Good Morning!

This shot of Dartmouth players showing up at The Green House indoor practice facility before dawn for "mat drills" was posted on the program's social media:

Courtesy of Dartmouth football

So what, newcomers to BGA might ask, are mat drills? Glad you asked. This is from last year's BGA:

They are called mat drills because originally they were conducted on old wrestling mats in the weeks leading up to spring football. Lou Holtz and Bobby Bowden are considered the founding fathers of workouts like these that get players ready for action, and help in team-building."

The origin of mat drills might date to the winter of 1973 when Bowden was at West Virginia and disappointed in his team after a loss to North Carolina State in the Peach Bowl. From an Orlando Sentinel story recalling Bowden ordering his team into a room with an unrolled wrestling mat.

Inside that room, atop those mats, West Virginia players exhausted themselves at the invective-laden direction of their coaches. The players performed various agility and movement drills, all designed to build stamina and to test intangibles they carried in their minds and souls. They called them "mat drills," and Bowden carried them with him to Florida State. 

And more from the Sentinel. . .

During the glory years - FSU finished ranked among the top 4 every year from 1987 through 2000 - coaches and players credited mat drills for their success. As a result, other schools began to copy the Florida State way.

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Former Dartmouth linebacker Micah Green has added another grad transfer offer from a program he learned a little about last fall:

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And speaking of programs down that way, a little surfing the 'net yesterday revealed where Dan Hebert – who spent just one season as wide receivers coach at Dartmouth – wound up. Turns out he's the new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Stonehill, an NEC school in North Easton, Mass..

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By now you may know that FBS teams will be limited to 105 roster spots in the fall, with no additional walk-ons. What might that means for FCS schools?

FootballScoop excerpts a conversation with Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz that includes this (LINK):

(We) let our guys know in December if we couldn't guarantee a 105 spot. We told our players that, and allowed them to go on visits and still be part of the team and still go to the bowl and all that.

And here's the key thought. . .

"I actually have a son coaching at the FCS level," said Ferentz, a 204-game winner at Iowa, "and I told him, you have to wait until the end of April and get your net out and catch whoever falls through, because apparently that's what's going to go on." 

Green Alert Take: Given Ivy League admissions that may not have much of an impact on Ancient Eight rosters – particularly at Dartmouth, which has largely stopped bringing in football transfers – but it could have a significant impact on the teams Dartmouth is playing against. Don't be at all surprised if New Hampshire, Fordham and particularly Central Connecticut end up with players having FBS background on their bios well after spring ball concludes.

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One line in a timely story in The Dartmouth headlined College releases updated freedom of expression policy caught my attention. Italics are mine:

(Provost David) Kotz emphasized that the new policy will reaffirm the Dartmouth administration’s neutrality and support students’ right to dissent in the classroom, as well as at College sports and arts events. It will also distinguish between protected expression and “actions that disrupt events or campus activities, such as civil disobedience.” 

Find the story HERE.

Green Alert Take: So if I'm reading this right, if you are tired of the jet sweep next fall, you can boo your heart out at the play call. Likewise, if the Hood's exhibit Monet: Reimagining The French Landscape isn't to your liking, you are free to let folks know you'd prefer a display of Mad Magazine covers. ;-)

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EXTRA POINT

Kudos to me. I just switched the calendar in the alcove off to my left from March to April. It took me only three days. That's a huge improvement because it wasn't until the third week of February that I finally flipped the calendar to March.

I used to be much better about that, but the date is featured prominently at the top of my laptop and on the top of my external monitor here in the BGA World Headquarters, and I tend to rely on the Fantastical calendar app on my Mac.

We're much better at changing the month on the calendar on the wall into our kitchen pantry because it features photos from That Certain Dartmouth '14's "intended," and he's a pretty talented photographer. It's always fun to see what the next month brings. April features a photo of a bald eagle he took last summer during their trip to Alaska:

 

Coaching ‘Em Up

Thanks in no small part to injuries, James McCarthy’s ’23 career as a Dartmouth offensive lineman never panned out the way he might have hoped. But the personable son of the winningest high school football coach in Connecticut history is carving his own path in the game after serving as a student coach under Keith Clark at Dartmouth. This is an outtake from a full interview that can be heard HERE.

