helped Comets win their first 11 games before the dropped a 34-31 double-overtime heartbreaker in the Class 5A state quarterfinals. ... Caught 53 passes for 885 yards and 12 touchdowns this fall, averaging 16.7 yards per catch. ... Had 106 catches in his final two years. ...Returned 15 punts for 10.8 yards per attempt this year. ... Had nine catches in one game to break a school record set by his father John in 1972 and tied by brother Jack a year ago. ... Father John played wide receiver at Wake Forest and brother Jack was on the roster at wide receiver at Kansas. Coach Teevens: “We learned about him a while ago. He has good speed and is a good deep-ball catcher. He has good hands and is a disciplined route runner. He’s one of the top guys in the area.”

Dowdell's commitment has been reported in Tulsa World, which writes:
Another area high school football standout announced his commitment to the Ivy League as

Bishop Kelley wideout Joe Dowdell selected Dartmouth as his college choice.
Dowdell, who holds Kelley's season and career receiving records, chose Dartmouth over Princeton. He also was being recruited by SMU, Richmond and Northwestern.
Dowdell had 53 receptions for 885 yards and 14 touchdowns this year to help the Comets post an 11-1 record.

Nice to see that, although they came from different sources, the numbers – except for touchdowns – match up. That's not always the case ;-)

A name to keep an eye on is Evan Bach, a running back/wide receiver from Canal Fulton Northwest in Ohio. Thanks to a regular reader for sharing this link saying the 5-foot-10, 180-pounder with "reported" 4.5 speed has an offer from Dartmouth. According to another link, Bach ...

Moved to running back from receiver as a junior and rushed for 1,961 yards on 215 carries and 24 touchdowns. Also had 20 catches for 259 yards and one touchdown. Tallied 41 tackles and an interception on defense.

Dartmouth to the Big 10? A columnist from the Toledo Blade thinks that's what the conference – an academic conference, by the way – would like. Sort of. He writes:

... (I)n their heart of hearts, the Big Ten presidents appear to want Dartmouth, only with a 100,000 seat stadium and a new major TV market. The Big Ten coaches probably want Eastern Michigan, only with a 100,000 seat stadium and a new major TV market.

Whispers on the street – and I have no way of knowing if these are accurate – suggest that the search for a permanent athletic director will heat up with the start of the new year. A column in the Arizona Daily Star about the search for a new AD at the University of Arizona would be helpful reading for Dartmouth search committee members. Among other things, the column suggests the Arizona president speak with "the most prominent athletic directors of the (Arizona) Pac-10 years: (Former Washington AD Mike) Lude, Arizona's Cedric Dempsey and Stanford's Ted Leland."

Dartmouth may want to consider doing the same thing.

Leland, you may remember, served as athletic director at Dartmouth from 1983-89 before moving on to Pacific and eventually landing at Stanford, where he spent 14 years running what many consider the best athletic department in America. Click here for a story wrapping up his Stanford career when he stepped down to become vice president for university advancement at his alma mater, the University of the Pacific. The announcement of his move to Pacific included this:

Dr. Leland is one of the nation's most respected athletic directors. In 2000, NACDA named him its Athletic Director of the Year. He has also won the 2004 Dick Enberg Award, presented by COSIDA for supporting the ideal of the student-athlete, and he has been named one of the "10 most influential persons in college athletics" by Sports Business Journal.

Leland's consulting work has been in the news periodically over the years. Here's a link to his work with Kansas in 2001. Here's a link is to his work at UC Merced last spring. Leland has been with Alden & Associates (Leland bio), a Hadley, Mass., concern with a lengthy list of clients.