Miles And Miles

Add the name Miles Sanders to the Dartmouth recruiting list per his Twitter feed.

If the name is familiar, a different Miles Sanders was the top high school running back in the nation last year and just finished his freshman season at Penn State ;-)

The Dartmouth-bound Miles Sanders is a 6-foot-3, 290-pound offensive lineman from Parkway Central HS and Chesterfield, Mo., who also happens to be a talented singer.

St. Louis Today did a story about him under the headline: Parkway Central's Sanders a star on stage and football field.

Find his Hudl highlight film HERE.

The other Miles Sanders' highlights can be seen here ;-)

The Dartmouth Way

The News & Observer from Raleigh, N.C. ran a lengthy story recently under the headline, Is this football's future? How a North Carolina high school protects players' heads.

It was behind a News & Observer paywall until the Chicago Tribune picked it up. I commend it to everyone.

The story tells of Adam Sanders, a onetime fullback at Furman and now head coach at Apex Friendship High School on the outskirts of Raleigh, spending "three days at Dartmouth in May as a guest of coach Buddy Teevens and his staff observing the Big Green practice without hitting each other, without even tackling each other. That's how Dartmouth has done it for a decade."

It turns out there's another Dartmouth connection.

From the story:

Sanders was sitting in the stands at Friendship's baseball stadium last spring, watching one of his wide receivers, Payton Bloom, play center field. Next to him was Josh Bloom, Payton's father, who is the medical director of the Carolina Sports Concussion Clinic in Cary and the team doctor for the Carolina Hurricanes. He also played football for Teevens at Dartmouth in the mid-'90s, a hard-hitting linebacker who was voted team MVP as a senior.

And this:

Bloom had sent Sanders some of Teevens' videos on "The Dartmouth Way," but he proposed Sanders take it a step further and see it firsthand.

"My son wants to play, so No. 1, I want him to be in a good environment," Bloom said. "No. 2, frankly, I want it to be competitive. As I got to know Sanders, I knew his heart was in the right place. I also knew their limitations on the field, that they needed to have their guys be healthy, that the guys they needed in Week 1 needed to be there in Week 10."

Find the story HERE.

Apex Friendship, in case you are wondering, is 7-3.

Here's the video The Dartmouth Way that the story references:

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That Hail Mary against Harvard is the gift that keeps on giving. You can't make this stuff up . . .
Yep, that's right. Masaki Aerts' grab of the Hail May at Harvard is Lindy's U.S. FARM RAISED CATFISH CATCH OF THE WEEK ;-) (LINK)

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Dartmouth quarterback Jared Gerbino is on the College Football Performance Awards Midseason FCS National Performer of the Year Trophy Watch List. (LINK) There are 34 players on the list with the Ivy League also represented by quarterbacks Kevin Davidson of Princeton and Kurt Rawlings of Yale.

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Jay Greenberg, who writes for PrincetonTigersFootball.com, has a column celebrating the Dartmouth-Princeton game. He writes about why "an era likely to be forever defined at both schools by two epic head to head showdowns needs to be completely savored Saturday at Yankee Stadium."

Find the story HERE.

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Found this list of all of the undefeated-undefeated November Ivy League games on the always readable TigerBlog. Turns out there have been six before this year and this will be the third pitting the Big Green and the Tigers. (LINK):

1964 — Princeton (7-0) def. Yale (6-0-1), 35-14
1965 — Dartmouth (8-0) def. Princeton (8-0), 28-14
1968 — Harvard (8-0) and Yale (8-0) tied, 29-29
1993 — Penn (7-0) def. Princeton (7-0), 30-14
2001 — Harvard (7-0) def. Penn (7-0), 28-21
2018 — Princeton (7-0) def. Dartmouth (7-0), 14-9
2019 — Princeton (7-0) vs. Dartmouth (7-0)

Old friend TigerBlog also wrote this:

The last time Princeton had a winning streak of 17 games was between 1964 and 1965. That run ended with a loss to a Dartmouth team that came in having won nine straight. 

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Snagged this from FCS guru Craig Haley's Twitter:

FCS career interceptions leaders among active players:
1. Will Warner (Drake): 15
2.(tie) Greg Liggs Jr. (Richmond): 14
2.(tie) Isiah Swann (Dartmouth): 14
4. Jeremy Chinn (Southern Illinois): 13
5. Rashad Robinson (James Madison): 12

Six Degrees Of Connection

Judging by the number of people who have shared a link, more than a few of you have probably seen this on Slate:

Six Degrees of Kevin Garnett 

Connect any two NBA, NFL, and MLB athletes in history—even if they played different sports.

Here are some "Six Degree"connections that Dartmouth fans might find entertaining:

Former Dartmouth jayvee quarterback . . .ED LUCAS '04

played on the 2013 Miami Marlins with ...

Koyie Hill, who played on the 2003 Los Angeles Dodgers with ...

Rickey Henderson, who played on the 1988 New York Yankees with ...

Tommy John, who played on the 1970 Chicago White Sox with ...

Steve Hamilton, who played on the 1959-60 Minneapolis Lakers with ...

Former Dartmouth star RUDY LARUSSO '59

Former Dartmouth kicker . . . NICK LOWERY '78

played on the 1993 Kansas City Chiefs with ...

Bruce Pickens, who played on the 1993 Atlanta Falcons with ...

Deion Sanders, who played on the 1990 New York Yankees with ...

Rick Cerone, who played on the 1979 Toronto Blue Jays with ...

Danny Ainge, who played on the 1991-92 Portland Trail Blazers with ...

Lamont Strothers, who played on the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks with ...

Former Dartmouth star WALTER PALMER '90

Former Dartmouth tight end CASEY CRAMER '04

played on the 2008 Miami Dolphins with ...

Derek Smith, who played on the 2000 Washington Redskins with ...

Deion Sanders, who played on the 1997 Cincinnati Reds with ...

Mike Morgan, who played on the 1978 Oakland Athletics with ...

