The NFL Draft kicks off tonight and runs through Saturday, but don't expect any Ivy Leaguers to be chosen. It didn't help that the Ancient Eight didn't play last fall and that former Dartmouth wide receiver Drew Estrada, perhaps the player most talked about as a potential draft pick (or undrafted free agent), opted to grad transfer to Baylor for the 2021 season rather than enter the draft.
The 2020 draft was a "low-water" mark for FCS selections since 2010 with just six players selected, perhaps in some ways a reflection of the grad transfer rules.
Here are the FCS draft numbers since 2010 with Ivy Leaguers selected each year:
2020 – 6/0 Ivy League
2019 – 14/0 Ivy League
2018 – 19/2 Ivy League: Justin Watson, Penn WR (5-Buccaneers); Foyesade Oluokun, Yale LB (6-Falcons)
2017 – 15/0 Ivy League
2016 – 20/2 Ivy League: Seth Devalve, Princeton TE (4-Browns); Cole Toner, Harvard OT (5-Cardinals)
2015 –17/0 Ivy League
2014 – 19/1 Ivy League: Caraun Reid, Princeton DT (5-Lions)
2013 – 19/3 Ivy League: JC Tretter, Cornell OL (4-Packers); Kyle Juszczyk, Harvard TE (4-Ravens); Mike Catapano, Princeton DL (7-Chiefs)
2012 –15/0 Ivy League
2011 – 21/1 Ivy League: Shane Bannon, Yale FB (7-Chiefs)
2010 – 19/1 Ivy League: David Howard, Brown DL (7-Titans)
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Dartmouth All-Time NFL Draft Picks*
|
Year |
R |
Pick |
Pos |
Name |
Team |
|
2004 |
7 |
228 |
RB |
Casey Cramer |
Buccaneers |
|
1998 |
6 |
158 |
LB |
Zack Walz |
Cardinals |
|
1978 |
6 |
143 |
DT |
Gregg Robinson |
Jets |
|
1976 |
3 |
82 |
LB |
Reggie Williams |
Bengals |
|
|
17 |
465 |
WR |
Tom Fleming |
Browns |
|
1971 |
8 |
207 |
DB |
Willie Bogan |
Colts |
|
1968 |
11 |
299 |
DB |
Gordon Rule |
Packers |
|
1963 |
11 |
153 |
C |
Don McKinnon |
Giants |
|
1954 |
11 |
129 |
E |
Dave McLaughlin |
Eagles |
|
1953 |
17 |
194 |
T |
George Rambour |
Colts |
|
1950 |
5 |
56 |
E |
Tom Rowe |
Steelers |
|
|
5 |
57 |
B |
Hal Fitkin |
Lions |
|
|
12 |
145 |
B |
Bill Dey |
Colts |
|
|
15 |
196 |
B |
Herb Carey |
Eagles |
|
1949 |
4 |
32 |
B |
Joe Sullivan |
Lions |
|
|
9 |
91 |
T |
Jonathan Jenkins |
Eagles |
|
|
12 |
121 |
E |
Dale Armstrong |
Eagles |
|
1948 |
22 |
199 |
B |
Fran O'Brien |
Yanks |
|
1947 |
27 |
249 |
G |
Art Young |
Steelers |
|
1946 |
18 |
162 |
G |
Don Alverez |
Yanks |
|
|
25 |
237 |
B |
Ed Grygiel |
Eagles |
|
|
29 |
272 |
G |
Carl McKinnon |
Yanks |
|
1945 |
10 |
91 |
B |
Don Kasprzak |
Yanks |
|
|
13 |
122 |
E |
John Monahan |
Steelers |
|
|
19 |
188 |
T |
Jim Landrigan |
Steelers |
|
1944 |
16 |
164 |
G |
Roger Antaya |
Yanks |
|
|
28 |
294 |
T |
Nick Daukas |
Eagles |
|
1939 |
1 |
5 |
B |
Bob MacLeod |
Dodgers |
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Speaking of transfer rules, the NCAA has give an official OK to the one-time transfer legislation allowing immediate eligibility. (LINK)
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Julius Chestnut, the standout Sacred Heart tailback who Dartmouth will see on Sept. 25 barring a visit to the transfer portal, is one of three players invited to the announcement for the Walter Payton Award, emblematic of the FCS offensive player of the year.
Stats Perform's release about the invitations writes:
Chestnut, a 6-1, 215-pound junior, rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown in a playoff loss as well. It followed a four-game regular season in which he led the FCS in rushing yards per game (179.3) and all-purpose yards per game (222.0) and ranked second in points per game (17.0) and fourth in yards per carry (7.7).
Also headed to the Payton festivities are quarterbacks Eric Barrier of Eastern Washington and Cole Kelley of Southeastern Louisiana.
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A Dartmouth news release offers the possibility of a welcome change regarding graduation (LINK):
The possibility of graduating students being allowed to bring up to two guests to Dartmouth's June commencement and investiture ceremonies is being considered, Provost Joseph Helble told viewers of this week's Community Conversations webcast.
And . . .
Helble said he anticipated being able to say more about this in the next week or so.
Green Alert Take: When it was announced that graduation was being moved to 11,000-seat Memorial Field it was an eyebrow-raiser that no guests would be allowed. Allowing two guests per graduate seems like the right thing to do. (That Certain Dartmouth '14, who majored in earth science and minored in education at Dartmouth, can have two guests when she receives her Master in Environmental Management in a few weeks. Alas, even vaccinated we have elected not to hop on a plane to Colorado.)
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Regarding the summer term, a headline in The Dartmouth (LINK):
19 courses to be taught fully in person this summer; Twenty-eight will be taught remotely with on-campus components, 133 will be offered remotely with synchronous components and seven are remote and entirely asynchronous.
Dartmouth offered 10 fully in person classes this spring.
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EXTRA POINT
Have you read or seen anything about Apple's introduction of Air Tags, which are designed to help you find lost keys, remotes, bags, etc.? They work with bluetooth around the house and, believe it or not, crowd-source finding things at a distance behind the scene by anonymously tapping the power of iPhones in the vicinity of a lost item and sending you an alert. You can read more about them HERE.
Pretty cool stuff, but even though I'm an Apple fanboy, I won't be getting Air Tags for two reasons.
First, I don't have an iPhone (or any cell phone for that matter).
And second, I already have an Air Tag living here on our Vermont hillside.
That's right, Mrs. BGA is a walking, talking Air Tag. It doesn't much matter what I lost or where I lost it, she can find it. I'm not quite sure how she does it, but she is remarkable. Keys, wallet, gift cards, iPod, favorite baseball hat, binoculars, important piece of mail, tent stakes, Kindle, headlamp, gloves, you name it.
Yes, it speaks to organization and a willingness not to give up. But it's more than that. It's also a gift.
To me ;-)
