Monday, April 28, 2025

Getting His Shot

Former Dartmouth defensive lineman Shane Cokes ’23 wasn’t drafted and didn’t sign an undrafted free agent contract, but he’s still getting his shot at the NFL with the Seahawks and Broncos both offering him a chance to win a contract at their minicamps:


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Curious why Ivy Leaguers grad transfer to the FBS after picking up their diplomas? Courtesy of HERO Sports, here’s the payoff for the two former Ivy players who were drafted after spending a year at the next level (LINK):

4th Round
No. 127 — Princeton/Iowa State OL Jalen Travis
Estimated Total Value: $5,119,558
Estimated Signing Bonus: $919,558

5th Round

No. 173 — Yale/Georgia Tech TE Jackson Hawes (Bills)

Estimated Total Value: $4,519,617

Estimated Signing Bonus: $319,617

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Joining Shane Cokes in earning a minicamp invitation is “the one the Ivy League missed on: – Middlebury offensive lineman Thomas Perry, who is headed to the Ravens for a tryout. (LINK)


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EXTRA POINT

And finally, Griffin the Wonder Dog turns 11 today. He’s had his challenges, starting with knee surgery at a young age, a few other procedures over the years, and another surgery a month or so ago. But he’s still doing great!


Here he is on Wright’s Mountain just a couple of weeks ago and atop Moose Mountain when he was just a little fella.



Griff is a lot older than he was in the photo with his rubber football up there in the corner of this page, but he still loves his toys. He has an overflowing basket of them in our living room that he sometimes tips over to root through when he is looking for one toy in particular. It’s a joy watching him searching for whichever stuffed animal or ball or rubber bone he has his mindset on, and then playing with it.


For the past 10 days or so, Griff has largely ignored his toy basket. Instead, usually sometime after Final Jeopardy, he’s been leaving the living room and heading upstairs. Less than a minute later we’ll hear him padding back down the steps with a stuffed “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” he has collected from his bed. He’ll toss the thing around for 30 seconds or a minute, then drop it, and nod off. I’ll bring Rudolph back upstairs when I go up, and we’ll rinse and repeat the process the next day.


I don’t know how much longer the old boy will continue fetching his fuzzy friend, but every single time it brings a smile. 


Happy 11th Birthday Griff!


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