Former Dartmouth pitcher PETE BROBERG '72

Former Dartmouth baseball standout RED ROLFE '31

played on the 1934 New York Yankees with ...

Jimmie DeShong, who played on the 1939 Washington Senators with ...

Early Wynn, who played on the 1963 Cleveland Indians with ...

Tommy John, who played on the 1989 New York Yankees with ...

Deion Sanders, who played on the 2000 Washington Redskins with ...

Larry Centers, who played on the 1998 Arizona Cardinals with ...

ZACK WALZ '98

Former Dartmouth quarterback JAY FIEDLER '94

played on the 1995 Philadelphia Eagles with ...

Greg Tremble, who played on the 1995 Dallas Cowboys with ...

Deion Sanders, who played on the 1989 New York Yankees with ...

Tommy John, who played on the 1963 Cleveland Indians with ...

Early Wynn, who played on the 1941 Washington Senators with ...

Ben Chapman, who played on the 1932 New York Yankees with ...

BABE RUTH

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From a Bucknell release in the aftermath of Saturday's game in Hanover:

Bucknell football senior DL Tracey Smith (Allen, Texas/Allen) was named the Bison Athlete of the Week on Monday. The three-year starter was a key component on Bucknell’s defensive line that posted a season-high seven sacks and eight tackles for loss Saturday during a 17-14 victory at Dartmouth. 

Smith piled up career highs for tackles (8), sacks (2.5) and tackles for loss (2.5) in the Bison win. He also forced a fourth-quarter fumble deep in Big Green territory that resulted in a touchdown on Bucknell’s next offensive play, giving the Bison a late 17-7 advantage.

And . . .

The entire Bison defensive line was a factor in the win over Dartmouth as Sean Sellers returned from an injury to wreak havoc in the backfield with six tackles and 1.5 sacks.Demetrius Baldwin-Youngblood added two sacks and a forced fumble.

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Jake Novak from the Roar Lions Columbia football blog shares his appreciation of Memorial Field in this post.

Whatever Happened To . . .

"One of the more fascinating guys we have. A big defensive tackle who is an accomplished musician." 

Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens in 2017 on Miles Sanders

Miles Sanders, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound lineman from Chesterfield, Mo., missed his freshman season with an ankle injury, spent the fall with a video camera in his hands helping record practice, and then decided to chuck it all and pursue a passion for music that the high school sports website for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote about HERE.

From the bio on Sanders' website (LINK):

Singer/Rapper, MILES, combines his melodic tone with hip hop to create a unique brand of upbeat music. He brings his audience a style of music that reflects his urban taste, lyricism, and choir upbringing. MILES incorporates his music influence of Chance The Rapper, Charlie Puth, and Khalid to create music that exemplifies friendship, partying without a care, and living life to its fullest.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Miles Sanders, always had a love for music but grew up focusing on academics & football. He was accepted into Dartmouth with intention to play football but it was his strong passion for music that would cause him to leave school, move to Los Angeles, and pursue his music career full-time. 

The onetime Dartmouth recruit eventually signed with Elektra Records and has just released the official video for his single, Desperados. (LINK) Watch it here, and no, it's not that Desperados.:

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From Twitter:

Tennessee State coach Rod Reed on a shortened spring campaign: "It's a playoff atmosphere. You lose one or two games in conference, that's it."

Green Alert Take: Hey coach, now you know what life is like in the Ivy League.

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Headline in the Milford Daily News out of Massachusetts (LINK):

Westborough's Sean Sullivan commits to Yale after receiving football scholarship offers from all eight Ivy League schools

Green Alert Take: You would think someone in a sports department midway between Harvard and Brown would have pointed out that there are no football scholarships in the Ivy League, right?

UPDATE: The headline has now been corrected.

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EXTRA POINT
I don't know about you but as I was watching the inauguration special last night I found myself wondering why singers who are lip-synching bother to hold microphones.

They don't really think they are fooling us, do they?

Between us, I think the microphones just make obvious lip-synching even more annoying . . . if that's even possible.

Hometown, Uh Home State Hero

Former Dartmouth offensive lineman/tight end Jake Guidone '21, who helped UConn to the 2022 Myrtle Beach Bowl as the grad transfer starting center, is on a different kind of field these days. A smaller field.

From a story in The Sun (LINK):

Fresh off a bye week, the Walpole native is ready to get back to business, toeing the offensive line for the undefeated Massachusetts Pirates (3-0) of the Indoor Football League.

The team, which moved to Lowell in the offseason, plays host to the Iowa Barnstormers on Friday (7:05 p.m.) in what promises to be another action-packed arena football affair.

And . . . 

A 6-foot-3, 315-pound lineman, Guidone certainly knows his way around the gridiron. He worked out with the Green Bay Packers in September after attending rookie minicamp with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent this past season.

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Speaking of offensive linemen, Dartmouth will be honoring one at commencement this year. From The Dartmouth (LINK):

Former professional football player and assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology John Urschel will receive a Doctor of Letters. Urschel, who previously played as a lineman for the Baltimore Ravens before transitioning to a career in academia, is the author of “Mind and Matter: A Life in Math and Football.”

Green Alert Take: Those who think you can't combine top-notch academics and major college football might be interested to know Urschel starred on the gridiron and in the classroom at Penn State after seriously considering Princeton. He earned his doctorate at MIT after earning the Campbell Trophy, known as the "academic Heisman," while playing for the Nittany Lions.

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Still on the topic of offensive linemen, Dartmouth's Ethan Sipe has added Old Dominion to his growing list of grad transfer offers.

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Back on the subject of academics and major college football, a friend of BGA shared a link to a story that shows a different side of the equation. The USA Today headline pretty much says it all: QB Shedeur Sanders attends first in-person lecture at Colorado after more than a year;  Colorado quarterback has been doing coursework online instead. University life ain't what it used to be. (LINK)

From the story:

“It’s so different now man because most of the school is online,” Deion Sanders said. “Like, they go to classes and I’m like, 'You guys are missing the best part of college − to be on campus, to walk around and build the atmosphere and build relationships on campus with other students outside of football.' That’s the best part of it, but now you have so many kids, they’re just online. I don’t even know if Shedeur has partaken a class on campus in his college career.”

