Thursday, August 08, 2013

DiBiaso Out This Fall

Boston.com and the Boston Globe have stories about record-setting quarterback Jonathan DiBiaso missing his freshman season at Dartmouth this fall after having "an ulnar nerve transposition done on the elbow to move the nerve into the proper place and attach it to the bone." The procedure took place last week.

The Boston outlets write:
DiBiaso faces a 10-to-12 week recovery period and will be redshirted to protect his four years of eligibility.
The sound you hear is Ivy League coaches and administrators gnashing their teeth because, and the Globe should know better, there's no such thing as being "redshirted" to "protect" eligibility in the Ivy League. Like any other football player, DiBiaso can petition after his senior year to return. The league will then make a decision based on his medical records about whether to allow him a fifth year. It would seem, given the story, that he should be in good position to be granted another year, but there are no guarantees. Not everyone gets the OK to return and again, no decision will be made until after the fall of 2017.

DiBiaso set a Massachusetts high school record with 44 TD passes at Everett HS in 2011 before prepping last year at Phillips Exeter. His father, John, who coached him at Everett, said:
“When you hear elbow surgery, you think the worst. It was not the ligaments. That’s the good part. The surgeon said he was amazed that he played for two years with it.”
Green Alert Take: With sophomore Dalyn Williams and junior Alex Park returning, strong-armed Thomas Militello back for his sophomore year and classmate Ernest Evans healthy, DiBiaso would likely have shared time on the jayvees this year. Now having lost its only incoming quarterback, the Big Green will have just four QBs this year, meaning another injury would put an increased premium on keeping the others healthy and could even put the jayvee season in jeopardy.
The Boston Herald has a story out of Ivy media day with a quote from Crimson coach Tim Murphy pointing out something that has been mentioned on BGA previously. Murphy:
“If you look around, we’re probably the only team in the league that has that big a question mark at quarterback.”
He's right. Here's a lineup of potential Ivy QBs:

• Brown – Fifth-year senior and returning starter Patrick Donnelly is back
• Columbia – Returnees bolstered by transfer of Stanford's Brett Nottingham and arrival of a highly regarded frosh
• Cornell – Jeff Mathews, nuf said
• Dartmouth – Ivy ROY Dalyn Williams and fellow starter Alex Park
ยช Penn – Billy Ragone and backup Ryan Becker return for fifth year
• Princeton – Two QBs with starting experience return, and arrival of Chad Kanoff, who rescinded commitment to Vanderbilt
• Yale – Last year's QBs return along with Clemson transfer Morgan Roberts

But don't cry any tears for Harvard. The head coach of another team (not Dartmouth) told me last year that the Crimson had someone backing up Colton Chapple who, at least physically, was even better. . .

From the Herald:
The competition at quarterback has Connor Hempel listed No. 1 with Mike Pruneau right behind. Hempel completed 15-of-24 attempts for 165 yards with one interception in limited duty in seven appearances a year ago. Pruneau did not throw a pass. 
“They’re both junior eligibility. They are both 6-foot-3, 212 pounds, and can make the throws, but a lot of guys can say that,” said Murphy. “They are carbon copies of each (other). We have to figure out the rest of it.”
Penn has landed a transfer fullback from Duke named Ben Challgren. Find his Penn bio here and his Duke bio here. He is listed at 6-foot-1, 235 pounds. He was a two-time member of the Iowa all-state first team.