The Bears added Dartmouth grad transfer receiver Drew Estrada on signing day. The former Texas schoolboy star from Argyle made 110 catches for 1,418 yards in four college seasons.
“Getting to know Drew and just the maturity that he has, the strength and the character that has, that comes across right away just when you’re talking to him,” (head coach Dave) Aranda said. “As a receiver, to play outside and inside, that flexibility I think as a player was the big tell. As a player, he has the ability to play special teams in the return game, to be on cover and rush units as well. The maturity and character that he brings tops it off.”
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Speaking of grad transfers, Brendan Barry, the sweet-shooting guard who had expected to use his medical redshirt season this winter on the Dartmouth hardwood, instead made his debut last night as a grad transfer at Temple. From a Philly Inquirer story about the Owls' 72-60 win over NJIT (LINK):
Dartmouth transfer Brendan Barry made his debut as an Owl and played 25 minutes despite joining the team this week. He showed why he was regarded as a shooter. All four of his shot attempts were from three.
Barry’s lone made triple came with 9 minutes, 26 seconds left in the first half. His triple regained Temple’s double-digit lead and the Owls stayed up by more than 10 points until a Highlander layup made it an eight-point game with 8:16 remaining.
Green Alert Take: It's a wild, wild world of college sports right now. Barry "signed" with Temple in November, only recently finished his Dartmouth degree online, and was certified to play for the Owls barely in time for the opener. (LINK)
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Still on the subject of grad transfers, old friend Dave Wohlheuter, the longime sports information director at Cornell before retiring in 1998, responded to a Cornell Sun column under the headline Antiquated Ivy League Rules Rob Student Athletes of University Careers (LINK) with a letter to the editor decrying the Ivy League's refusal to let its students complete their eligibility as graduate students. (LINK)
Wohlheuter calls the Ivy ban on grad eligibility the "Joe Holland" rule. He wrote:
Holland graduated from Cornell in three years, but still had a year of football eligibility. Thus, he played in 1978 as a grad student. And play he did. He rushed for 1,396 yards and 16 touchdowns in 10 games. At the time, the rushing yardage and TDs ranked second all-time at Cornell behind a guy named Marinaro. His average was 5.1 yards per carry. As a graduate student in the game at Harvard, he rushed 55 times for 244 yards.
Ithaca.com has a piece on Wohlheuter's letter HERE.
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Perhaps you've read these words here before but the craziness of college sports during a pandemic continues with news that the Rose Bowl is being moved from Pasadena to JerryWorld, AKA the AT&T Stadium in Texas. And why?
So fans can attend. During a pandemic. (LINK)
And the latest school to "opt out" of a possible bowl game is Penn State, which yesterday won its fourth game in a row with a 56-21 trouncing of Illinois and is surrendering the opportunity to finish with a winning record in order for the players and coaches to have some family time.
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EXTRA POINT
I'm asked by the New England Football Writers to be the Gold Helmet selector one week each fall, choosing the top performance by an FBS/FCS player and the best showing by a Division II/III player. It's a responsibility I take seriously. I agonize when a Dartmouth player is in the mix because I don't want to be viewed as a "homer," (although I have picked Big Green players in the past) and naming the DII/DIII player can be particularly hard because it seems every year I have two or three candidates who put up pinball numbers and are deserving.
Obviously I wasn't called on for the Gold Helmet this fall, but I have retained my Heisman Trophy vote. It's due by 5 p.m. tomorrow and talk about agonizing over a choice. Ranking the top three in order is a tall order this year. Just don't ask me until the announcement how I voted. Along with information on how to vote (which now requires "multi-factor authentication) I got this warning:
(T)he Heisman Trophy Trust has asked us to remind all electors that it is against the Trust’s policy for electors to publicly release their ballot selections. Heisman electors should keep their votes confidential until after the Heisman announcement. The Trust appreciates your understanding and cooperation.