Green Alert Take: That's pretty hollow. Maybe, just maybe, if Coach Sanders went so far as to tell the players he wanted them to actually experience school in person they might have the experience he says they are missing.

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Have you been wondering – as I have – which Dartmouth basketball players did not vote to unionize? In a letter to the editor of The Dartmouth, 6-foot-6 forward Connor Christensen of Eden Prairie, Minn., explains why he thinks the union is a bad idea. From the letter (LINK):

I believe that the movement opposes the core values and traditions of Dartmouth athletics — the balance between a rich academic history and competitive athletics — and may lead to unintended consequences for athletes across the College. 

And . . . 

Ultimately, unions exist to protect people from being taken advantage of. I, however, do not feel exploited by Dartmouth. It is an honor to represent the College and attend an institution with world-class academics and prestige. 

Christensen writes that he intends to continue as a member of the team.

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EXTRA POINT
I got this note in my email yesterday from web host Weebly. It's bittersweet:

bgafootball.com has expired

We wanted to let you know that bgafootball.com expired today and has been taken offline. Any connected site or email is no longer functional.

But if you want to get back online, you still have 29 more days to do so!

For what it's worth, the site was still up when I checked it just now. ;-) 

Who Knew?

While we weren't looking . . .

The New Orleans Saints website has a game preview for the team's home opener that includes this about Sunday evening's contest (LINK):

Saints DE Niko Lalos and Los Angeles T Matt Kaskey were college teammates at Dartmouth. 

Green Alert Take: How cool is that?

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There are too many differences between playing football under Buddy Teevens at Dartmouth and playing under Deion Sanders at Colorado. Shane Cokes '23 learned another one yesterday when a fight broke out at Colorado's practice. From an AP story (LINK):

“I seen two of you walking off, over there, and you’ve got a key teammate fighting,” Sanders groused. “Where they do that at? Where they do that at?”

Not here, his players replied.

“If one fights, we all fight,” Sanders fumed. “You understand that? I don’t want to see you all walking off when somebody’s fighting. Never again!”

At Dartmouth if you joined in, the entire team would run.

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You read here the other day about undrafted Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jake Bobo, son of former Dartmouth wide receiver Mike '92, and now comes this from SI (LINK):

"He's been a fan favorite in the locker room, for sure," (quarterback Drew) Lock said. "'More Bobo' is the thing we like to say in the locker room. Get Bobo the ball," Lock said.

Additionally, Lock praised Bobo for the strong work ethic he has demonstrated during his brief time with the Seahawks.

"He does everything right, man. He works really, really hard. I know when you throw a rookie out there, you get zero MEs (mental errors) in practices. I'm not saying he's going to do zero the whole time, but he does the right thing. He's in the right spots, knows his job, his assignment. That's all you can ask for. His physical ability will take care of everything else," Lock said. 

Green Alert Take: Like father, like son. 

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Hopefully you read the Dartmouth Ivy League media day transcript posted on BGA Daily on Monday afternoon. Dartmouth's social media gives you an opportunity to see how coach Sammy McCorkle and fifth-year seniors Nick Howard and Quinten Arello looked and sounded:

“… Doing all the little things right …"

Interim Head Coach Sammy McCorkle#TheWoods pic.twitter.com/EkSwR2B87E

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) August 15, 2023

“ You couldn’t ask for a better staff …”

Interim Head Coach Sammy McCorkle#TheWoods pic.twitter.com/gtu8Iy2gPi

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) August 15, 2023

“… The younger guys being able to step up this year and getting some playing time last year, that’s what I’m super excited for…”

Safety Quinten Arello#TheWoods pic.twitter.com/Bq2SnkcMKm

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) August 15, 2023

“Last year was not our expectation as a defense ...”

Safety Quinten Arello#TheWoods pic.twitter.com/KheQHNUuai

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) August 15, 2023

“… Derek (Kyler) has remained one of the biggest mentors i’ve ever had …"

Quarterback Nick Howard#TheWoods pic.twitter.com/cDEKLqaEar

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) August 15, 2023

“… Ultimately I decided that Hanover was home ...”

Quarterback Nick Howard#TheWoods pic.twitter.com/QKmUSXibT2

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) August 15, 2023

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Speaking of Media Day, this is from Twitter (LINK):

One day after representing Columbia at Ivy League Media Day… Columbia WR Marcus Libman enters the transfer portal per @farrellportal

Libman recorded 40 receptions for 448 receiving yards and four touchdowns last season for the Lions

Green Alert Take: Can't confirm it. Very strange.

UPDATE: From the player's Twitter X account (LINK)

I am determined to make the 2023 season with my teammates 

@CULionsFB

 one to remember. My decision to enter the transfer portal is for my possible graduation in December. ROAR LION ROAR 

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EXTRA POINT

Told you I was taking a "busman's holiday" before the start of practice Saturday. This is Wiffle
the bus ;-)

Thought about rowing the inflatable boat to the general store to gain access to their wifi last evening to post the Penn preview on BGA Premium. When it started to rain (yet again!) I realized I made the right decision walking to the store, because I could park myself under trees until the rain let up. Look for the Princeton preview tonight and the Yale preview capping the series tomorrow night. No telling if I'll be boating over!

Congratulations

Find a story about fifth-year senior offensive lineman Jake Guidone being named an Associated Press third-team All-America selection on the Dartmouth website HERE. Find the full team listed HERE.

Guidone, who has used up his Ivy League eligibility, is mulling offers as a grad transfer. Among the schools that have offered him are Connecticut, Texas State, Kent State, Towson, James Madison and Missouri State.

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Someone who has made a decision about a grad transfer destination is tight end Robbie Mangas, who did have another potential year at Dartmouth but has opted to move on. He signed this morning with MAC member Buffalo:

Green Alert Take: Instead of opening against Valparaiso next fall, Mangas will open up against Maryland on Sept. 3. In addition to their MAC schedule, the Bulls are slated to play Coastal Carolina, UMass and Holy Cross.

