Wednesday, August 27, 2025

How About That!

Be sure to check BGA Overtime tonight for a notes column spun out of practice this week.

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The big news today is that barring a late move by the Miami Dolphins, former Dartmouth standout Isaiah Johnson ’22 will be the first Big Green alum to suit up for an NFL opener since tight end Casey Cramer ‘04 with the Dolphins in 2008. Johnson, a lanky corner who grad transferred and played two years at Syracuse, spent last season on the Miami practice squad and survived the final round of cuts earlier this week.

Find Johnson’s still-developing Dolphins’ bio HERE, and a story from earlier headlined, Cornerback Competition Opens Door for Isaiah Johnson HERE.

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Former Big Green coach Buddy Teevens was one of the pioneers of the idea of helping players like Johnson and Shane Cokes (two-year starter at Colorado) preserve a year of eligibility in order to earn a Dartmouth degree before going on to play at the next level, a philosophy Sammy McCorkle has embraced.

Defensive lineman Braden Mullen has taken full advantage of the opportunity by earning both a starting position and a role as captain at Charlotte, which opens its season this week against App State. He gets a mention in a story HERE.

Slotted in as a starter this week at Ohio University is Nick Marinaro, who honed his game under the tutelage of Dartmouth offensive line coach Keith Clark and is on the first line of the two-deep for Ohio in the Bobcats’ opener against Rutgers.

The depth chart has not been posted for Rice’s opener, but former Dartmouth defensive lineman Ejike Adele talks about the Owls and his role with the team in this recent interview:

Also figuring prominently at the FBS level this fall is Josiah Green, the defensive lineman now at Duke. He’s a projected starter ahead of the Duke opener against Elon. (LINK):

 Green told the Blue Devils’ sports information office (LINK):

"The decision to come to Duke was really a mix of a bunch of things. The first was what kind of education are you going to get? What Duke offered made a lot of sense for me. Then it was the culture here. People actually care about each other. I got a bunch of people's (phone) numbers on my official visit, and it wasn't like that anywhere else. I wanted to go somewhere where people really cared about each other, wanted to win games, and I'm going to get a great education." 

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Dartmouth is more active on the football social media front and has this early look at the Big Green offensive line:

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Craig Haley, the former Princeton beat writer who now heads up StatsPerform’s FCS coverage, shares a few thoughts on the Ivy League finally getting the OK to participate in the postseason as well as the chances of the Ancient Eight making schedule adjustments. (Spoiler alert: Don’t hold your breath.)

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EXTRA POINT

Following up on yesterday’s note about our lawn and field struggling with blistering temperatures and a lack of rain this summer, some experts are predicting an early foliage season in these parts. It could be (that’s could) peak around the Yale game on Oct. 11. A long and detailed NewEngland.com analysis includes this (LINK):

Further complicating our foliage prediction is the drought index, which is creeping upward. Already-stressed roadside birch trees are showing bright yellows, and trees on ledges are starting to brown.  

While the deep forest tends to be more resilient, we will likely see fall colors emerge slightly early this year if the dry weather continues. This should hold true region-wide, but northern areas have the greatest potential to turn a bit early this year, given that cold air can sneak down from farther north.

Time will tell what the heat and lack of rain means for leaf peeping. This much I can tell you for sure. The apple trees here on our Vermont hillside home, are decidedly lacking in fruit. Of course, that probably has more to do with a big crop of apples last year. ;-)

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