What it doesn't include is return specialists. On kickoff, Niko Mermigas, who will be a junior in the fall, handled a team-high six returns last year and will be back. Rising senior Drew Estrada and soph-to-be Zack Bair each had one KOR. The only player graduating who had a return was Rashaad Cooper, who was credited with one.
On punt return, Dylan Mellor graduates after bringing back 11 last year. Hunter Hagdorn was next with 10 punt returns as a junior.
As was the case the past two days, all mistakes are mine and will be corrected if need be.
Click chart to enlarge.
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Dartmouth held its annual Celebration of Athletic Excellence Monday night and two senior football players were among those recognized.
Linebacker David Emanuels received the Timothy Wright Ellis 1955 Memorial Award "given to a man showing extracurricular and scholastic drive, spirit, loyalty and amiability and is nominated and voted on by the captains of the men's teams."
Fellow linebacker Jack Traynor (who will be a medical redshirt senior in the fall) won the Kenneth Archibald Prize. From the announcement: "Dartmouth's highest athletic honor is presented annually to 'the member of the graduating class who has been four years in attendance, who has been the best all-around athlete, regard also being had to moral worth and high standing in scholarship.' The winner traditionally exemplifies all that we hope and expect of the men and women who put on the Dartmouth uniform and take to the field of play. This student-athlete is to be of exemplary athletic skill, of great academic prowess and of high moral character."
Find the full story with background on the winners and coach quotes HERE.
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Work continues apace on the Dartmouth indoor practice facility. Check out the college's Campus Services page pictured above for an update.
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The decision by Fox to broadcast its top college football game of the week at noon each Saturday instead of the more traditional 3:30 or 8 p.m. slot may have ramifications for attendance at games on the Ivy League and Patriot League level.
Chuck Burton, who has done a bang-up job with Lehigh Football Nation for many years, has penned (read:typed) a piece for College Sports Journal (LINK) arguing that competition with televised games makes it imperative that the Patriot League school install lights at Goodman Stadium.
Green Alert Take: I don't think the change will have absolutely any effect on Dartmouth's attendance but Chuck has a good point that competing with televised Penn State games in a Nittany Lion stronghold like the Lehigh Valley feels like a losing proposition for Lehigh.
Speaking of Lehigh, don't be surprised if Dartmouth and the Engineers (oops) Mountain Hawks renew acquaintances sometime in the next decade ;-)
Whether there are lights when the Big Green visits Goodman Stadium for the first time since 1996 remains to be seen but there will definitely be a different look to the facility. A Lehigh press release explained that the press box has been relocated to the top of the visiting stands while the old press box atop the home stands will be converted to private suites.
Whether there are lights when the Big Green visits Goodman Stadium for the first time since 1996 remains to be seen but there will definitely be a different look to the facility. A Lehigh press release explained that the press box has been relocated to the top of the visiting stands while the old press box atop the home stands will be converted to private suites.
I have to admit I was taken aback by the architectural rendering on the website of the company doing the design work. Apparently in-state rival Villanova isn't thought to be much of a draw.
Green Alert Take: Maybe there's a Penn State game on TV?
That's a little unkind because apart from the ridiculous distance from 50-yard line seats to the field (photo below) 16,000-seat Goodman Stadium is a terrific place to watch a game. The setting is absolutely gorgeous and the last time I was there the tailgating scene was better than any in the Ivy League this side of Yale.
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If you have a couple extra minutes today do check out a BBC story under the headline, Efe Obada: The NFL star abandoned on London's streets at age of 10. From the almost unbelievable story, kindly shared by a loyal BGA Daily reader:
When his future football peers were graduating from college aged 22, Obada was working in a factory in Welwyn Garden City in England. He had never played competitive sport in his life - let alone the notoriously complex game of American football.
