Hey, We Know You!

From Albany's Signing Day Twitter:

Caylin Parker, who ran for 299 yards and four touchdowns as a Dartmouth senior in 2019 and for 599 yards and seven touchdowns in his career, made his move to the powerhouse CAA official on Signing Day.

Parker is eligible to play as a graduate transfer at Albany because he saw only limited game action over his first two seasons with the Big Green. With this year not counting against NCAA eligibility because of the pandemic, he can play this spring for the Great Danes and return for a full season next fall. (He would not have been eligible in the Ivy League because he did not have a medical redshirt and because the conference does not allow graduate students to compete in athletics.)

Albany opens its six-game spring season on Friday, March 5 as Parker returns to the Granite State for a game against New Hampshire in a chilly 7 p.m. kickoff. They will also play Maine, Rhode Island, Stony Brook, Delaware and Villanova this spring with a chance at playing in the CAA's championship game.

•

Ryan McManus is widely quoted in a Digital Trends story headlined, Smart dummies: How robotic tackling tech is transforming football practice. McManus, the former standout Dartmouth wide receiver, is the director of sales and marketing for MVP Robotics.

McManus offers up a use for the MVP that might have escaped many of us who have followed the introduction of the Dartmouth innovation. From the story (LINK):

(F)ootball isn’t the only place where the robots are finding work. Some of it is in other sports, such as rugby, but there are some more unusual uses as well. Not too long after launching, for example, the team was approached by an autonomous car company interested in getting their hands on some units.

“They’re using it as a pedestrian,” he said. “So if their car hits it, it’s hitting a soft foam pad. Because you don’t want to be using real people to, you know, make sure that the technology is working the way that it (should be).”

• 

Following up on yesterday's post about rushing leaders, here are DARTMOUTH'S ANNUAL PASSING LEADERS SINCE 2000:

Year	Leading Passer	Yards	Pct	Att-Comp	TD	Int
2000	Greg Smith ’02	1423	.599	222-133	14	8
2001	Greg Smith ’02	1289	.616	190-117	11	7
2002	Brian Mann ’02	2913	.598	423-253	19	10
2003	Charlie Rittgers ’06	2138	.567	312-177	16	9
2004	Charlie Rittgers ’06	1866	.531	320-170	8	14
2005	Josh Cohen ’09	1529	.585	234-137	8	12
2006	Mike Fritz ’07	1838	.616	263-162	7	10
2007	Tom Bennewitz ’08	1715	.599	242-145	14	11
2008	Alex Jenny ’10	1309	.561	239-134	5	9
2009	Conner Kempe ’12	1031	.515	196-101	7	6
2010	Conner Kempe ’12	1647	.542	253-137	8	12
2011	Conner Kempe ’12	1166	.551	216-119	9	5
2012	Alex Park ’15	1370	.626	179-112	7	6
2013	Dalyn Williams ’16	1773	.555	265-147	11	5
2014	Dalyn Williams ’16	2119	.675	268-181	21	3
2015	Dalyn Williams ’16	2592	.640	342-219	17	5
2016	Jack Heneghan ’18	2725	.597	414-247	11	14
2017	Jack Heneghan ’18	2136	.631	293-185	17	6
2018	Derek Kyler ’21	1362	.689	177-122	13	2
2019	Derek Kyler ’21	1075	.670	106-71	12	3

•

I should have tossed this up when I listed the Longest Dartmouth Field goals in the Formal Ivy League Era (LINK) but it hadn't been posted yet. Stick around for the end of this one. It's worth it. Promise ;-)

Mark Rober, the engaging former NASA engineer who made the video, has had more than 85 million hits on his Glitter Bomb vs. Porch Pirates video (LINK) but his Ninja squirrel video might be my favorite. (LINK)

•

EXTRA POINT
When I was at the newspaper I thought there would be an interesting story in talking to nurses, police officers, convenience store clerks, taxi drivers, wait staff and others who have to work during our unofficial national holiday. The idea may have been born when Mrs. BGA's obstetrician was zipping in and out of her hospital room before That Certain Nittany Lion '16 finally decided to make his grand entrance into the world. This was during March Madness and it turns out the good doctor was a huge Michigan hoops fan.

I sheepishly admit I never brought the story idea up with my editor because, well, because I thought he would assign it to me and I wanted to watch the game myself.

Anyway, like a lot of you there were years when we would gather at friends houses to watch the Super Bowl. Other years we had friends stop over for the game.

But this is 2020. (OK, make that 2021, but it still feels like 2020, right?) We're not going anywhere this year and we're not having anyone over. The hope is that our unofficial national holiday doesn't lead to a national tragedy. Be safe and be smart.