“Former Westie Enters Coaching Side”@TaftFootballCT @Coach_JMcCarthy is a former West Haven/@goChoate #ct 🏈 talent, and now after spending some time with the westies 🏈 James is now the OL/recruiting Coordinator with Taft. @cardens1

📺: https://t.co/YpYdp7wGPc pic.twitter.com/wJMnO3Dyf3

— Christopher Saunders (@CS_Pxp) April 1, 2025

Find McCarthy’s Dartmouth bio HERE.

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Scott Sallach, a member of John Lyons’ Dartmouth coaching staff from 1998-02 and then on staff at Princeton for six years, has been named offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at DIII Marietta College in Ohio. Sallach also coached at Mississippi State,  Stetson aand Monmouth among others. He spent last season teaching and coaching at Savannah Country Day in Georgia.

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The NFL is replacing the chain gang with a camera system (LINK), but has tabled a potential ruling on the “tush push” for another month (LINK).

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Former Dartmouth standout and World Series champion Kyle Hendricks is now comfortable pitching for his hometown Los Angeles Angels (STORY) and had a successful first outing with the team yesterday, throwing six strong innings. (LINK)

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And last but not least, this comes courtesy of a loyal reader who shared a link to this story out of Johns Hopkins from, uh, April 1 . . .

In a stunning press conference on Sunday, March 30, Vice President of Student Athlete Relations Chad Rockeley-DuPont announced that Hopkins is set to join the Ivy League conference for the 2026–2027 academic year, replacing Dartmouth College. 

And . . .

Spoons did not address Dartmouth’s unexpected exit from the conference after nearly 70 years. The News-Letter reached out to Dartmouth’s athletic program regarding the situation but did not receive a response at the time of publication. 

Green Alert Take: Hmmm. Was it more believable that Dartmouth would exit the Ivy League than, say, Harvard or Princeton? 

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EXTRA POINT

With the mud road passable, I got my daily workout in yesterday by hiking to the top of our nearby mountain. The weekend snow on our field has melted but as this shot illustrates, there’s still a good 6 inches of the white stuff on the ground. Apparently there’s also one Bigfoot in the area who is either peace-loving or about to eat a bunny rabbit. ;-)

The Countdown Is On

Dartmouth kicks off spring practice one week from today. As we speak, the long-range forecast calls for a 40-degree high with partly sunny skies on the first day of spring ball.

Here's the schedule, courtesy of Dartmouth's social media:

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While many FBS teams are either taking their spring games off TV this year(Penn State), or ending the game all together (hello Nebraska), Harvard is going the other way. For the first time, Harvard will be broadcasting its spring game Saturday on ESPN+. (LINK)

Green Alert Take: That story was posted yesterday, so I don't think it is an April Fools.' ;-)

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Like a former teammate or two, linebacker Micah Green is still fielding offers on potential landing spots as a graduate transfer. From his Xwitter account (LINK):

An honorable-mention, All-Ivy League pick last fall,, Green had previously posted offers from Marist, Butler and the University of Indianapolis. No question, UNH is a big step up from the other potential landing spots. Micah's twin brother Josiah has committed to Duke.

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Speaking of transfers, remember that post last week about what FBS schools will have Ivy League transfers next fall? Here's a modest list from HERO Sports of FCS schools where Ivy player are transferring. It may not be complete but is the best we have:

• Austin Peay

• Maine

• Monmouth

• Rhode Island

• Sacred Heart

• UC Davis (2)

• Villanova

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Still on the subject of transfers, former Dartmouth offensive lineman John Paul Flores '22, who with his brothers runs the Texas-based lineman training enterprise Trench University DFW, will participate in the Cowboys' Dallas Day after wrapping up his playing career at Liberty last fall. (LINK) Flores also played at Louisville and Virginia.

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The NFL owners will be voting today on whether to continue to allow the "tush push." (LINK)

Green Alert Take: Count me among those who hope the play is outlawed. As a fan, watching a mosh pit of player pushing against each other is nowhere near as interesting as a run or a pass, a skill play where you can actually see what is happening.