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Dartmouth linebacker Jalen Mackie, who has the option of returning to Dartmouth for another season, has added a grad transfer offer from Albany.  

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Despite missing three games this fall while undergoing surgery, having to apologize for his team's role in a skirmish and walking out of SWAC press conference media day because he was called "Deion" instead of "coach," Deion Sanders was voted the Eddie Robinson FCS coach of the year after Jackson State finished 11-1. Here are the final vote tallies:

1. Deion Sanders, Jackson State: 9-7-8-10-6-123

2. K.C. Keeler, Sam Houston: 9-5-5-6-7-99

3. Randy Sanders, ETSU: 11-4-7-2-1-97

4. Troy Taylor, Sacramento State: 7-7-5-3-4-88

5.(tie) Matt Entz, North Dakota State: 1-7-3-3-2-50

5.(tie) Brent Vigen, Montana State: 1-5-5-4-2-50

7. Eric Morris, UIW: 2-2-6-3-2-44

8. Jason Simpson, UT Martin: 3-3-1-3-2-38

9. Glenn Caruso, St. Thomas: 2-3-2-0-1-29

10. Brian Bohannon, Kennesaw State: 0-2-2-4-4-26

11.(tie) Mark Ferrante, Villanova: 1-1-2-2-5-24

11.(tie) Bobby Petrino, Missouri State: 0-3-1-4-1-24

13. BUDDY TEEVENS, DARTMOUTH: 2-0-2-3-0-22

14. Colby Carthel, Stephen F. Austin: 1-1-0-3-3-18

15. Bob Chesney, Holy Cross: 1-0-1-0-5-13

16. Buddy Pough, South Carolina State: 0-0-0-0-5-5 

And here's the ballot for FCS guru Craig Haley of STATS Perform, who oversees the selection process:

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From the story (LINK):

With Dartmouth’s other half of the two-quarterback system, Derek Kyler — who was relied on as more of the throwing quarterback — graduating, that will open up more of an expansive role next season for Howard.

“I’m hoping to move into a much stronger passing role,” Howard said. “I believe I’m a capable passer. With the quarterback situation we had with (Kyler), that’s a guy you don’t want to take off the field, especially when it comes to throwing the ball. I don’t know exactly what will happen, but I feel good my role is going to develop to add a much larger part of the offense.”

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Harvard Magazine has a story headlined, Harvard Football's Stolen Ivy Title; A thrilling win in The Game was eclipsed by a stolen Ivy title. From the story (LINK):

“Karma is real,” said Tim Murphy, the Thomas Stephenson Family Coach for Harvard Football, whose record in The Game is now 19-8. “These kids played like champions. We couldn’t have asked for a better, storybook, make-things-right ending.” 

And this (italics are mine) . . .

The happy outcome was marred by the knowledge of what might, or should, have been. With the Princeton result still rankling—it forever will—Murphy had rings made for his squad that read “9-1.” That exemplifies the pride the coach felt for his resolute team.

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Jake Bobo, the wide receiver son of former Dartmouth great Mike Bobo '92, is headed to UCLA as a grad transfer. From the story (LINK):

Bobo made the All-ACC Third Team this fall and racked up several academic honors during his time at Duke. Bobo comes from long line of athletes as well, with his parents, grandparents and aunts playing football, hockey, lacrosse and field hockey at Dartmouth, SMU, New Hampshire, Harvard, Middlebury, William Smith College and Virginia over the past few decades.

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Start of an Ivy League Tweet:

Following another successful Field hockey stick and ball season that saw the league advance a team to the Final Four for the fourth time since 2016 . . .

Green Alert Take: Funny how the Ivy League is so ready to celebrate the postseason accomplishments of one team while refusing to let another compete. The Ivy League presidents should be held accountable.

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USA Today headline: (LINK):

Over 900 Cornell students test positive for COVID amid omicron concerns, finals move online

From the story:

Its COVID-19 dashboard reported 903 new student cases over the past week, more than 700 of them detected since Saturday during a post-Thanksgiving spike among vaccinated students.

Cornell’s testing identified a substantial number of samples that contained indicators of the omicron variant, officials said. 

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EXTRA POINT

Still another example of life in a small town. I stopped by our little post office yesterday before the postmaster shut down for the day at 11 a.m., because I'd found a slip in our box letting us know we had received a package too large for our PO box.

After looking around for five minutes or so the postmaster said she couldn't find it.

I was out for about an hour and when I got back home there was a message on our phone. It was the postmaster apologizing and saying she found the package and would have it for me when I come in today. I hadn't left a phone number but the postmaster was kind enough to look it up and give a call. Nice.

The Call Of The Woods

A 6-foot-2, 190-pound wide receiver prospect named Omarian Sanders posted short videos from his "official visit" recruiting trip to Dartmouth from his home in Lehi, Utah, midway between Salt Lake and Provo. This will give you an idea of the social media aspect of recruiting in 2026.

Here the high school junior is setting up for his photo shoot:

My @DartmouthFTBL 🏈 OFFICIAL VISIT PHOTO SHOOT 📸 was 🔥🔥 @Coach_McCorkle @_CoachWilks @CoachBelfiori @QuentinJones_ @luke_seale @CoachRocket73
… #SlideToTheWoods #GBG 🌲 #TheWoods #IvyLeague @skyridgefb @coachjhemm @Tannarrehrer #AthleticIntelligence pic.twitter.com/yd5Yq7n9JS

— Omarian Sanders (@OmarianSanders) April 16, 2026

Here's part of the shoot itself:

PT1 Official Visit @DartmouthFTBL 🏈📸Photo Shoot Hype Video🔥‼️ MUST SEE TV I promise you and Coach as the “HYPE MAN” you gotta see it for yourself 👀👏🏾.… #SlideToTheWoods #GBG 🌲 #TheWoods Athletic_Intelligence #BooksNBall @skyridgefb pic.twitter.com/nbot7A5cIW

— Omarian Sanders (@OmarianSanders) April 28, 2026

And here are a couple of posts from that shoot:

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I asked Sammy McCorkle for last night's BGA Overtime for thoughts regarding graduating offensive lineman Delby Lemieux not being chosen in the NFL Draft and instead signing with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent. From the post:

If (Sammy) McCorkle was surprised that former offensive tackle Delby Lemieux was not picked in the NFL Draft, he is one of many who think there was a bright side for the graduating senior not having his name called.

