Here We Go

From the Dartmouth football office:

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It's Day Three of the NFL Draft and now things get serious for Dartmouth's NFL hopefuls. With a few draft-crazy passers-by perhaps stumbling onto BGA Daily in the next day or two this is probably as good a time and place to share the updated bios of the Big Green's leading candidates to be drafted, sign as undrafted free agents or earn tryouts.

With credit due the Dartmouth sports publicity office, here are the senior bios for the Big Green's top four candidates (heights and weights updated per Pro Days etc.):

ISIAH SWANN, 5-11, 191 cornerback, Queen Creek, Ariz.
Earned All-America second-team honors from the AFCA, Associated Press and STATS, third team from HERO Sports … Buchanan Award finalist for the second time … All-Ivy League First Team and Division I All-New England for the second straight year … second consecutive season leading the Ivy League in interceptions, hauling in four despite missing the first three games … also tied for the league lead with teammate Darren Stanley for passes defended (15) … did not play in enough games to qualify for the per game averages for passes defended nationally, but with another game added to his total, he would still rank second in the FCS at 1.88 … broke up two passes in his season debut to help Dartmouth enjoy a 42-10 homecoming triumph over Yale ... made a season-high nine tackles, broke up a pass and returned an interception 17 yards for a touchdown, one of four Big Green trips to the end zone in the second quarter to turn a 10-10 tie into a 28-point halftime lead en route to a 59-24 thumping of Columbia … earned honorable mention for the STATS FCS National Defensive Player of the Week for his performance … batted away two passes and picked off a pass at Yankee Stadium against Princeton, setting up the second Big Green touchdown en route to a 27-10 victory in a battle of undefeated teams … had six solo stops, a career-high five pass breakups and an interception he returned 69 yards for a touchdown against Cornell in his final home game … collected five tackles and broke up a pass in the season finale at Brown, plus fittingly ended his Dartmouth career with an interception in the end zone with 17 seconds left to preserve the 29-23, Ivy title-clinching victory … also played in the East-West Shrine Bowl game, the first Big Green player to do so in 16 years. (Full bio)

NIKO LALOS, 6-5, 270 defensive end, Akron, Ohio

Named to the All-Ivy League First Team, Division I All-New England Team and Phil Steele’s All-Ivy League First Team at defensive end … earned a spot on the NFF Hampshire Honor Society … ranked among the top five in the Ivy League in both sacks (second, 0.55 per game) and tackles for a loss (fifth, 1.0 per game) … ended the season with 35 tackles and was credited with a team-high eight quarterback hurries … was also third on the squad with seven passes defended thanks in part to batting down six passes at the line of scrimmage … pitched in on a sack on fourth down that forced a fumble to thwart a Colgate drive late in the first half to keep the Raiders off the scoreboard … made six tackles and helped seal the 28-15 win at Penn with a third-down sack in the final two minutes … teamed up for another third-down sack against Yale in the 42-10 homecoming thumping to force the Bulldogs to settle for a 42-yard field goal … recovered a first-and-goal fumble to deny Columbia points in the 59-24 triumph … posted a career-high seven tackles with a sack in the epic defensive struggle at Harvard … his third-down assisted tackle for a loss inside the Big Green 5-yard line helped set up the game-winning drive and Hail Mary pass in the 9-6 win … scored the first points of the game — and of his career — on a pick-six at Yankee Stadium to pave the way for the 27-10 win over undefeated and ninth-ranked Princeton … added a sack, two pass breakups and two QB hurries to his ledger as well … matched his career bests with seven stops and two sacks (along with another TFL) to contribute to the 29-23, Ivy title-clinching, comeback victory at Brown … capped collegiate career by being chosen as the team MVP at the prestigious Hula Bowl for recording two sacks and a forced fumble in the all-star game. (Full bio)