Green Alert Take II: Imagine if you had a couple of Jalen Hurts quarterback type you could rotate through and gain three yards every time you ran the play. You could go tush push, tush push, tush push, tush push for a first down, and then the same thing over and over again down the field. How entertaining would that be? Not very.

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EXTRA POINT

Took the lazy (or smart?) way out this morning. Instead of pulling an April Fools' prank on Mrs. BGA that I had considered, I simply told her what I thought about doing. The telling got the half-laugh I probably wouldn't have gotten if I'd actually pulled the prank – and there wa no mess to clean up. ;-)

Bigger Than Ball

Given that BGA's readership is greatest on Mondays I am pleased to be able to bring you this post today. Please be sure to share it with others to help get the word out about the heartfelt cause of Mike Bobo's '92 family as they kick off the Bigger Than Ball Foundation, which honors Mike's life. The leading receiver on the 1990 and '91 Ivy League championship teams and a captain of the Big Green as a senior, Mike died on Feb. 24, 2024 of a rare form of sarcoma.

This is from an announcement about the foundation continuing the impact Mike had on all who knew him:

The family and friends of Mike Bobo have created The Bigger Than Ball Foundation in Mike’s honor. Through his work at P&G and his experiences both playing and coaching football, Mike believed deeply in the transformative power of teamwork. He had an unwavering belief that sports provide life’s greatest and most positive lessons. He often said, “It’s bigger than ball," underscoring his belief that athletics serve as a powerful vehicle for personal growth, resilience, and opportunity. 

Mike’s passion for guiding young people extended beyond the game—he was committed to helping them reach their full potential.  With those guiding principles in mind, The Bigger Than Ball Foundation’s mission statement is:

Through sport and other passionate pursuits, The Bigger Than Ball Foundation exists TO HELP MORE YOUNG PEOPLE WIN IN LIFE. Mike Bobo won in life and was deeply moved by helping others try to do the same.

The inaugural event for the Bigger Than Ball Foundation will be the Michel J. Bobo Memorial Golf Outing & Auction at Vesper Country Club in Tyngsboro, Mass., on Jun 23. If you are interested in playing, simply coming out to the celebration, or helping out in some way, click HERE.

Listen to the voices of Mike's sons, Jake, a receiver for the Seattle Seahawks, Luke and Mac as they share his story in this video along with their mom, Casey:

Solid Numbers For Looes

Charlie Looes '23, who had a strong season as a grad transfer defensive lineman last fall at Rice, put up solid numbers in his Pro Day:

Good thing this is visual . . .

And then there's this, which includes not one, but two former Dartmouth defensive linemen, with Shane Cokes '23 also listed. (Click a time or two or open the graphic in a new tab to make it readable – although hardly understandable. ;-)

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EXTRA POINT

OK, this is a weird one.

It was 81 degrees yesterday in New York City. While people down there were in shorts and T-shirts, at our Vermont hillside we were getting almost eight inches of snow. In Hanover, 25 miles south of us, they barely got any of the white stuff. Go figure.

Saturday Stuff

From Sam Herder, Senior FCS Analyst for HERO Sports:

Green Alert Take: It's not going to happen for the Ivy League, but should the FCS eventually approve a permanent 12-game slate, would the Ancient Eight then have a larger field of teams to canvas while looking to schedule non-conference games? A reminder that the Ivy League is currently limited to 10 games. While the rest of the FCS can play 11 games, in years when there are 13 Saturdays between Labor Day weekend and the weekend before Thanksgiving they can play 12. That happens on average every five or six years and was the case last fall.

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Click on the Xweet to take a look at this posting from Dartmouth football's social media:

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EXTRA POINT

• Dartmouth baseball opened its home season yesterday with a doubleheader sweep of Penn.

• We put our gas grill out on the deck yesterday.

• As I write this, we are in the midst of our biggest snowfall of the season.

Ah, spring in Northern New England!

Hey, We Know That Guy!