"To tell you the truth, it's almost better if you don't get picked late, because then you can kind of pick where you want to go," he said. "You can look at rosters and see what the depth chart looks like. It's my opinion, but I just have always felt that way. You're better off going free agent than late.

Regarding another issue in the news, McCorkle gave a big thumbs up to the NCAA's five-for-five eligibility proposal.

Find last night's BGA Overtime practice recap HERE.

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FCS Football Central on SI has a piece headlined Which FCS Playoff Contenders Have the Most Returning Experience in 2026? that is a first step toward quantifying talent on 2026 teams. An explanation from that posting: 

We selected programs that are expected to compete for a spot in the FCS Playoffs, or even a possible Celebration Bowl appearance. Teams that were in the FCS Playoffs last season were also included. We excluded a few programs (South Carolina State, Yale, etc.) due to these teams not having updated rosters.

More details:

Each team was assigned a percentage of returning contributors on offense and defense. ... A "returning contributor" is defined as a player who played a significant amount of snaps for their team in 2025 (Roughly 200 or more snaps). We also included players who missed last season with injury, but were projected to be starters before being sidelined. This was adjusted for positions that can make a bigger statistical impact on lower snap counts.

Click HERE to see how 2026 Dartmouth opponents Harvard, Lehigh and Monmouth stack up among the 42 teams listed. (Dartmouth could not be included because its 2026 roster has not yet been posted.)

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Dartmouth has announced its commencement speaker and it's a familiar name:

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EXTRA POINT
Yesterday was Griff the Wonder Dog's 12th birthday and we celebrated with two of his favorite things. First, a hike up the mountain:

And then his favorite canned dinner (and no, he didn't blow out the candle ;-).

Potpourri

From a STORY about former Baylor head coach Art Briles coaching pro football in Italy (italics are mine):

The former NCAA coach of the year has already been building his team in Florence as the Guelfi have been busy this off-season. Along with the signing of the Texas football veteran, several former Div. 1 talents have signed for the 2022 season including South Alabama record-breaking tailback Xavier Johnson, former South Eastern standout Dejion Lynch, and Dartmouth quarterback and H-back Jared Gerbino. 

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Speaking of quarterbacks, we can't be sure who will be doing the most throwing of the football for Dartmouth next fall but one thing we can be pretty sure of is that incoming freshman wide receiver Grayson O'Bara will have something in common with teammate and fellow receiver Jarmone Sutherland. That is, their college quarterback won't have garnered nearly as much recruiting interest as their high school quarterback had.

Sutherland, of course, was Arch Manning's favorite receiver at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans.

O'Bara's QB at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas is a junior named Jackson Arnold. From a Dallas Morning News preview of Saturday night's state championship game pitting 14-1 Guyer against 15-0 Austin Westlake. (As usual, the italics are mine):

(Arnold, a) four-star recruit holds offers from Alabama, Ohio State and Oklahoma, and 3,739 passing yards and 33 touchdowns this season. His favorite target is Dartmouth pledge Grayson O’Bara, who has 75 catches for 1,025 yards and eight touchdowns.

Lest you think all the Guyer talent is on the offensive side of the ball, the Dartmouth commit is teammates with a safety who is a Pitt pledge, another safety holding offers from Alabama, Notre Dame and Auburn, and a sophomore corner holding an offer from LSU.

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A few days ago X&O Labs posted an offensive line tutorial headlined, OL Eye Discipline In “No Chase” Tight Zone Principles. What got my attention was the byline:

By Mike Kuchar with Sanders Davis

Offensive Line Coach

Rice University (TX)

Yup, that's Sanders Davis '14, who didn't see much action at Dartmouth but surely absorbed a lot of information from offensive line coach Keith Clark. Find his Rice bio HERE and listen to Davis talk about how he gave up the idea of becoming a doctor and got into coaching on the Coach and Coordinator podcast HERE.

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It might be too late to get this delivered in time for Christmas, but who knows? Find these shirts HERE. (And no, this is not a paid endorsement ;-)

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Wow! From the lede to a report on the Dartmouth men's basketball game at Stanford (LINK):

The Dartmouth men's basketball nearly pulled off its second upset of a power conference team on Thursday night, but Stanford stole a victory from the Big Green thanks to a game-tying bucket with 0.7 seconds remaining in regulation. The Cardinal (6-3) then ran away in overtime for an 89-78 win at Maples Pavilion.

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And finally, Mrs. BGA and I are watching the Jeopardy Professors Tournament, which wraps up tonight,   with a real rooting interest. The runaway leader (so far), is someone the Twitter world has decided is a doppelgänger for the comedian Steve Martin (LINK). Sam Buttrey just so happens to be the brother of a close friend.

It's fun to see people you know, or at least know of, do well on the show. That Certain Nittany Lion '16 had a very good friend (and high school baseball teammate) dethrone a 19-time Jeopardy champion two years ago.

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EXTRA POINT

Huge thanks to those of you who have made this a good holiday season for Griff the Wonder Dog by clicking up there to the right. As this photo from the BGA World Headquarters shows, Griff is hard at work at his usual station this morning. For what it's worth, the desk is in the standing position so I can see out the windows (occasionally using the binoculars on the sill ;-) and give my back a rest while I try to sew up a project.

Duly Noted

Searching the web for information to expand the bios of incoming freshman football players turned up a video of 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive tackle defensive tackle Miles Sanders singing with the Parkway Central High School (Missouri) chorus. Here's what Big Green coach Buddy Teevens had to say about him:

"One of the more fascinating guys we have. A big defensive tackle who is an accomplished musician. He had a variety of Ivy opportunities. A tough, physical kid who can run well at 290 pounds. He’s a tough kid."

