This And That

A report on Dartmouth’s first scrimmage of the fall camp went up last night on BGA Overtime. Check it out HERE.

As for the stats in the post, caveat emptor. You’ve heard the old line about being busier than “a one-armed paperhanger,” right? So you know, I watched the scrimmage held on Blackman Practice Field from the top of the adjacent soccer stadium, stationed at about the 20-yard line. I was juggling binoculars in one hand and my stat sheets in the other while looking over a cyclone fence. Some players had their shirts rolled up so that their numbers were largely obscured, and others wore old practice jerseys with the numbers so faded they were in some cases unreadable. Finally, the line of scrimmage was regularly changed up for situational drills. So yeah, read the story, get a sense about how the numbers stacked up, but don’t take ‘em to the bank. ;-)

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Today's social media post out of Dartmouth takes a look at the running back "room." The video is followed by a BGA-prepared and lightly edited transcript:

Braxton Chapman, running backs coach

Throughout our first couple practices, I've been very pleased with the running backs overall as a group. I feel like guys have been competing their tails off,  playing with a chip on their shoulder, and we’re coming out like we have something to prove this season.

DJ Crowther, running. back

So far, I feel like top to bottom, we've got a good group. We’re close guys, and we're just working on consistency and making the tough plays. Putting the ball where we're supposed to put it, and just trusting in Coach Chapman. One thing I'm hoping to accomplish building off the spring is just minimizing the mistakes and making sure that we're coming out here each and every day and watching the film, cleaning up on the tape, and not making the same mistakes twice.

Chapman

So obviously it starts with DJ Crowther. He's been doing a really good job of leading our room, coming in here, setting a standard for how we want to work and go about things. And then also, Desmond Jackson played a lot for us last year as well. You know, as older guys, two veteran guys in the room, they've done a good job of just setting our standards and our principles of who we want to be.

As a whole room, we have a very talented group. Outside the older guys we have Dylan Elder,  a sophomore. He's been working really, really hard. He played for us a little bit last year as a freshman. So, I’m really excited to see what he does this year. He's been working his tail off. You've got Colin O’Garro and Chris Roper as well. Those are all guys where in certain situations I trust them all. The way that they've been playing, they've been playing really, really good football, so I'm excited to see what they bring to the table. 

The two young guys, Myles Craddock and Manny Johnson, are really talented players. They’ve done a great job of coming in early, learning the offense, making those adjustments, making some big plays, and really getting comfortable in our system. And the older guys have been doing a great job of integrating them into our football culture, but also our running back culture. So I’m very excited for them and seeing how they continue to develop.

Crowther

I would say consistency is the main thing, just leading by example and making sure that I'm doing everything right, whether it's the little things, the big things, and just the next play mentality. First of all, winning the Ivy League Championship is one of our goals and making it into the playoffs. And then, secondly, making sure that I'm able to run in between the tackles, make the tough plays, catch the ball out of the backfield, and protect my QB, most importantly.

Chapman

I think in our identity, we want to make sure that we protect the quarterback. We want to make sure that we play fast and play dominant without the football in our hands. We want to make sure that we're making the tough plays. In those game situations, those third-down situations, we want the ball in our hands. I trust the kids, each and every one of them in the room, to make those plays for us.

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A New Jersey.com story under the headline, the Best quarterbacks in NJ Group 3, includes this on a Dartmouth recruit (LINK):

The aptly-named Jack Cannon was cited by multiple coaches as one of the best offensive players in Group 3. Cannon, who holds more than 20 Division I offers, recently committed to Dartmouth. He had a monster junior season for Holmdel, passing for 1,944 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushing for 1,075 yards and 18 TDs.

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Ever wonder what a camp visit is like for a player hoping to be recruited by Dartmouth or another Ivy? Check out this vlog by 6-foot-2, 215-pound wide receiver Manny Scott of Brookwood High School and Snellville, Ga. In the information accompanying his videos, he writes:

My goal is to provide college recruitment coordinators and coaches with a comprehensive view of my abilities, character, and potential as a student-athlete. I am committed to excelling both on the field and in the classroom, and I am eager to contribute to a successful collegiate football program.” 

If you skip through the camp action be sure to watch the final segment where the very mature high schooler talks about Dartmouth and how he felt he performed in front of the coaches.  

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An online story headlined Why Hanover, New Hampshire Is a Must-Visit College Town This Fall includes this, which may bring a smile (LINK):

Fall really transforms the town. Streets and hills turn bright red, orange, and gold, and even a short stroll feels like stepping into a Bob Ross painting.

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EXTRA POINT

Outside our one-room post office is a shack the size of a small walk-in closet filled with books people finished reading and want to share. Although I’ve largely switched over to reading on a Kindle, I’ll stick my nose in the little room occasionally to see what’s new.

Shortly before we left on our Route 66 adventure I spotted a pristine hardcover autobiography written by a well-known broadcaster Mrs. BGA likes. I brought it home for her and was surprised in flipping through it that the book had been signed by the author. The investigative journalist in me had to Google the author’s autograph to be sure it was authentic, and I think the signature has enough, uh, personality as to be virtually impossible for an amateur to forge. And the marker he used had clearly bled through to the back of the page.

Here in the BGA World Headquarters, I have one shelf given over to books that I have helped authors with, books that friends have written, and books that authors I know have signed for me. Mrs. BGA hasn’t read the book yet, but after she does it won’t find a home on my special shelf. It will end up right back where I found it, and someone else can have the fun of wondering if the broadcaster actually signed it.