The List

OK, here’s the list of recruits with one more year to go before arriving in Hanover. Again, this is unofficial. Corrections and additions not only welcomed, but encouraged!

• WR Blake Betette, 5-1, 185, Richard Northeast HS/S.C.

• LB JJ Bolz, 6-2, 220, Bishop Verot HS/Florida

• DB Tayegan Briskey, 6-1, 180, West Boca Raton HS/Florida

• DB David Brown III, 6-1, 162, Cypress Woods HS/Texas

• QB Jack Cannon, 6-2, 210, Holmdel HS/New Jersey 

• OL Tim Church, 6-5, 300, Buckingham Browne & Nichols/Massachusetts

• DB/WR George Duggins, 6-3, 200, Mona Shores HS/ Michigan

• RB/DB Jacob Henry, 5-11, 190, Maumelle HS/Arkansas

•LB Gavin King, 6-4, 230, Loyola Academy/Ill.

• DL/TE Will Maloof, 6-5, 210, St. Peter's Prep/New Jersey

• OL Brody McLeod, 6-4, 280, Ponte Vedra HS/Florida

• OL Mikey McMahon, 6-4, 290, Bergen Catholic HS/New Jersey

• OT Yuseph Mustafa, 6-4, 260, Dearborn HS/Michigan

• OL Jake Namnum, 6-2, 292, St. Josephs Prep/Pennsylvania

• LB Parker Maiers, 6-1, 220, Brebeuf Jesuit HS/Indiana

• OL Nick Schenkel, 6-4, 270, Liberty HS/Pennsylvania

Green Alert Take: I wish I could share with you the official recruiting class for this fall, but we’re still awaiting its release.

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From Dartmouth social media:

Congratulations to Coach Daft (@CoachDaft) for being selected by the @chargers for the NFL Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship‼️#TheWoods #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/xG5yrsNCDs

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) July 14, 2025

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And finally, it’s not about football, but if you get any of these Ivy League trivia questions wrong you haven’t been paying attention. ;-)

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EXTRA POINT

For Father’s Day, That Certain Dartmouth ’14 gave me the game of Kubb, and back east for a few days, she had her first chance to play the game. Mrs. BGA shot this pic last night, and while TCD’14 is watching her toss head across the field, the star of the show was the glorious sunset here at our Vermont hillside home.

We’re heading north to Old Montreal for a couple of days with TCD’14 and her husband (strange to write that ;-), so BGA will be going dark again until we get back.

Plus One

Parker Maiers is a 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker from Brebeuf Jesuit High School in Indianapolis. He chose Dartmouth over offers from Penn, Kent State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo, Western Illinois, UMass, Navy, Air Force, Arkansas State and Butler. (LINK) He had interest from a number of Power 5 schools, including home-state Purdue.

Maiers reported 141 tackles (91 solo), 5.5 tackle for loss and three forced fumbles.

Green Alert Take: Maiers is the 15th confirmed player in next year’s recruiting class and still there’s been no official release on this year’s recruiting class.

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Dartmouth’s Chris Corbo is honored as the top returning tight end in the nation by FCS Football Central. From the story (LINK):

Rankings were constructed using multiple factors, including film, on-field production, accolades, Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades, and the general knowledge of each voter.

And . . .

Corbo had a breakout junior season, earning first-team All-Ivy honors and receiving FCS All-American honors from multiple publications. He finished the season with 32 receptions for 315 yards and seven touchdowns. He ranked No. 2 among tight ends in receiving touchdowns, scoring one in seven of Dartmouth's 10 games. Corbo was the No. 10-graded FCS tight end, ranking No. 1 in the Ivy League.

Tight end might be the position at which the Ivy League produces the most NFL talent, and this year's rankings are a reminder of just how strong the Ancient Eight is at the slot. Cornell’s Ryder Kurtz is the second-ranked tight end, and Harvard’s Seamus Gilmartin comes in at No. 7.

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From Dartmouth social media:

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EXTRA POINT

The ’84 VW camper joined upwards of 100 other vintage buses over the weekend at the West River Westies event in a secluded valley about 95 miles south of our Vermont hillside. Here’s a look at just a few of the vintage vehicles with their tops popped.

And here’s our setup with Wiffle the bus, so named because of its color:

The Last Five Years, Part Deux

Following up on yesterday’s five-year look at Ivy League teams, here are the records of New Hampshire, Fordham and Central Connecticut in the order in which the Big Green will be playing its nonconference opponents this fall:

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It’s happening.

If you thought all Ivy League athletes were going to stay loyal to their schools in this era of college free agency, think again.

• Last year 7-footer Danny Wolf departed Yale after his sophomore season to play at Michigan. The benefit from playing in the über-competitive Big 10? He showed he’s the real thing. A couple of weeks ago he was selected by the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the NBA Draft, earning a $14 million-plus contract.

• Last year running back Malachi Hosley was the Ivy League offensive player of the year as a sophomore at Penn. This year? He’ll be carrying the ball for Georgia Tech, a team expected to vie for the ACC title in the fall.

• Last winter Princeton junior Xavian Lee was chosen unanimously to the All-Ivy League men’s basketball first team for the second year in a row. The do-everything guard will be playing his senior season as a Florida Gator.

