Monday, May 12, 2014

He Knows Of What He Writes

Dartmouth wide receiver coach Cortez Hankton writes about what it was like for him in 2003 when he waited – in vain – to hear his name called during the NFL draft. Hankton, who played in all 16 games as rookie receiver with the Jacksonville Jaguars and would go on to spend seven years in pro football, offers guidelines for those players whose names were called this year.

From the column:
I sat on my parents couch watching the draft and remember the wait was the most gut-wrenching event I had ever experienced. I experienced anxiety induced by my phone ringing and the announcement of draft picks, hoping that it would be a team calling. I received a call on the 2nd day from an NFL team’s Wide Receiver Coach. He told me I would most likely be their next pick in the 5th round and to be sure I stayed by the phone. I’ve never held my phone tighter.
Find the column here.

Here are some of Hankton's charges in action this spring in a video produced by the Dartmouth football office:


Fox Sports Detroit has a draft story focused on Princeton defensive tackle Caraun Reid that also includes a mention of Dartmouth safety Garrett Waggoner joining him with the Lions.
The Sports Network does a very good job of analyzing FCS draft picks and projects a name familiar to Dartmouth as one of the most prominent potential FCS draft picks a year from now.
St. Thomas Aquinas, the high school that sent corner Vernon Harris to Dartmouth, had four – count 'em, four – players selected in this year's NFL draft with safety Lamarcus Joyner going to the Rams in the second round, safety Dezmon Southward going to the Falcons in the third round, offensive lineman Brandon Linder going to the Jaguars in the third round and running back James White to the Patriots in the fourth round. Aquinas' previous record was three players taken in 2010.
Abbey D'Agostino!

What more can you say after she won the 3000, 5000 and 10,000 at the Ivy League's Heptagonal Track & Field Championships? What more could she possibly do?

From a Dartmouth release:
D’Agostino now stands alone as the only woman ever to win the 3000m three times at the Ivy’s outdoor championship meet. Her historic weekend also included a win in the 10,000m on Saturday, making her the first woman in conference history to win the 3K, 5K and 10K in a career, let alone a single weekend as the senior from Topsfield, Massachusetts, did in New Haven over the course of the last two days.
For her efforts in winning her sixth, seventh and eighth respective Ivy League outdoor titles, she was unanimously named the Most Outstanding Female Track Athlete of the Meet for the third straight year. 
Counting cross country, indoor and outdoor track, D’Agostino has won 16 Ivy League titles to go along with an Ivy League-record seven – and counting – national championships.

The Dartmouth women finished second as a team at the Heps.
The Dartmouth softball team (31-17) will play at Arizona State (44-10-1) Friday at 6 p.m. Eastern in a game currently scheduled to be broadcast on ESPNU. San Diego State (39-17) and Michigan (42-12) are also in the double-elimination regional. Find a release here.