Find a story about Sanders HERE.

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The Dartmouth takes a look at freshman baseball player Trevor Johnson, with quotes from his father Mark, the former Big Green quarterback and major league baseball player. (LINK)

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The D's "Quick Hits" leads with a brief on Flo Orimolade and Charlie Miller signing NFL contracts. (LINK)

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It was 35 degrees heading out with Griff the Wonder Dog (and house guest Nala, his friend) this morning. There's apparently a chance for a little snow at higher elevations. For as chilly as the morning was, it also was beautiful as this snap from the shoulder of Moose Mountain shows.

Click photo to enlarge.

Catching Up On Signing Day

The Swainsboro News.com site has a posting (with signing day photo) about 6-foot-5, 275-pound Baton Rouge offensive tackle Sanders Davis committing to Dartmouth. From the story:

He plays offensive tackle for Catholic High . As a senior, Davis, who started two years on Catholic’s offensive line, earned first-team All-District 5-5A honors. He played for the Rough Riders in the U.S. Army Red Stick Bowl in December.

Sanders was previously mentioned in these BGA posts.

No Surprise

Buddy Teevens knew quickly he had found a gem when he hired then-unproven Cortez Hankton as wide receivers coach in 2012. After three years on the Dartmouth staff Hankton has seen his profile in the coaching ranks do nothing but rise.

From Dartmouth the onetime NFL wide receiver went on to Vanderbilt. Then it was Georgia, where he helped the Bulldogs with the national championship. He's currently in his second year as wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator at LSU.

Now his name has been floated as a potential offensive coordinator for Deion Sanders at Colorado.  From a story headlined Ten names to watch for Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and Colorado’s offensive coordinator search (LINK):

Cortez Hankton has been LSU’s wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator since 2022 and was Georgia’s wide receivers coach from 2018 to 2021 while also serving as their pass game coordinator in 2021. He also coached wide receivers at Vanderbilt from 2015 to 2017 and Dartmouth from 2012 to 2014. As a wide receiver for Texas Southern from 1998 to 2002, Hankton set school records for career receiving yards, receiving yards in a season and most consecutive games with a receiving touchdown. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2003 and played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2003 to 2008. Hankton coached alongside Colorado’s director of player personnel, Corey Phillips, at LSU and Colorado defensive ends coach, Nick Williams, at Georgia. He has proven himself to be an effective recruiter of high-level talent throughout his coaching career.

Green Alert Take: Hankton is a New Orleans native and the LSU position brought him back to his home state. It's hard to imagine him leaving after two years for a less-than-stable situation in Boulder but never say never.

Green Alert Take II: One of the fun things I did with BGA a few years back was a Q&A series where I asked coaches questions intended to paint a picture of them outside of football. Among the questions I asked was, "What is your dream car?" I can't remember what kind of car Cortez mentioned but I do remember something else he said: "I own it." Trust me, he was the only coach I talked to who said that. Such is the life of a former NFL player. ;-)

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Incoming Dartmouth quarterback Kyle Meier is quoted in a story about his New York high school team playing under the dome at Syracuse Saturday afternoon in the Class A New York State Public High School Athletic Association's championship game. From the story (LINK):

Meier, Whitesboro's Dartmouth College-bound quarterback, has run for 2,262 yards and 36 touchdowns while throwing for 1,801 and 22, and completing 62.4% of his passes; the passing yards are a career high, and he is eight yards short of his rushing total as a junior. 

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The only new grad transfer portal news so far is defensive lineman Gannon McCorkle tossing his name into the ring and fellow defensive lineman Charles Looes fielding an offer from Liberty.

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A little more trivia from Craig Haley. The guru of FCS football lists four schools that led the subdivision with two shutouts apiece. They were Houston Christian, Southern Illinois, Merrimack and an Ivy League school. That Ivy?

Columbia.

The Lions shut out Georgetown, 30-0, in Week Two, and Marist, 16-0, two weeks later. Interestingly, those were the only two shutouts in the Ivy League this fall.

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It never came to be but it's fun to imagine the Ivy League having a sister conference in the south. It could have happened if the Magnolia League had blossomed. Tulane, Vanderbilt, Duke and Rice were among the potential members. For a little history lesson, check this out:

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EXTRA POINT
Well, we pulled the booties out for Griff the Wonder Dog yesterday. It took some effort to get them on his paws and it was kind of funny watching him high step in them from the living room to the kitchen.

Unfortunately, he didn't make it 10 feet in the snow before the first one came off. Then the second one. Within a couple of minutes they had all come off. After a little Googling, Mrs. BGA said some people put socks on their dogs' feet before pulling on the booties, but I suspect that's more about discomfort than the things sliding off. It may be time to try the suspenders I mentioned yesterday. Who knows? Maybe that will work and one day you'll see me hawking stylish dog suspenders on QVC. ;-)

2 New Names Plus Signing Day Mentions

News continues trickling in from signing day. Among the new names are Californians Dana Barbaro and AJ Dettorre.

Barbaro, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound receiver from St. Augustine High School, is mentioned in this San Diego Tribune listing of college-bound players. According to MaxPreps, he had 55 catches for 1,000 yards, an 18.18-yard average and 15 touchdowns last year. His long was 74 yards. His top game was eight catches for 174 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Mar Vista. Click here for his ESPN.com page (which lists him at 6-1, 180). Find a nice still shot of Barbaro here, and a highlight video here.

AJ Dettorre, a defensive back, is listed by MaxPreps as 5-foot-11, 175 pounds. His highlight video is available here. Also a wide receiver at Moorpark, he was selected first-team, all-league, all-county, second-team all-area and a scholastic team pick. Dettorre is quoted in the Ventura County Star:

“It’s the biggest day of my life. We go to the weight room every day and practice every day and work so hard with the dream of one day playing at the next level. To stand up there today and announce where I’m going to school was such a special moment. It shows that a dream really can come true.”