 From a story posted by Pat Feinberg on the CFL website HERE:

This is what the author wrote about the 2017 Dartmouth product, who was the Ivy League's defensive player of the year as a senior:

One of the biggest acquisitions of the off-season gets top honours as the Stamps brought in Orimolade from Toronto in exchange for linebacker Cameron Judge in January. Now back where his CFL career began in 2018, Orimolade will be a focal point in a Calgary defence looking for a big bounce back after missing the playoffs last season.

In two seasons and 29 appearances with the Argos, Orimolade recorded 16 sacks, 53 defensive tackles three forced fumbles, and one interception. Last year also saw the 29-year-old Orimolade finish second in Pro Football Focus’s player grades for edge defenders. With his combination of speed and power, Orimolade looks poised for another outstanding season in his return to the red and white.

The story includes this video of Flo chasing down a quarterback and forcing a fumble:

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While most of Dartmouth's grad transfers have found their new homes for next fall, wide receiver Painter Richards-Baker is still fielding offers. Here's the latest:

Richards-Baker, a deep threat whose career in a Dartmouth uniform was slowed by injury, also reported over the past several months offers from Maine, UT Martin, The Citadel, Murray State, West Georgia and Wagner.

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EXTRA POINT

Mrs. BGA and I took the advice of the "Top Critics" on Rotten Tomatoes who unanimously praised a "low-budget" movie and checked it out at the Nugget Theater in Hanover yesterday. What we should have done is taken the advice of an amateur critic on the site who wrote this after giving the flick half a star:

Good lord. How did this movie garner 100% critic rating (as of this writing) from 57 critics? Terrible. Slow. Boring. Sometimes very hard to understand soft-spoken, mumbled dialogue. So little character development. ... The trailer (which I had seen a couple times) looked promising, then I saw 100% on RT. So I was expecting to enjoy it. But this was the WORST movie I've seen in years. I can't imagine anyone thinking that this should have been made. Horrid.

I'm not going to mention the name of the move (email me if you are curious) but it was particularly timely, and maybe you can figure out what it's about in the first sentence of another amateur reviewer who called it a "snooze fest."

I felt like the luckiest . . . luckiest...luckiest . . . man . . . man . . . man . . . on the face . . . face . . . face . . . .of the Earth . . . Earth . . . Earth . . . when it was over . . . over . . . over. 

What Say You?

There’s an oxymoron in the headline of an NCAA story titled, Making sense of FCS conference realignment. (LINK)

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Ah, but on the subject of FCS conference realignment, the William & Mary Sports Blog has a piece headlined, The Scholars League: A New Model For True Student-Athletes that gives it a pretty good shot. From the column (LINK):

The Scholars League would be a 10-member conference designed for academically-minded, mid-sized schools that are committed to true student-athletes, not the pseudo-professionalization happening in the Power Four.

FCS FOOTBALL MEMBERS

• William & Mary 

• Davidson

• Elon

• Richmond

• VMI 

• The Citadel

• Howard

Non-Football schools

• College of Charleston

• Washington & Lee

• Johns Hopkins

Here’s the kicker that Ancient Eight fans tired of games against NEC and Pioneer Football League teams may appreciate:

Out-of-conference scheduling would prioritize:

• Ivy League 

• Patriot League

• Traditional local rivals from current conferences (to maintain history, rivalry, and tradition)

Green Alert Take: Works for me. ;-) 

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The final gap in the Ivy League’s non-conference schedule has been filled with Harvard announcing a game against . . . wait for it . . . Merrimack.

The Crimson also play at Stetson and at Holy Cross. Find the Harvard schedule release HERE.

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EXTRA POINT

Feeling sluggish after a few days without hiking my usual mountain trail but still unsure about road conditions, I walked the two miles to the trailhead yesterday, then hiked to the top of the mountain and walked the two miles home. I guess it will be a few more days until I hop in the car and begin my daily hiking ritual because this is how the road still looked:

For what it’s worth, during the entire four-mile hike to and from the trailhead, one vehicle passed me. It was a huge pickup truck with extra clearance, and even it squizzled side-to-side as it drove past