Dartmouth has added another member to its recruiting class, but we begin today with a well-deserved honor.
Big Green offensive line coach Keith Clark has been selected as the American Football Coaches Association Football Assistant Coach of the Year at the FCS level. Clark has been at Dartmouth since 2009, and offensive line has been a Big Green strength ever since.
From the AFCA release (LINK):
A 40-year college coaching veteran, Clark has anchored Dartmouth’s offensive line for 17 seasons, producing 45 All-IVY selections … His fronts have consistently ranked among the Ivy League’s best in both run game production and pass protection, including multiple seasons allowing one sack or fewer per game … In 2025, Clark’s offensive line ranked No. 5 in the nation in fewest sacks allowed at a .8 average … Clark’s o-lines powered Dartmouth to Ivy League titles in 2015, 2019 and 2021 while leading the league or ranking in the top 25 nationally in rushing offense, pass efficiency and fewest sacks allowed … A long-time AFCA member, Clark has served on the AFCA Luncheon Committee and was a former chair of the FCS Assistant Coaches Committee … He remains heavily involved in community outreach, participating in reading programs and mentoring initiatives for youth, such as serving as a Cub Scouts leader and a youth football and baseball coach.
Dartmouth has a release HERE that includes this from Delby Lemieux, a consensus All-Ivy League choice and NFL prospect:
"So deserving for Coach Clark, incredibly intelligent and professional coach. Coach Clark was one of the main reasons I came here. Year over year, he's a reason we find success in our offense. He treats our room like a family, which helps us become a true band of brothers when we step out onto the field."
And this from four-year starter Konstantin Spörk:
"Coach Clark is someone I've grown extremely close to over my time at Dartmouth. He's the kind of coach every player trusts, not just with football, but also with life. Everyone in our position group knows that if we're dealing with something off the field, we can always turn to him."
Here's the list of this year's Assistant Coach of the Year honorees:
FBS–Bryant Haines, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers, Indiana University
FCS–Keith Clark, Offensive Line, Dartmouth College
Division II–Tyler Almond, Defensive Coordinator/Safeties, Carson-Newman University
Division III–Eric Jones, Offensive Line, Central College
NAIA–Peter Davila, Defensive Coordinator, Keiser University
Here's the announcement to the team of Clark's award with head coach Sammy McCorkle sharing the news and the team responding with a standing ovation:
Clark is actually the second Big Green coach to be honored this way. Dartmouth defensive coordinator Don Dobes was the FCS assistant coach of the year just last year.
The New York Giants hosted six players on Tuesday, five of whom were punters and one of whom might be familiar to Giants fans.
The familiar name? Niko Lalos '20. From the story (which includes a photo of the former Dartmouth standout from his former stint with the Giants):
He was with Big Blue for two seasons, but only appeared in six games for the Giants, notching six tackles (two solos) and one interception. Lalos signed with the Saints during the 2023 offseason, but didn’t make the roster and would later join the team’s practice squad later that season.
In 2022, Lalos was also drafted by the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL but was released from his contract to pursue an NFL career.
He had a second stint with the Saints in 2023, spending most of that season and the 2024 campaign on the New Orleans practice squad.
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EXTRA POINT
The trials and tribulations of living off the United States Postal Service grid continue.
I ordered a birthday gift for Mrs. BGA a couple of weeks ago. No information was given regarding the method of shipping, but with the anticipated size and weight of the box I was certain it would be delivered to our door by UPS or FedEx. Just in case, however, I added our PO Box to the end of our street address so that in the unlikely case it did go to the post office they wouldn't send it back to the shipper the way they did with a package a few weeks earlier.
Before I share what happened, we sent out our Christmas card order last week and got a message via email that they would be delivered yesterday.
So what happened? The birthday gift I was sure would come to our house ended up at our teeny, one-room post office. The hash tag and PO box number saved the day, even though the plus-four on the end of our zip code – which also denotes our PO box and should have sufficed, was somehow cut off the shipping label.
The Christmas cards? They fit in a box the size of a paperback book but were delivered to our house. Last year the same card company sent them to our PO box. Go figure.