Luke Dornak and family

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Among the players previously reported as heading to Dartmouth, Luke Dornak, a 6-foot-3, 257-pound tight end/defensive lineman from Victoria, Texas (earlier BGA mention) is quoted in this story from My Victoria Online:

"It's a great school. They're an up and coming program, they have a great team and coaching staff and I love it up there."

Dornak is a cousin of senior Matt Dornak and sophomore receiver Brad Dornak.

Fellow Texan Ellis Glaw (right) , a product of the same Austin high school (Westlake) that produced the Dornak brothers, gets a mention in this Statesman story. The story notes that Glaw is one of six Chaparral's going on to play college football with others set for Wake Forest, SMU, Air Force, Baylor and Syracuse. Another former teammates who moved last year will be playing for Ohio State. Little wonder Westlake went 13-3 last fall and made it to the Class 5A championship game.

Tulsa World has a head shot and brief on receiver Joe Dowdell of Oklahoma's Bishop Kelley High School, who it notes had 53 catches for 885 yards and 14 touchdowns. From the story:

Joe Dowdell visited Ivy League rivals Dartmouth and Princeton, but an Oklahoma connection helped him decided between the schools.

Jarrail Jackson, a former University of Oklahoma receiver, is part of the Dartmouth coaching staff, so Dowell signed with the New Hampshire school.

"It weighed in a little," Dowdell said. "He's a cool guy and he obviously knows what he's talking about."

New Orleans.com on Dartmouth-bound Sanders Davis:

With a 3.9 GPA and 29 on the ACT, Catholic High of Baton Rouge OT Sanders Davis selected Dartmouth of the prestigious Ivy League as his collegiate destination. Davis was a first team all-district pick and helped lead his team to victory in the U.S. Army Red Stick Bowl in December. Davis, 6-4 275, chose the Big Green over Harvard, Brown, Princeton, and Yale.

Receiver Peter Calvanelli of New Jersey's Delbarton School gets a mention here along with teammates headed to Harvard and Brown. Calvanelli and safety Mike Banaciski of Hillsborough are on this New Jersey.com list of recruits.

The New Britain Herald mentions that Connecticut lineman Martin Pomykala ...

"... traveled extensively before opting for Dartmouth. He looked at Stony Brook, Hofstra, CCSU, Cornell, Penn and Yale but wanted to get away.

“It was a real long process that started last year,” he said. “We went as far as Louisiana, made highlight tapes and sent them out and talked to a lot of coaches on the phone and on email.”

New Jersey defensive end Ethan Posey's "signing" is reported (with a photo of three other Lawrence High "signees") in the Trentonian. From the story:

Coach Rob Radice’s Lawrence High program had four of its seniors announce their college plans, a group led by two-time Al-CVC lineman Ethan Posey who became the second Cardinal star in two years to sign with an Ivy League school.

The Tuesday LA Times' Varsity Insider mentioned Dartmouth-bound linebacker Bronson Green joining teammates who "will sign letters of intent on Wednesday."

Quarterback Andy Gay of Jackson High School in Washington gets a mention along with a teammate heading to Air Force in a Tacoma News Tribune list of signings. He's also mentioned here.

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More to come today. If you have links I missed, please send them along and I'll post them here.

Friday Follies

It's the time of year when even sites like STATS FCS can struggle to find content on a daily basis, hence postings like this ;-)

Given a day with little news (so far) here's a tremendously addictive time waster for you – a way to connect Dartmouth's pro football players (and other pro athletes) to others from different eras and even different sports. This interactive posting from Slate.com has been on the site before but is well worth repeating. To try Six Degrees of Kevin Garnett for yourself CLICK HERE.

An example connecting Jay Fiedler to Babe Ruth:

6	degrees of separation between Jay Fiedler and Babe Ruth Share this on Facebook and Twitter.

JAY FIEDLER played on the 1995 Philadelphia Eagles with ...

Greg Tremble, who played on the 1995 Dallas Cowboys with ...

Deion Sanders, who played on the 1989 New York Yankees with ...

Tommy John, who played on the 1963 Cleveland Indians with ...

Early Wynn, who played on the 1941 Washington Senators with ...

Ben Chapman, who played on the 1932 New York Yankees with ...

BABE RUTH

And another . . .

5	degrees of separation between Zack Walz and Wilt Chamberlain Share this on Facebook and Twitter.

ZACK WALZ played on the 1998 Arizona Cardinals with ...

Larry Centers, who played on the 2000 Washington's Football Team with ...

Deion Sanders, who played on the 1989 New York Yankees with ...

Tommy John, who played on the 1967 Chicago White Sox with ...

Cotton Nash, who played on the 1964-65 San Francisco Warriors with ...

WILT CHAMBERLAIN

For what it's worth, there are 11 degrees of separation between Casey Cramer and Bobby Orr ;-)

Down on the Bayou ...

Dartmouth recruit Sanders Davis, a 6-foot-4, 285-pound offensive lineman from Catholic High School in Baton Route, will be playing Saturday night in the Nike Bayou Bowl in Baytown, Texas. Find a story about Davis in The Advocate. From the story:

“Sanders is a guy who is very self-disciplined,” Catholic coach Dale Weiner said. “You give him a task and he’ll complete it.

“He dedicated himself to becoming a better pass blocker and he got in great shape physically. What he’s accomplished is no accident.”

Davis will be joined in the game by Columbia recruit Duncan Dickerson. Find a story about the Ivy League-bound pair in The Baytown Sun.

The Bayou Bowl features graduating seniors from the Houston area against those from Louisiana.

For a picture of Davis "signing" with Dartmouth click here and the first BGA mention of him signing can be found here.

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The NCAA has released its Academic Progress Report information under the headline, "Latest APR data reveal academic success; Rates rise three points from last year; basketball and football also improve"

The NCAA summarizes the APR this way:

Each Division I team calculates its APR annually based on the eligibility and retention of scholarship student-athletes. Teams scoring below 925 out of 1,000 can face penalties, such as scholarship losses and restrictions on practice and competition. Rates are based on the past four years of performance.

