One Who Got Away ... Sort Of

His name has appeared here before, but not in this context: Colorado offensive tackle Nate Solder was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press. Solder was heavily recruited by Dartmouth.

Oh yeah. One other thing: The All-American was heavily recruited to play basketball in Hanover. The lead from the Denver Post:

Five years ago, 6-foot-9 Nate Solder of Buena Vista chose a football scholarship offer from Colorado rather than playing basketball at Dartmouth. How wise does that decision look now?

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A linebacker from Pocatello (sounds like the opening line to a joke, doesn't it?) has chosen Harvard over Dartmouth. From a story in the Idaho State Journal:

Wall’s final decision was between Harvard and Dartmouth, and he said the difference was location. Dartmouth, in Hanover, N.H., had a wilderness feel to it, which didn’t appeal to Wall.

Not much you can do about that although reading someone from that part of the country refer to the "wilderness feel" around here seems kind of funny, even up here on the shoulder of Moose Mountain.

Also from the story:

Dartmouth was the first school to contact him, and Harvard coach Tim Murphy sent Wall a handwritten letter telling him he was impressed with his ability and wanted him to play for the Crimson.

Wall said that letter meant a lot to him.

"I got (form) letters from schools like Utah State and Boise State, and I didn’t even open them because they’re all the same,” Wall said. “When you get a handwritten letter, that shows that the coach really took the time.”

Green Alert Take: I can see the ad in school papers now. "Work-study job in football office. Please send handwriting samples."

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Chuck Burton from the Lehigh Football Nation blog has worked up percentages on how he thinks the upcoming Patriot League football scholarship vote will go.

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Why does the Patriot League vote matter to the Ivy League? Two of the biggest reasons are related:

1) Scheduling. As a likeminded, non-scholarship group, the Patriot League has been a comfortable and consistent dance partner for Ivy League teams. Should the PL go scholarship and the level of play improve significantly (see Northeast Conference) the Ivies will have to look far and wide for appropriate opposition.

2) Recruiting. A lot of Ivy Leaguers may not want to hear it or believe it, but football scholarships would result in some of the Ivy League's top targets – yes, including those who could go HYP – choosing instead to go to the PL. For those talented players it would be a chance for their families to save a great deal of money, to play at a higher level (assuming that would be a result of scholarships) and to have a legitimate shot at advancing in the playoffs, all while getting one of the best educations in the country. And don't for a second underestimate the importance to an 18-year-old male ego of being able to say he received a "football scholarship."