A weekly newspaper in Colorado has a story headlined, After finding success at Dartmouth, Noah Roper heads back home about the former Big Green running back who will use his final year of eligibility at Division II national power Colorado School of Mines. Roper tells the newspaper (LINK):
“Winning the two Ivy League titles was an amazing experience to be part of,” Roper said. “Playing in those games and having an impact was pretty awesome. It was a bummer being injured for my senior season, but my whole experience there was still amazing. I always tell people that, if I could go back and pick again, I might pick somewhere else just because it might have been a better football fit for me, but I never regret being at Dartmouth.”
And . . .
“I am going to give everything I have to this last year,” Roper said. “I am looking to be ‘that guy’ at Mines. I never got to the point at Dartmouth where they would just give me the rock multiple times every drive. I really want to be the horse for them (Mines) where they just give me the ball and I ride with it. I want to be part of their team and culture. I am going to do everything in my power to lead us to a Division II national championship because that’s our goal.”
Sharing time in the Dartmouth backfield, Noah Roper played in 26 games over three seasons at Dartmouth, carrying 124 times for 657 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 5.3 yards per run. He caught 24 balls for 209 yards and one touchdown and also threw a TD pass. He had a career-high 108 yards on 16 carries in the win over New Hampshire in 2021 and 91 yards on 23 attempts in his final Dartmouth game against Brown last fall.
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The CFL site 3DownNation has another piece about defensive end Flo Orimolade '17 moving from the Calgary Stampeders to the Toronto Argonauts and this story includes contract details. It's not exactly the Monopoly money they dish out in the NFL but he's doing fine by the standards north of the border. From the story (LINK):
It’s a two-year contract that makes him the highest-paid at his position in the CFL. His deal pays $240,000 in 2023, including a $100,000 signing bonus, and $250,000 in 2024.
(Editor's note: Those would be Canadian dollars.)
From the story:
The 27-year-old pass rusher had a breakout season with the Calgary Stampeders in 2022, amassing 37 defensive tackles, six sacks, one forced fumble and a pick-six in 17 regular season games. Orimolade had his best performance of the year in the West Semi-Final against the B.C. Lions, tallying six tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble in the loss.
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Former safety Matt Burke '98 will be the new defensive coordinator of the Houston Texans per reports. From a story out of Houston about Burke, a former defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins and most recently defensive line coach for the Arizona Cardinals (LINK):
The Miami Herald profiled Burke during his time in South Beach. He spent the offseason in Africa in 2015 and 2016, when he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, safaried in Botswana, and did charity work in Uganda.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport may have given the best description of Burke's reputation in the league.
"Once dubbed the most interesting man in the NFL, Burke spends his offseason climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, hanging out in Rwanda with gorillas or skydiving. Now, he'll call Houston his home," Rapoport tweeted.
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EXTRA POINT
We've all seen sun showers. This morning when Griff the Wonder Dog was outside taking care of business we had a full out sun snow shower. The strange site was the result of clouds overhead with bright sun streaming in horizontally under the clouds from the sunrise over Mount Moosilauke. It lasted only a minute or two but the falling snow sparkling in the sun was so dazzling that by the time I realized I should run and get my camera it was over.