JARED GERBINO, 6-4, 244, quarterback, Rush, N.Y.
All-Ivy League Second Team at quarterback for a second straight year … named to the prestigious 2020 NFF Hampshire Honor Society as well … completion percentage (.686) second highest in program history for QBs with at least 100 attempts in a season … led the team in rushing touchdowns (6) and was second in rushing yards (368, five behind the leader) … had at least two combined rushing and passing touchdowns in six of the 10 games … guided the offense on four of the five first-half possessions in the season opener, tossing two touchdowns in the 35-6 victory at Jacksonville … had career highs of 12 completions and three TDs the following week in a 38-3 romp over Colgate, all three scores going for at least 30 yards as he racked up 193 yards through the air … hit on 9-of-12 throws for 119 yards with a 57-yard TD, plus gained 77 yards on 13 carries with the game-clinching nine-yard romp into the end zone in a 28-15 triumph at Penn to start Ivy League play … threw a 75-yard bomb on the game’s second play, setting the tone for the 42-10 homecoming blowout of Yale … finished the game with a career-best 224 passing yards on a mere five completions (adding a 61-yard scoring strike), plus rushed for another TD from 6 yards out as part of his 11-carry, 59-yard effort … managed two first-quarter touchdown drives — throwing for one of the scores — in the first quarter at Marist before taking the rest of the game off as the Big Green cruised to a 49-7 win … helped Dartmouth score 42 consecutive points by running for the first and last touchdowns in the scoring outburst as the Green roared to a 59-24 triumph over Columbia … injured late in the second quarter at Harvard and did not return but still completed 11-of-15 throws for 88 yards in the 9-6, Hail Mary win over the Crimson … gobbled up a season-high 97 rushing yards on 16 carries with touchdown scampers of 1 and 21 yards to help Dartmouth win the battle of the Ivy League’s ranked and undefeated teams (No. 9 Princeton) at Yankee Stadium, 27-10 … limited to four rushes and three pass attempts due to his lingering injury in the Big Green’s lone loss of the season … ended his career connecting on 10-of-14 passes for 105 yards in the title-clinching, 29-23 win at Brown … worked as an instructor at the Manning Passing Academy at the end of June before his senior year. (Full bio)

ZACH SAMMARTINO, 6-4, 315, offensive line, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Named to the All-Ivy League First Team, Division I All-New England Team and Phil Steele’s All-Ivy League Second Team on the offensive line … played a big part in Dartmouth winning its 19th Ivy League title and ending the season ranked in the top 25 … anchored the front line that paved the way for Dartmouth to lead the Ivy League in rushing yards per game (167.0) and rank second in scoring offense (33.3 points per game) … extremely effective pass blocker as well, contributing to the ultra-efficient passing game that ranked second nationally in passing efficiency … part of the unit that allowed fewer sacks that any other Ancient Eight squad … the offense was also third in the FCS in third-down conversion percentage at over 50 percent. (Full bio)

Also hoping to get an NFL shot are 6-0, 195 wide receiver Hunter Hagdorn (far left, All-Ivy League honorable mention and Phil Steele All-Ivy League Third Team at wide receiver),  6-1, 195 linebacker Nigel Alexander (center, All-Ivy League First Team at linebacker, Phil Steele All-Ivy League Second Team … second on the team and fourth in the Ivy League with 69 tackles) and 6-2, 280 defensive lineman Jackson Perry (All-Ivy League First Team on the defensive line, Phil Steele All-Ivy League Second Team).

Rounds 4-7 of the draft are slated to be broadcast starting at noon today on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network.

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EXTRA POINT
I'm still at least a week away from having to mow the lawn for the first time this spring and while watching a commercial yesterday for some forgettable product promising to help grow a thick and healthy lawn I found myself wondering why in the world I'd ever buy it. The last thing I want is to be feeding my lawn something that will make it race to get as tall as possible as quickly as possible.

I think if someone develops a nice dwarf grass that tops out at about 2.5 inches and just sits there they will make enough money to buy their own island.

Like Australia.