For as much as college football players hope to be chosen in the NFL Draft, there's a body of thought that believes being an undrafted free agent trumps being picked toward the end of the draft because it gives the player and his agent the chance parse team rosters and sign with the organization they believe gives the player the best chance to earn a roster spot.
The Transfer Portal can work the same way, with players able to study rosters and find the best fit for them.
Beyond the academic reasons why Virginia is a good move for Dartmouth offensive lineman John Paul Flores, the Cavaliers' roster worked in his favor when he was he was mulling where to transfer. He gets a mention in a story (LINK) that notes:
UVA lost six players with starting experience from the offensive line, including all five starters, this offseason either to the transfer portal . . . or to the NFL Draft/graduation. . . . The exiting group combined to make more than 100 career starts at Virginia, while the returners combine for just two, both coming from Jonathan Leech last season.
That's right. Flores will report to a team this summer whose returning offensive line can claim just two career starts total. Of course, Flores is not taking part in spring practice with the Cavaliers and offensive line coach Garett Tujague is throwing down the gauntlet for the players who are practicing this spring. From the story:
Those players will eventually be challenged by two grad transfers in John Paul Flores from Dartmouth and Mac Hollensteiner from Georgetown along with a large freshman class in the fall. But Tujague says his focus is on developing the players currently here this spring.
I took them all, sat them down and said it would kind of be embarrassing that if a kid came in here in fall camp or over the summer and took your job," Tujague said, "If we're being real there's 15 practices and so if someone who didn't have those 15 practices comes in here and takes your job, probably should be embarrassed."
While Flores is joining a program where the cupboard is pretty bare at his position, it's the opposite for Isaiah Johnson. The graduating Dartmouth corner is joining a Syracuse secondary that is loaded with experience. From an SB Nation story about the Orange's well-stocked defensive backfield (LINK):
Both of the Orange’s starting corners from last year are back. Garrett Williams and Duce Chestnut give Syracuse potential pros on the outside. Eric Coley, Ja’Had Carter, Jason Simmons, Justin Barron, Rob Hanna, Neil Nunn and Aman Greenwood have all seen significant snaps in their Syracuse careers. Malcolm Folk was a redshirt last season and transfers Alijah Clark (Rutgers) and Bralyn Oliver (Louisville) have joined incoming freshmen Dom Foster, Cornell Perry, and Jeremiah Wilson in the defensive backfield. Add to that four walk-ons in TJ Harness, Cam Reirden, Clay Masters and Tommy Porter and that’s a lot to work with.
More from the story:
One more experienced transfer Isaiah Johnson (Dartmouth) joins the group along with recruits Greg Delaine from Fort Myers and Quan Peterson from South Carolina.
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An Athlon story gives UMass a B-minus grade for hiring as head coach Don Brown, the former Dartmouth, Brown and Yale (as well as Boston College, Maryland, UConn, Boston College, Michigan and Arizona) defensive coordinator. From the story (LINK):
Dr. Blitz returns to his home state of Massachusetts for a second stint in charge of the Minutemen. The long-time assistant spent 2021 as Arizona’s defensive coordinator after working from 2016-20 calling the plays for Michigan’s defense. Brown went 43-19 at UMass from 2004-08, including a No. 2 ranking and appearance in the FCS title game in ’06. Other stops during Brown’s career include stints as an assistant at Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Maryland, UConn and Boston College. He also went 25-6 as the head coach at Plymouth State (1993-95) and 27-20 at Northeastern (2000-03). Brown is one of the top defensive minds in college football and is plenty familiar with the Northeast. UMass is a tough job and faces a massive rebuilding effort after winning three games over the last three games. Brown knows the landscape and has already won before here. This is a solid hire.
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Surfing the web to find tidbits of information for you I stumbled across this photo, which for some reason showed up in a YouTube search with this description: "Photograph shows portrait of Dartmouth football team; African American player on back row."
"It is safe to say that the old campus never saw such a hard week of foot-ball as the one preceding the Williams game. The men worked with desperation. Each night saw the members of the Varsity packed into some room discussing the game and working out new plays, one of which was the 'stone wall,' which every man on that team will always remember, and which made such long gains in the Williams game."
Outside of sports, there was a scan of a July 15, 1840 handwritten missive described this way:
In this letter to Amos A. Phelps, Nathan Lord confirms that Dartmouth College has an equal admission policy with regard to race. He talks about a steady stream of aborigines educated in the colleges and two black men who have been admitted—one who graduated in 1828 and the other currently in his junior year.
Find that letter HERE.
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From The Dartmouth (LINK):
On March 30 — the third day of classes in a term with fewer Covid restrictions — the Dartmouth COVID-19 dashboard displayed 114 active cases, including 29 among undergraduates, 77 among graduate and professional students and eight among faculty and staff. 98% of the Dartmouth community is fully vaccinated, with 94.6% up to date on their vaccinations, according to the dashboard. Community members classified as “up to date” on vaccinations have received a booster shot.
And this (LINK):
Student dining workers have voted unanimously to unionize, making the Student Worker Collective at Dartmouth the fifth recognized undergraduate union in the country.
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EXTRA POINT
Scrolling through the Green Mountain Library Consortium for a book last week there was a lengthy wait for the next Grisham or Baldacci, and they hadn't bought the newest mystery from my old friend Brad Parks.
I don't usually read sports books and couldn't imagine reading a 2013 book about a rowing team but finally weakened and downloaded The Boys in the Boat.
I'm not sure what you are reading right now but put it down and go grab The Boys in the Boat. It's that good.