A PDF with Dartmouth's sport-by-sport performance can be found here.

Here's how the Ivy League football teams did (with 1,000 being a perfect score and 925 required to avoid sanctions):

• 996 Penn
• 991 Dartmouth
• 990 Yale
• 989 Brown
• 984 Columbia
• 984 Princeton
• 983 Cornell
• 981 Harvard

The Patriot League football programs shaped up this way:

• 981 Colgate
• 980 Bucknell
• 978 Holy Cross
• 974 Lafayette
• 968 Georgetown
• 968 Lehigh
• 960 Fordham

New Dartmouth opponent Sacred Heart did not make the 925 cut. From a Stamford Advocate story:

Sacred Heart's football team scored a 918, resulting in the loss of a partial scholarship. University spokesman Bill Peterson said the sanction only would apply if the Fairfield school used all of its available football scholarships, which it does not. He said the program has been working to improve its APR.

The University of New Hampshire came in at 977.

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While Dartmouth southpaw Robert Young was drafted yesterday by the Chicago White Sox in the 31st round (link), Yale lefty Brook Hart was not drafted. That's notable in the football realm because, as the Portal 31 blog points out, it assures he will return to New Haven next fall to battle with Patrick Witt for the starting quarterback job.

(Robert Young, by the way, follows in the footsteps of his brother Russell, who was drafted out of Dartmouth in the 28th round by the Cleveland Indian in 2008.)

While we are on the subject of baseball, Dartmouth freshman catcher Chris O'Dowd has been named a 2010 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America and head coach Bob Whalen has earned the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association's Jack Butterfield Award, "bestowed upon a coach who exhibits the integrity and dedication to the game that Coach Butterfield displayed during his long career at the University of Maine."

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Back to football.

As you may recall, Eastern Washington University is putting in red turf for the fall. The school has a press release about the "Turfbreaking" set for Saturday. While checking that out, I came across a promotional piece EWU did for its red turf fundraising project. It is a short take-off on a movie trailer that can be found here. My initial reaction was that it was over the top. But after a few seconds I realized it was supposed to be over the top and I came to appreciate it. It's only about one minute long so do take a look. It's actually a well-done parody.

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Joe Asch over at DartBlog offers his take on the search for a permanent Dartmouth director of athletics.

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And finally, That Certain Hanover High Senior has been nominated to speak at graduation next Friday night. I don't know if she will be chosen, but simply to be put forward is a nice honor, particularly at a school like Hanover which is sending (if my math is right) 15 kids from a class of about 160 on to Ivy League schools next fall. She was already chosen as one of the marshals.

Sunday Stuff

At the end of yesterday's spring practice, the Dartmouth football team gathered in small groups around the field in a team-building exercise. Acting coach Sammy McCorkle explained the exercise for yesterday's BGA Premium:

“We kind of mixed different players with each other. Sometime you get in a rut where it’s just all the offensive lineman together all the time. They might not even know much about a DB. So we tried to intermix the team with different guys in small groups. We even had coaches who aren’t normally with those positions, and we had two topics we talked about.

“One was, who would you have on the team pack your parachute? We just want to hear guys talk about other individuals. Maybe they don’t know something about a guy, or they hear a lot of people say his name. It’s, ‘Maybe I should kind of follow him and see how to do the right things.’

“The second (topic) was, Who do you admire the most? It was pretty good. Hopefully the guys felt like they got something out of it.”

Last night's BGA Premium story began with a chance to learn a little more about nickels coach Joe Castellitto, a former grad assistant at UConn who actually took a class with Huskies center/Dartmouth transfer Jake Guidone, and who was on the Connecticut staff alongside former Dartmouth assistant Mickey Grace. Check out the story on BGA Premium.

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Guardian helmet photo courtesy of Dartmouth football

Every member of the Dartmouth football team with the exception of the quarterbacks is wearing a Guardian cap over their helmet in spring football during yesterday's practice. Learn more about the "impact reducing soft-shell helmet cover" HERE.

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At Colorado coach Deion Sanders is making players earn their uniform numbers. Wanna guess which player earned first dibs on his number of choice? Yup.

First defensive player to earn his number.@ShaneCokes will be wearing 9️⃣9️⃣#GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/XWXiv8v2A7

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) April 8, 2023

Cokes wore 0 for Dartmouth (Cokes Zero, get it?) but that number is not being used in Boulder so the former Dartmouth standout went in the other direction. Sanders had this to say about him (LINK):

Cokes is leading the defensive line room. He works his butt off every day. He understands what we're trying to accomplish and the kid plays the game like we desire him to play it. So we are very proud of him. 

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Given all of the rules coaches are supposed to follow it's a surprise there aren't more recruiting violations in college sports. Per the NCAA, the football recruiting rules could be in line for some significant changes, including at the FCS level. From an NCAA release:

The Division I Football Oversight Committee is recommending a comprehensive recruiting model for the sport to the Division I Council. The council is scheduled to meet April 12-13. 

If approved, the changes would become legislation and, except for a Football Championship Subdivision on-campus evaluation recommendation, take effect Aug. 1. The FCS on-campus recommendation would take effect June 1. 

The football comprehensive recruiting model would modify the FBS and FCS recruiting calendars; adjust the first date to send recruiting materials, electronic correspondence and telephone calls; permit in-person off-campus contacts with high school juniors; reduce off-campus recruiting activities; and, in the Football Championship Subdivision, modify on-campus evaluations.

Find the full release HERE. 

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EXTRA POINT
A sure sign that the weather is turning: The bird feeder will be coming in today. In these parts the recommendation is that bird feeders be taken down from April 1 through the end of November. Why? Bears. A little Googling turns up this nugget: Once out and about after leaving their dens black bears require 15,000-20,000 calories a day and a typical bird feeder offers around 12,000 calories. So the bird feeder is getting put away until December. Sorry Yogi.