Former Dartmouth corner Isaiah Johnson '22 visits with The Draft Network to talk about his career and NFL aspirations after graduating from Dartmouth, playing two years at Syracuse and attending the NFL Combine:
From the story (LINK):
Now that you've had time to reflect, how do you look back on the decision to transfer from Dartmouth to Syracuse?
Isaiah Johnson: I really feel like that was the best decision for me. I had some different goals in mind and I felt like I could achieve them at Syracuse. Syracuse ended up being the place where I met all of those goals.
I graduated with my Masters Degree in political science. I furthered my academic interests at Syracuse. I also developed as a football player against better competition than I was used to seeing at Dartmouth. I proved I belonged at the Power Five level.
And . . .
Isaiah Johnson: It was one of those things where going from the FCS to a Power Five school where everybody was going to question whether I could really compete at that level.I had to maintain that same level of production I had at Dartmouth. I’m very proud of the numbers I put up at Syracuse. It showed that I could compete at any level. That was very important for me. That was one of my goals when I transferred to Syracuse.
The All Lions Fan Nation site has a story headlined Detroit Lions Meet with Cornerback at Syracuse Pro Day; Is Isaiah Johnson the right fit for the Detroit Lions secondary? that reprises much of the same information. Read it HERE.
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Offensive lineman Ethan Sipe has fielded still another offer as he considers how to use his final season(s) of eligibility. He has added a preferred walk-on offer from Kansas State on his social media. (LINK)
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Deion Sanders and the Colorado football program keep pushing the boundaries.
FootballScoop follows up on a USA Today report with a story headlined, Warren Sapp to be highest-paid graduate assistant in college football history. Sapp will earn $150,000 per year as a grad assistant and receive $15,000 in moving expenses.
The story notes that Sapp made an estimated $59 million during a 13-year NFL career after playing at the University of Miami from 1992 to 1994. He apparently did not graduate and needed a college degree to be a grad assistant so in December he earned a bachelor's in Christian Sports Management from Texas Seminary Christian University. From the Scoop story (LINK):
Colorado said in a statement earlier this week that Sapp passed a background check and that the 51-year-old Pro Football Hall of Famer is enrolled in coursework. Sapp also had a meeting with AD Rick George in which George “clearly articulate the department’s standards and expectations, to which (Sapp) acknowledged and agreed."
As for the rules about grad assistants, the story includes this:
The NCAA published rules in 2021 spelling out eligibility requirements for graduate assistants. Those rules severely restricted how much GAs could be paid, which has since been lifted amid legal pressure. The 2021 release also stated GAs must serve within a 7-year window that begins either after the candidate earns his or her undergraduate degree, or their football eligibility is exhausted, whichever comes later.
Green Alert Take: Maybe I should have held off and done my graduate work at Colorado. ;-)
Green Alert Take II: College sports are getting crazier and crazier.
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The Northeast Conference, whose membership includes 2024 Dartmouth opponent Central Connecticut and several other schools that have started to appear on Ivy League schedules, is welcoming the DI football newbie Mercyhurst Lakers to its ranks in another year. Although the Erie, Pa., school's stadium isn't particularly impressive with a capacity of just 2,300, you have to love the slogan the NEC used on the announcement: Welcome to the Lake Show. (LINK)
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Dartmouth has been at the forefront of smart practicing ever since Buddy Teevens took tackling teammates out of practice. A high school football coach in Washington State took it in the opposite direction and is out of a job because of it. Find the story accompanying the following video HERE:
Just a few flurries this morning but we ended up with a little over 12 inches of heavy snow in this latest storm, which saw our power go out for three-plus hours yesterday. Rain this afternoon and then snow showers overnight will make a mess.
