Check It Out

It is, as they say in these parts, "wicked" easy to get caught up following the football when you are watching a game. If you want to see what makes the football move, check out the highlight video of Dartmouth left guard Ryan O'Neill, a two-team member of the All-Ivy and All-New England first teams. Spoiler Alert: A few defensive players will not want to watch this because O'Neill thoroughly abuses you.

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The Bradenton Herald has a story today about the commitment of 6-foot-5, 280-pound lineman Josh Clark, reported here yesterday. From the story:

The Ivy League school cemented its place with Clark last week, when head coach Buddy Teevens arrived in BCS coach Allan Gerber’s office at 8 a.m. sharp the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“That really showed to me where (Clark) was on their radar,” Gerber said.

Clark, by the way, heard from Louisville yesterday, which brings up a good point. Even though the players listed on this site and by the recruiting services are reported as having "committed" to Dartmouth, nothing is set in stone until they receive their official admittance and return their deposits in the spring. They can, and in some cases will, take visits to other schools. At least one player on Dartmouth's "commit list," has several "official" visits still lined up.

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Here are the Dartmouth "commitments" that have been reported so far, listed here by position. Again, only the early decision recruits (noted by an * before their name) and one recruit who had deferred for two years are confirmed. Heights, weights and positions are from various reports. There are no doubt more names that should be on the list but either they haven't been publicized or I haven't been able to find 'em.

Quarterback
*Thomas Militello, 6-4, 180, Mary Institute, St. Louis

Tailback
*Kyle Bramble, 5-11, 187, Floyd Central HS, Ind.
Brian Grove, 5-10, 191, King's Academy, West Palm Beach, Fla.
David Daines, 6-1, 202 Weber HS, Utah^

Wide Receiver
*Victor Williams, WR, 5-9, 158, Muskogee HS, Okla.

Tight End
*Jonathan Moran, TE, 6-5, 230, Loyola Blakefield HS, Baltimore
*Jack Sheehy, TE, 6-5, 230, St. Andrews School, Boca Raton, Fla.

Offensive Line
Josh Clark, 6-5, 273 Bradenton Christian, Fla.,

Defensive Line
Cody Fulleton, 6-2, 265, O’Dea HS, Seattle

Linebacker
Will McNamara, 6-1, 210, St. Rita HS, Ill.

Cornerback
*Paddy Clancy, 5-10 1/2, 165, St. Thomas Academy, Minn.
*Jordan Greenwood, 6-0, 180, Lutheran High, Orange, Calif.

Safety
*David Caldwell, 5-11 1/2, 177, Groton School (Charlotte, N.C.)
*Frankie Hernandez, 5-10, 190, Belen Jesuit, Fla.

^ Recruited two years ago and coming in the fall after a two-year LDS mission.

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According to Rivals.com speedy "athlete" DaCarlos Humphrey of Legacy HS in Mansfield, Texas has schools like Air Force, Kansas State, Rice and Tulsa on his list along with Dartmouth and Harvard, but the only offer he's sitting on is from the Big Green. From the Star-Telegram:

New Mexico, Air Force and three Ivy league schools are all options for the 5-11, 170 pound dual threat QB, who accounted for nearly 1,100 total yards and 16 TDs this season.

Just below the mention of Humphrey is a note that, "Legacy wide receiver Andy Ritter is receiving heavy interest from several Ivy League schools." ESPN's recruiting site says the 6-2 receiver has a 44.8-inch vertical. Exactly how accurate that might be is for someone else to decide – certainly vertical leap is easier to measure than the 40 – but it's clear the kid has some ups.

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The Yale Daily News reports about changes in tailgating policy after a tailgater was struck and killed by a runaway truck before The Game last fall. Kegs and "box" trucks will now be prohibited. A vehicle-free tailgating zone will be established and tailgaters will not be allowed to linger after the start of the game.

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The No. 24 Harvard men's basketball team (that's not a typo) will visit Dartmouth tomorrow night and there's some thought it will be Dartmouth's first sellout since Dec. 30, 2000 when No. 8 Virginia visited Leede Arena in a homecoming game for Keith Friel of Durham, NH. (Friel played that night against his brother Greg '03, then a Dartmouth freshman.)

Opened in 1987, Dartmouth's Leede Arena hosted 29 sellouts between then and 2000 but hasn't had one since. Dartmouth students are trying to organize a "green out" for the game. From a "blitz":

Come out, get yourself a green shirt for the game, and get pumped as the team looks to upset the Crimson at home! Remember to arrive early, as only the first 500 students will be guaranteed admittance, since we do expect to sell out this game!

With another group of football recruits in town, you couldn't ask for a better basketball game for them to check out!

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Thinking about the potential sellout and that Virginia game called to mind Dec. 19, 1998, the night the North Carolina Tar Heels visited Leede Arena. I was there the evening before when 7-footer Brendan Haywood walked through the door, looked around and asked, "Where's the gym?" Told this was where they Heels were playing, he walked over to one of the baskets, took a look and said, "I think I can pull that down." I think he might have been joking but I'm not sure. True story: Another backboard was at the ready for the game, kept on a dolly just out of sight.

As long as I'm reminiscing . . .

I wrote a story for the paper about people sleeping in the Berry Center hallway the night before tickets went on sale for the North Carolina game to make sure they got through the door. And on the day of the game I met a family from Maine who bought season tickets to be sure they saw North Carolina. It was the only game they attended!

Oh yeah. I'd also written a story speculating on why the Tar Heels would come play in a 2,100-seat arena. To this day I'm convinced I solved the mystery. It's hardly an exaggeration to say the story didn't go over well with Dean Smith and he let me know it, loudly and clearly. Ask me about it sometime ;-)

For what it's worth, Dartmouth gave the Heels a pretty good game before falling, 82-68.

But I digress . . .

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The Daily Dartmouth reports the college has received 23,052 applications this year, a 3-3.5 percent increase over last year. That compares to 15,700 for the Class of 2012.

According to The D, about 2,100 will be accepted with 465 early offered early admission.

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That Certain Hanover High Senior has his final two exams today and the end couldn't come soon enough for his parents. It's hard to believe anyone could study for that many days and hours and still worry so much. We keep reminding ourselves that you can't teach them to care. He's eschewed checking his admission status at his No. 1 school because he didn't need the distraction during finals but he does know his "status" changed a few days ago and a decision was/is imminent. Keep your fingers crossed.