• Hard-working Princeton forward Caden Pierce, a former Ivy League Rookie of the Year and the 2023-24 Ivy Player of the Year, made the All-Ivy first team for the second time in a row last season. This week it was announced he’s going to sit out his senior year so he can enter the portal and play elsewhere next winter.

Green Alert Take: Ivy League schools are going to have to make sticking around more appealing for their elite players, or get used to the idea that some of the best are going to move on before their careers are finished.

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Of course, the transfer door goes both ways. Yale showed that a while back with quarterback Dante Reno opting to leave South Carolina and the FBS to play for his father, Tony, in New Haven.

Now it’s Princeton's turn to bring in another FBS quarterback.

Suiting up for the Tigers next year will be QB Wyatt Becker, who graduated high school early to enroll at Utah in January (and practice in the spring) before entering the portal and landing at Princeton. Becker was highly regarded coming out of high school. From an SI.com story (LINK):

The Utah Utes got the recruiting party started early for the 2025 class, as they were able to land a commitment from 2025 four-star quarterback Wyatt Becker. 

The Sierra Canyon (CA) product will now be the centerpiece of their 2025 class.

You read that right. “The centerpiece” of the Utah recruiting class. Becker’s list of offers was impressive: Arizona, Arizona State, Boston College, Florida State, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, SMU, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech.

Some of those offers were made even before he started high school.

Green Alert Take: While Princeton got terrific production from Colorado transfer quarterback Blake Stenstrom before he graduated in 2024, there are no guarantees when heralded players come into the Ivy League. The Tigers know that as well as anyone. Remember the QB they brought in who took an official visit to Alabama after committing to play in the Ivy League? He graduated without ever completing a varsity pass.

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EXTRA POINT

We had a good friend up for dinner Monday night and he kindly sent along a few images he made of Griff the Wonder Dog. Here’s one of our 11-year-old friend that can’t help but bring a smile:

Griff will be joining us this weekend at our annual VW bus jamboree in southern Vermont. Although he absolutely loves riding in a car – any car – for some reason he’s no fan of the ’84 poptop camper. He puts up a pretty fair stink getting into it. That said, he loves lounging alongside the bus all weekend, and we have no problem inducing him inside to sleep when we finally turn in at night.

With no internet (or cell coverage for that matter) BGA will be going dark this weekend. Have a good one!

The Last Five

Another slow day in the BGAisphere, so here's a quick look at Ivy League team records over the past five seasons:

And for comparison:

In case you are wondering, here's the average finish per school:

2.0 Dartmouth 

2.2 Yale 

3.0 Harvard 

3.2 Princeton 

4.4 Columbia 

4.6 Penn 

5.2 Cornell 

6.8 Brown 

And the biggest surprise? Cornell with a 3-2 advantage in its series with Dartmouth over the past five seasons.

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EXTRA POINT

The good thing about waking up early and hiking before sitting down (or in this case standing up) in front of the computer is I get my daily exercise done early, before the day heats up. I also enjoy having the trail to myself. The bad thing? When my usual hiking time rolled around yesterday I couldn't help myself and went out for another three-mile up-and-over. I'm going to try to restrain myself this afternoon. ;-)

Agree To Disagree

 The Athletic has a story headlined Which college football rivalry has the best name? Ranking Bedlam, the Iron Bowl and more that ranks what the author considers the top 25 football rivalry names. This one may bring a smile (LINK):

22. Granite Bowl — New Hampshire vs. Dartmouth

Another state-specific bowl, but being known for a rock formed from volcanic magma is pretty cool.

But before you get too big a head about the nickname for a rivalry game that unfortunately is no longer on the schedule every year, here are a couple of others that might make an appearance on the list a little less meaningful:

14. Seafaring Scuffle — U.S. Merchant Marine vs. SUNY Maritime

Two New York schools that specialize in maritime studies AND alliteration? Yes, please. We need to figure out how to use “seafaring” more in daily conversation. Also, points for something that isn’t “bowl” or “showdown.”

13. Coal Bowl — Indiana (Pa.) vs. California (Pa.)

This is a matchup between “Indiana” and “California” universities located in Pennsylvania. It’s confusing, but the name is fantastic: a local emphasis that rhymes. It’s also better than the “Friends of Coal Bowl” for West Virginia and Marshall.

And while The Game did not make the cut, another contest between elite schools did:

9. The Biggest Little Game in America — Amherst vs. Williams

The most self-aware and humble rivalry name there is. Division III’s most-played rivalry dates back to 1884 and even hosted ESPN’s “College GameDay” in 2007.

Here’s the top five from the article. I’m OK with these, with one exception:

5. The Iron Bowl (Alabama-Auburn)

4. The Holy War (BYU-Utah)

3. The Battle for the Bones (UAB-Memphis)

2. Bedlam (Oklahoma-Oklahoma State)

1. Brawl of the Wild (Montana-Montana State)

The exception? I absolutely would have replaced No. 3 “The Battle of the Bones” (which I’d never heard of) with The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (Florida-Georgia) or The Civil War (Oregon-Oregon State). And because it’s the most played game of all, The Rivalry (Lehigh-Lafayette) could hold down that spot.

