Sunday, May 03, 2015

Sunday Stuff

In addition to its regular uniforms, Dartmouth will have a few new combinations to wear next year, as modeled after Saturday's spring game by its new captains. (Click photo to enlarge.) At left, quarterback Dalyn Williams with the new black shirt and gray pants. Linebacker Will McNamara goes with the black shirt and white pants while wide receiver Ryan McManus shows the all-black look. Keep an eye out for something else ;-)
Check out BGA Premium for full coverage of Dartmouth's Green-White Game. The Dartmouth sports information page has a blurb I pulled together as well. (LINK)

Despite the hype on message boards and elsewhere, the Ivy League did not have a player selected in the NFL Draft for just the fifth time since 2000. Yale tailback Tyler Varga and Harvard defensive end/outside linebacker Zach Hodges signed free agent contracts with the Indianapolis Colts and Harvard center Nick Easton signed with the Baltimore Ravens. (Varga LINK) (Hodges LINK) (Easton LINK)

Green Alert Take: Here's what I've been told by coaches, agents and former Dartmouth players in the past. While everyone wants to hear their name called, it's often better to be a free agent than to be chosen toward the end of the draft. Free agents can scour rosters and pick the most beneficial landing spot rather than being locked into one team that may not given them the best chance of sticking.
Four FCS conferences didn't have a player chosen:
The Ivy League
The Northeast Conference
The Patriot League
The Pioneer Football League
Hmmm. Three from this region and a non-scholarship conference.
The ink is barely dry (what's ink?) on this year's draft and already there's speculation about who might be chosen a year from now.

CBSSports has a pretty thorough ranking of potential 2016 draft class and a lengthy click-click-search-and-find turned up eight Ivy Leaguers grabbing early attention, with one surprise and one absolutely huge surprise.

In the unranked "others receiving votes" type category as potential NFL picks next year:
Dartmouth quarterback Dalyn Williams
Yale quarterback Morgan Roberts
Harvard running back Paul Stanton, Jr.
Harvard offensive lineman Matt Koran
Yale free safety Cole Champion
Penn kicker Jimmy Gammill
Now for the interesting stuff . . .
Ranked 39th among the corners next year is Princeton's Anthony Gaffney
And now for the huge surprise  . . .
Ranked as the 12th running back in the nation – not the FCS but the nation – Princeton's DiAndre Atwater.
Green Alert Take: This is not a knock on Atwater or Gaffney, two fine players, but there's a PR person out there they might want to keep on retainer.
Congratulations to Dartmouth softball for sweeping Penn yesterday in Hanover, 2-1 and 1-0, to earn its second Ivy League championship in a row. (LINK)
The Dartmouth baseball team learned its opponent in the Ivy League Championship Series yesterday as Columbia defeated Penn, 4-2, in a one-game playoff to clinch its third Gehrig Division title in a row. Dartmouth will travel to New York City to play the Lions in the ILCS on May 9 and 10 (if necessary).