I have to say, though, the Brawl of the Wild is a deserving number one choice.

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I don’t know much about the fellow is who is doing these videos from around the FCS, but here’s another of local interest:

Dartmouth WR Daniel Haughton (@Danielhaughton_) returns as the top perimeter threat for the Big Green in 2025.

Haughton hauled in 27 receptions for 428 yards and 3 TDs last season.

With an expanded role on tap, Haughton is poised for a breakout year and should firmly be in the… pic.twitter.com/SQj3sBPMqJ

— Bryan (@BGauvin23) July 7, 2025

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EXTRA POINT

I’ve been reading a new novel from a popular writer of outdoor fiction and one grammatical construction he uses time and again makes me want to scream at his editor.

He repeatedly uses the word “and” where he should be using the word “to.” He’ll write: “The hunter had to try and find his way back over the mountain,” when what he means is, “The hunter had to try to find his way back over the mountain.”

It’s OK if the author uses it in dialogue, because a lot of people use that construction when they speak. But when an accomplished and successful author continually uses that construction in his narrative it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard for me.

The List Grows Yet Again

Still another Dartmouth commit:

I’M HOME ❕🌲#committed@DartmouthFTBL @Coach_McCorkle @coachirishodea @coach_dobes @CoachEBrenss @grayson_kline @CoachBracken @CoachShaneMonty @CoachRodeBV @CoachVillegasBV pic.twitter.com/7bz6jNJWsu

— 𝐉𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭 (𝐉.𝐉.) 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐳 (@jjbolz3) July 6, 2025

JJ Bolz is a 6-foot-2ish, 220-pound linebacker who will play his second season at Bishop Verot High School in Fort Meyers, Fla., this fall after starting his high school career at Andrean H.S. in Merrillville, Ind. He chose Dartmouth over offers from Cornell, Central Michigan, Miami and Toledo, and interest from Louisville, Wisconsin, UAB and UNLV among others.

Bolz was a first-team all-state selection last fall with 134 tackles. 5.5 sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss, nine QB hurries, one interception, and one fumble recovery. Per his Xwitter account he lists a 4.67 time in the 40, a 19.7 mph clocking, a 335-pound bench, a 300-pound clean and a 535-pound squat after trimming his weight from a year ago.

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From an Athlon Sports preseason look at the Duke football team this fall (LINK):

Look for FCS Dartmouth transfer Josiah Green to have an impact at defensive tackle.

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EXTRA POINT

After watching the 10-minute CBS Sunday Morning feature Inside "Jaws": Making the film classic, Mrs. BGA and I pulled the film up last night. It debuted 50 years ago and while the beach scenes certainly are dated and today’s CGI would make the shark scenes more realistic, the movie is still fun to watch, particularly on the Fourth of July weekend. And I’ll admit, although I’ve seen it a handful of times, the scene when Richard Dreyfuss is diving underwater and suddenly sees a dead face staring back at him from inside a sunken boat gave me a start.

The Sound Of Silence

OK, I’ve got nothing and the recording of Dartmouth Football Medley had no views listed in two days on YouTube, so it is a marriage made in heaven. Enjoy.

To quote Porky Pig, That’s all folks!

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EXTRA POINT

We went to a concert on a village green featuring a regional act last week and a couple of days later joined several thousand people on a golf course down the road to see a nationally known country singer from Australia, of all places. What did the two performers have in common? Both were selling CDs of their music on site. That raises a question: Does anybody still have a CD player?

Actually, I do. It’s a "Panasonic car/portable with anti-shock memory 3.0." But in the interest of full transparence, I have to admit it’s been collecting dust here on a shelf in the BGA world headquarters. Our of curiosity, I just opened it and found inside disc titled Mannheim Steamroller, A Fresh Air Christmas, and if I’m going to be honest, it’s been more than a few Christmases since the last time it was opened. I’m just not sure selling CDs is the way to go.

Add One

I’m honored and excited to share that I have committed to Dartmouth College. Thank you to my family, coaches, teachers and teammates for your support and encouragement that led me here. #Committed #GoBigGreen @DartmouthFTBL @Coach_McCorkle @coachkeithclark @CoachShaneMonty… pic.twitter.com/is0CG7jg2E

— Tim Church '26 (@TimChurch26) July 4, 2025

Tim Church is a 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive lineman from Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Massachusetts. His extensive offer list includes Yale, Penn, Columbia, Cornell, Bucknell, Georgetown, Syracuse, Massachusetts, Old Dominion, Buffalo, Bryant, Akron and Delaware.

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Flo Orimolade ’17 and his Calgary Stampeders team improved to 3-1 with a 37-16 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Thursday in the Stampede Bowl. The loss was the first this year for Winnipeg.

Happy Stampedin’ everybody! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/CLWh7RIZj8

— Calgary Stampeders (@calstampeders) July 4, 2025

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EXTRA POINT

That Certain Nittany Lion ’16 and Griff the Wonder Dog fishing today in the early morning on a foggy Vermont lake where we spent the Fourth of July: