Spring Things

Dartmouth social media has a post about a new addition to the Big Green coaching ranks:

Join us in welcoming our new Football Recruiting & Operations Coordinator @CoachEBrenss to The Woods!#TheWoods pic.twitter.com/OtmDmfn74I

— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) April 18, 2024

A little more background from a story posted on BGA – The Sequel (LINK):

A final addition joining the Big Green staff this week is Erin Brennan, the latest woman to work in the Dartmouth program. A former soccer player at Alabama's Spring Hill College, she will serve as recruiting and operations coordinator for the Green. She has been an assistant to the athletic director at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans and came to attention at the Manning Passing Academy.

"She comes from (graduating wide receiver) Jarmone Sutherland's school," said (head coach Sammy) McCorkle. "She'll take a little off Danny O'Dea's plate and allow him to do more of what he's really good at."

Speaking of The Sequel, here's the lede to a lengthy story spun out of Dartmouth's first six spring practices that went up on the free site last night :

Wide receiver Paxton Scott has led Dartmouth in catches each of his first three seasons. Nose guard Josiah Green had more tackles last year than either of his two linemates who will be playing at the FBS level in the fall as grad transfers.

The easy thing to talk about during the off week in the middle of Dartmouth's 12 spring practices would be to focus on stalwarts like Scott and Green. But Sammy McCorkle, in his first spring practice since being officially named head coach early last fall, was more than happy to work his way around the field sharing thoughts about players who might be a little more under the radar.

To find the full story, which also includes thoughts on spring recruiting and a lot more, click HERE. Again, it's available to all.

Courtesy Dartmouth football social media

The Sequel will have another spring story tonight featuring thoughts from Coach McCorkle about new associate head coach Wendy Laurent. Also his perspective on the big Pro Day by Quinten Arello, on the benefit of having fifth-year seniors, on when captains will be named, and a very special down-and-back trip he made to another campus. Check it out tonight HERE.

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The Athletic has an NFL Draft preview called The Beast available on PDF to subscribers that runs well over 300 pages. It lists former Dartmouth corner Isaiah Johnson, who spent the past two years as a grad transfer at Syracuse, 44th among available cornerbacks. How much detail does The Beast go into? Here's text accompanying Johnson's statistics and measurements:

Isaiah Johnson, the youngest of seven children, was born in Ohio, and his family lived in Switzerland from 2005-10. For high school, he attended Detroit Country Day, because of its art program (he is a skilled sketch artist).

Wow. Here's more: 

He received several Ivy League offers and signed with Dartmouth, where he spent four years. After his breakout 2021, he graduated from Dartmouth and transferred to Syracuse, where he started for two seasons at outside cornerback. Johnson is a king-sized cover man with outstanding length and the balanced athleticism to overwhelm receivers in press. Despite the air space he covers, his ball skills are only okay, and he tends to lose positioning versus quick route runners (his on-field movements don't consistently match his three-cone-time). Overall, Johnson lacks ideal long speed, but he’s a smart, long player and strong tackler, making him a worthy developmental option at safety or as a press corner.

Graduating Dartmouth safety Quinten Arello doesn't have a bio in The Beast, but his measurements and drill numbers are included on a chart of available players at the position. He is ranked 55th among the 216 available safeties. For perspective, among the 10 players listed immediately below Arello in the rankings are products of Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Penn State, Auburn and Notre Dame.

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From Football Scoop under the headline FDA approves rapid concussion blood test (LINK):

Developed by a team led by Pittsburgh Steelers team neurosurgeon Dr. David Okonkwo, the test's manufacturer says it can rule out concussions with a 95.6 percent accuracy when assessed within 24 hours of injury. The test works by detecting two proteins, UCH-L1 and GFAP, released within the blood following a concussion. 

Abbott, the test's manufacturer, believes it will be available for bedside use in hospitals by this summer. The next step will be for use on the battlefield and the sidelines.

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EXTRA POINT
Those of you who have been following along may recall that when I drove my car up to Newport, Vt., to see the total eclipse the EV's odometer passed the mileage threshold for the warranty to cover fixing the faulty lock on the hatch. As it turns out the magic number was 36,004 miles, and thanks to my drive on eclipse day and then bringing the car 33 miles south to the dealer it was at about 36,200 miles or so when the dealer plugged a doohickey in to get an official odometer reading.

Showing surprising heart, the word back from Detroit is that we will be responsible for just 10 percent of the repairs. It's still ridiculous that the total repair will be in the neighborhood of $300, but $30 or so sure beats the alternative.

Spring Ahead

A look at Dartmouth spring football at the midway point of the 12 sessions will be posted tonight on the new barebones site BGA – The Sequel HERE. 4 p.m. editor's note: The story has been posted.

In addition to providing thoughts about players who have opened eyes during the first six practices,  how the spring has gone as a whole and the naming of Wendy Laurent as associate head coach, the Sequel will explain what the players are doing this week, why they aren't practicing, and a lot more including a very special trip by head coach Sammy McCorkle. Oh, and if you missed the spring practice preview, that already has been reposted on the site here (LINK).

A reminder that the new BGA site, which is available to everyone, will have Dartmouth game coverage of a sort this fall, as noted in this space yesterday.

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Speaking of what the players are doing this week, Spencer Brown, Dartmouth's highly regarded strength and conditioning coach addressed exactly that in a video posted on Big Green social media:

Hear from Spencer Brown, the Holekamp Family Director of Strength & Conditioning, about the importance and area of focus for @DartmouthFTBL in the spring.#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/ByOCNfbBHl

— Dartmouth Athletics (@dartmouthsports) April 17, 2024

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It's just a "brief," but Dartmouth's new offensive quality control assistant Grayson Kline got a mention in Penn State's Daily Collegian. (LINK) What the Collegian should have included in the story, of course, is former Nittany Lion offensive lineman Wendy Laurent being named the Big Green's associate head coach earlier this spring.

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While Dartmouth has had a good number of former football players enter the portal as grad transfers, to date virtually all have left only after picking up their degrees, something first Buddy Teevens and now Sammy McCorkle encourage. Princeton lost a promising running back after a strong freshman season in 2022 and now a Yale undergrad has entered the portal, but to this point most of the football players who transfer out of the Ivies are doing so only after graduation, not before.

It's starting to look as if that may be changing on the basketball side. The Harvard Crimson has a story about guard Malik Mack, who this winter was named the Ivy League rookie of the week eight consecutive times, walking away from a Harvard degree to play at Georgetown. From the story (LINK):

"Mack and his family have previously spoken about weighing the benefits of a Harvard degree against the financial pressures of not having an athletic scholarship or the potential to make money through an NIL collective . . ."

Yale sophomore Danny Wolf, a 7-foot center/forward who some analysts list among the top dozen players in the portal, could be moving on as well. And while he has said he intends to return to school, Princeton sophomore guard Xaivian Lee has declared for the NBA Draft. (LINK)

Green Alert Take: Could it happen in football? Perhaps, but it says here it is a lot harder to project how a top Ivy football player will translate to the FBS than it is a basketball player to a big-time program.

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Remember that post about small college towns described this way (LINK)?

These 10 small college towns — selected by an expert panel and voted as the best by readers — have fun, youthful vibes, unexpected dining and shopping options, and plenty of cultural offerings. Throw in a beautiful campus and some regional surprises and you have a recipe for a great vacation.

Here's the final ranking:

1. Oxford, Miss.
2. Oxford, Ohio
3. Frostburg, Md.
4. Granville, Ohio
5. Athens Ohio
6. Annapolis, Md.
7. HANOVER
8. Williamsburg, Va.
9. Charlottesville, Va.
10. Saratoga Springs

Boston.com has a story about Hanover making the cut HERE.

Green Alert Take: I'll say it again. There's no way that list could leave out Princeton, Ithaca and State College, Pa., and I'd be tempted to include Burlington, Vt.

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EXTRA POINT
My car is a hatchback, which is a good thing . . . until the hatch doesn't close properly, which is a bad thing. I wrote about the car's hatchback issue in this space last week after the dealer hooked up an electronic thingie to send the mileage to Detroit and unfortunately inform us we were several hundred miles past the warranty period for fixing the latch for free.

Today the car goes in a second time to have the exact problem diagnosed with another electronic thingie, and we've been told it very well may have to go in a third time to have the electronics that control the latch mechanism replaced.

Three trips to the dealer and who knows how many hundreds of dollars? For a latch.

I can't help but think about trunk issues before cars got so fancy. I'm pretty sure I could have pulled in unannounced to the neighborhood garage we always used in Lebanon, the mechanic would have put aside what he was working on to come outside with a pair of pliers, a screw driver and some lubricant, and in five minutes he'd have the thing working perfectly. Better yet, when I'd ask him how much we owed him, his answer would be, "Have a good day."

And yes, I walked to school every day, uphill both ways. ;-)

Looking Ahead

A little housekeeping to start the morning off.

As promised a second story on spring practice will go up tomorrow. I think you'll find it interesting and informative. The final spring story won't be posted until late May, after Mrs. BGA and I return from our upcoming trip. (More about that below.)

For what it's worth, I've been experimenting with another web platform to host BGA – The Sequel and if I have it working properly that's where tomorrow's story and other future pieces will be posted. A reminder that access to the new site will be free and available to everyone. Check back tomorrow for a link.

While I'm at it, I'm currently working on my plans for the fall and while I won't be covering practice or in the press box on Saturday afternoons, there will probably be game coverage – of a sort. Stay tuned for more information as I finalize what I hope to be doing.

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The other news I should mention is that Mrs. BGA and I will be hopping on the train in Boston this Monday as we begin a month-long rail trip around the country. We'll be heading first to Chicago, where we will have a day and a half to explore. Then we are on to Seattle, where we'll have three days to see friends and enjoy the PNW.

Next we head down the coast to Los Angeles and then back up to the San Francisco Bay Area, each with a full day to do fun things.

The next leg of our trip brings us to Utah (to spend a week with That Certain Dartmouth '16 at Bryce Canyon) and eventually Colorado (for a few days with my sister). Then it's back to Chicago for a day, (probably) down to Washington, D.C., and finally back home.

We're hoping to get to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs-Astros game at Wrigley Field on the evening of April 23. If anyone has "local knowledge" about the best cheap to moderate-priced seats in the house, send 'em along!

It has been suggested I keep this site going while we are gone but change BGA from Big Green Alert  to Bruce's Great Adventure. We'll see.

Now what you came here for . . .

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Following up on Monday's listing of starters returning and moving on from Dartmouth football (LINK), today a look at the final two-deep from last fall. The first player listed is the starter. Departing players have a strike through their names.*

OFFENSE
Quarterback
Nick Howard
Jackson Proctor

Tailback
Q Jones
Tevita Moimoi

Wide Receiver
Paxton Scott
Jarmone Sutherland

Wide Receiver
Isaac Boston
Jackson Gerard

Wide Receiver
Daniel Haughton
Painter Richards Baker

Tight End
Jace Henry
Nic Sani

Center
Thomas Hartnett
Nick Marinaro

Left Guard
Nick Schwitzgebel
Max Wentz

Right Guard
Kyle Brown
Tristan Holmbeck

Left Tackle
Delby Lemieux
Vasean Washington

Right Tackle
Kontantin Spörk
Ethan Sipe

DEFENSE
End
Charlie Looes
Joe Onuwabhagbe

End
Hank Knez
Dakota Quiñonez

Nose Guard
Josiah Green
Jaylin Rainey

Sam Linebacker
Teddy Gianaris
Marques White

Mike Linebacker
Danny Cronin
Micah Green

Will Linebacker
Macklin Ayers
John Ballowe

Nickel
Tyson McCloud
Tyson Grimm

Corner
Jordan Washington
Zach Faris

Corner
Leonard St. Gourdin
Patrick Campbell

Strong Safety
Sean Williams
Vachon Raye

Free Safety
Cam Maddox
Sam Koscho

*Keep in mind this is just the final two-deep and does not include some players who were regular starters such as safety Quinten Arello, and those who might have slid down to a backup role because of injury.

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EXTRA POINT
We haven't had any really surprising visitors to the video bird feeder since my sister gave it to us for Christmas. This guy, which the camera's AI told us is an American goldfinch, is about as colorful as we've had:

Ah, but the bird feeder has come in handy and will come in handy in ways that have nothing to do with birds. The "has" part was Mrs. BGA accessing the live picture from Florida during the eclipse to see how dark it got in this part of Vermont. (Answer: Not very.) The "will" part will be our ability watch That Certain Nittany Lion '16 taking Griff the Wonder Dog for his daily constitutional around our property while we are away.

Catch This

Former safety Quinten Arello, a two-time Dartmouth captain, is the subject of a Q&A HERE in advance of the NFL Draft.

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This is cool. In recognition of Jackie Robinson Day, the Chicago White Sox piorneering former Dartmouth football assistant Jennifer King throw out the first pitch:

Paving the way for those who come next. Shoutout to Jennifer King for pulling up on Jackie Robinson Day! 💙 pic.twitter.com/7G7WORunxv

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 16, 2024

Click HERE to read King's bio as assistant running backs coach with the Chicago Bears. Unfortunately, no mention of her year in Hanover with the Big Green.

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With the retirement of Yankees' radio announcer John Sterling (LINK) it's a chance to revisit his call of The Catch by Dartmouth's Andrew Hall in the Big Green's win over future NFL QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and Harvard in 2003:

Here's the story I wrote a few days later about The Catch, now immortalized in a photo by former SID Kathy Slattery on a column just inside the main gate of Memorial Field:

Catch As Catch Can 

Hall's Haul in Win Over Harvard Was The Talk Of The Ivy League

HANOVER – Brett Hoover of the Ivy League office is home in Plainsboro, N.J., watching the YES Network broadcast of the Dartmouth-Harvard football game, laptop computer at his side, online.

Two-hundred, sixty-one miles to the northeast, Big Green coach John Lyons has called timeout, a decision longtime voice of Dartmouth football Rick Adams reports from his sunny radio cubby high above Harvard Stadium.

Taking advantage of the break in play to make her way from the end zone back to the 20-yard line is Dartmouth sports information director Kathy Slattery, shooting digital pictures on this day with a spanking new 300mm, f/4 lens.

It is Saturday, Nov. 1, 2003. There are 12 minutes, 58 seconds remaining in the game between undefeated and nationally ranked Harvard and the underdog Big Green.

Less than two minutes have elapsed since Crimson quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick hit Rodney Byrnes with a 55-yard lightning strike to slice Dartmouth's lead from 23-9 to one touchdown in one fell swoop.

The Big Green is in a third-and-28 hole at the Harvard 40-yard line because quarterback Charlie Rittgers collided with the referee for a bizarre 18-yard loss on the last play. It is crunch time.

For everyone.

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Lyons is hoping a long pass will bring a first down, but is thinking that an interception would be as good as a punt.

On the Crimson sideline, coach Tim Murphy has sent in another defensive back and is feeling confident that the numbers are in his team's favor.

Near the painted H in the middle of the field, Rittgers huddles his troops and calls the play: 79 Trade.

Junior wide receiver Andrew Hall and senior wide receiver Jay Barnard will line up left. Senior tight end Casey Cramer will be on the right side of the line.

Hall, the 6-foot-3 Rick Fox lookalike who is enjoying a big game, reviews the play as he heads to the line. He and Barnard will be running "jet" routes, straight up the field, crossing along the way. He knows how big the moment is.

"We need the momentum back," he says later of his thinking. "I'm telling myself you have to do everything you can to get the first down the way I always do on third down."

In the YES booth, John Sterling, he of the "Yankees win, thuuuuuuh Yankees win," fame, sets the scene.

"Here it is, third-and-28," he tells his audience. "A big play for Dartmouth."

Slattery hoists her Canon EOS-1D digital SLR camera and looks through the viewfinder.

Across the Dartmouth offensive line, senior tackle Courtney Wuistinger, senior guard Chris Mathewson, senior center Luke Catenacci, sophomore guard Mike Shannon and junior tackle Vik Tiku gird for a hard rush.

Rittgers takes the snap. Wuistinger rides Harvard defensive end Matt Farbotko around the left of Rittgers, who steps up into the pocket at just the right time. Mathewson is a wall in the middle that Harvard defensive tackle David Kunst can't budge. Catenacci, Tiku and Shannon team up on the right side to hold off a bull rush by tackle Jon Berrier and defensive end Eric Grimm.

Just as Berrier breaks through, Sterling makes the call in the TV booth. "Rittgers, deep downfield, over the middle for Hall ..."

On the home sideline, Slattery has her camera poised as Rittgers lets fly from the 47. "I had been in the end zone waiting patiently for what I was convinced was going to be a touchdown the play before," she says. "When I saw Rittgers roll out and go down, I was mad. So I went stomping back to about the 20-yard line, thinking, 'Now what's going to happen?' The camera just happened to sight on Andrew Hall when he was at about the 10 and I knew Rittgers had thrown it."

Hall is on the left hash, around the 25, when the ball leaves Rittgers' strong right arm. Free safety Chris Raftery is close on his heels. Linebacker Dante Balestracci is tearing straight toward his own goal line -- and Hall -- in a race with the tight spiral. Corner Rick Williamson is sprinting in from the right.

As Hall reaches the 6-yard line, he leaves his feet, his long left arm reaching straight up, a black sweat band just below his elbow. Like a dance partner, Raftery goes up with him, pinning Hall's stronger hand to his side.

Hall's gray-gloved left hand palms the ball and he pulls it into his body as he bounces. Sterling's call continues, the excitement in his voice rising to a fevered pitch: 

"... and he made a catch. That's as good a catch as you'll see. Andrew Hall. Oh, what a catch!"

Adams and color commentator Wayne Young send the same word back to radio listeners in the Upper Valley.

"Did he catch it?" Adams shouts. "What a catch at the 2-yard line! Andrew Hall gives Dartmouth a first-and-goal. ... My goodness, what a catch! Wow!"

Adds Young: "As long as they play football at Dartmouth, that's going to be one of the greatest catches you'll ever see. I wish our audience could have seen it."

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Slattery has seen it, through the lens of her camera.

"My concern was I might have sighted on it, but did I have it in focus?" she says. "I could see the ball on Hall's fingertips, and I said, 'Ooh, I think I have it.'"

Down in New Jersey, the Ivy League's Hoover can't believe what he has just seen until YES replays the catch two times. Hoover's mind is already racing as Hall rolls onto his feet and Cramer rushes over, signaling the touchdown that will come on the next play.

Slattery thinks of checking her camera to see if the picture she wants is preserved on its one-gigabyte compact flash card, but thinks better of it.

"Part of it is I'm new to digital photography, and I'm afraid I'm going to push the wrong button," she admits.

Hoover, who knows he will have to try to describe the indescribable on the Ivy League's Web page, has no idea that Slattery shot the picture. But he does have an idea.

"Immediately when I saw it, I would say within 20 minutes, I e-mailed the people at YES saying, 'This catch is unbelievable. If you can turn it into an MPEG (Internet movie file), we'll gladly put it online, " he says. "I certainly can't do that thing justice by writing about it."

One play after Hall's grab, Rittgers sneaks in for the touchdown that closes the books on a 30-16 Dartmouth win.

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Slattery finally gets a peak at her picture a day later. It is better than she could have imagined.

On Sunday, Hall sees the still photo and catch for the first time on the coaching study tape. It's not a YES Network closeup, but his teammates hoot and holler for more. "Everybody wanted to see it a couple times," he says. "I think people were in kind of disbelief. I know I was."

On Monday, it is Hoover's turn to be in disbelief when he sees the picture Slattery e-mailed his way. He quickly puts it on the Ivy League website with the words "The Catch 2003" superimposed across the bottom.

By Wednesday, the YES techies have e-mailed a 48-second video clip to Hoover, who throws that up on the Ivy website, too.

By Wednesday night, Hall has finally seen the YES clip. He's heard Sterling say, "Boy, that's fabulous. That is really fabulous. Well, if Harvard loses today, that will be the catch of the year."

The decathlete from Greene, Maine - who asked Lyons if he might walk on to the football team during his track recruiting visit - has watched the replays and heard his name called. He's getting ready to e-mail a link to his parents so they can see the catch he tried to explain in an excited phone call home.

And still, Hall wonders aloud if it ever really happened.

"It's hard to believe they are talking about me," he said. "Hearing someone say it's a great catch and should be top 10, that's amazing. It's a dream."

No, it's a third-and-8 dream come true.

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For what it's worth, here's The Catch, taken by the late Kathy Slattery (Phillips), the legendary Dartmouth sports information director.

And here is where Andrew Hall is today: LINK. 

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EXTRA POINT
For those of you who recall the PAT a few weeks back about "ice out" on Joe's Pond here in Vermont (LINK) the hard water lasted a good deal longer than expected:

More than 17,000 tickets were sold at $1 apiece in the ice-out contest. The winning pot this year is $6,974. Find a story on the WCAX TV page HERE.

You Make The Call(s)

Listing starters in college football can be a dicey proposition. Is a starter the player who is actually on the field for the first play on his side of the ball even if that's his only play of the game? Or is the starter the player who instead plays the vast majority of snaps on his side? How do you handle determining the starters on defense if you usually play a 3-4 defense and open with a 4-3? Or if you open with two or three tight ends?

Understanding that knowledgeable people can disagree about who is, and who isn't a starter in a game and on a season, here's a reasoned list of Dartmouth starters from last year. Your mileage may vary.

This list was drawn from the Big Green's official statistics. Starts in 2023 are listed after the player's name and players who have moved on  are in italics. 

–OFFENSE–

QUARTERBACK

Nick Howard 8

Jackson Proctor 2

Dylan Cadwallader 1

TAILBACK

Q Jones 10

WIDE RECEIVER

Paxton Scott 10

Isaac Boston 10

Painter Richards Baker 5

Daniel Haughton 4

Jackson Gerard 1

TIGHT END

Jace Henry 8

Nic Sani 2

CENTER

Thomas Hartnett 5

Nick Marinaro 5

LEFT GUARD

Nick Schwitzgebel 10

LEFT TACKLE

Delby Lemieux 7

Kyle Brown 3

RIGHT GUARD

Kyle Brown 7

Tristan Holmbeck 3

RIGHT TACKLE

Konstantin Spörk 10

–DEFENSE–

NOSE GUARD

Josiah Green 10

DEFENSIVE END

Charlie Looes 10

Hank Knez 10

MIKE LINEBACKER

Danny Cronin 8

Micah Green 2

WILL LINEBACKER

Macklin Ayers 10

SAM LINEBACKER

Braden Mullen 5

Teddy Gianaris 4

Micah Green 1

NICKEL

Tyson McCloud 8

Cam Maddox 2

CORNER

Leonard St. Gourdin 10

Jordan Washington 9

Patrick Campbell 1

STRONG SAFETY

Sean Williams 10

FREE SAFETY

Quinten Arello 9

Cam Maddox 1

KICKER

Owen Zalc 10

PUNTER

Davis Golick 10

LONG SNAPPER

Josh Greene 10

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EXTRA POINT
Good thing I got off my back side and got a little exercise hiking early yesterday afternoon because the rest of the day was spent watching the Masters and then the Billy Joel "live" special recorded last month in honor of the 100th show of his soon-to-conclude Madison Square Garden residency.

I find myself wondering this morning, if I had the opportunity to choose to see just one of those two events in person – which would I pick? I've been to the Masters twice (albeit in a working capacity) and I saw Billy Joel in concert shortly after graduating from college, so neither has the edge in that regard. So what would it be?

After thinking it over, I would probably have been at the Garden this year instead of watching Scottie Scheffler win his second green jacket in front of the (faded) azaleas at Augusta National. Not that I could afford either, of course.

Another year, who knows?

And oh by the way, count us among the fortunate who did not have our local station cut away to the news while the Piano Man was performing Piano Man. ;-)

This And That

Dartmouth's office of "Strategic Content And Brand Management" has a look at how Big Green football practice has gone through the first half of spring HERE.

If you prefer video, here are secondary coach Aashon Larkins and quarterback coach/offensive coordinator Kevin Daft:

Another day of spring @DartmouthFTBL in the books! ✅#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/HQvwaom8U5

— Dartmouth Athletics (@dartmouthsports) April 13, 2024

Editor's Note: I stopped by The Green House to watch practice yesterday and will have a story for you at some point this week. Stay tuned.

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A Valley News appreciation of the life of Priscilla Sears, a former Dartmouth professor of English, liberal studies and women's studies who died last year at age 90, begins with an anecdote featuring former Big Green football player Byron Boston '81, today the  chief executive officer of Dynex Capital. From the story:

While Boston found that many professors on the Ivy League campus could be condescending toward students from non-traditional backgrounds, Sears held all of her students to the same rigorous standards.

“She was bold enough to be very demanding.” Where other professors tended toward patronizing, “she didn’t treat me differently. She really came at me and made me look at myself. It was a complete mind-opening experience.”

Find the full story HERE. 

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While Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle wrapped up the first half of spring football practice Saturday morning, the highlight of the week for the McCorkle family was about 750 miles south where his oldest daughter Maddie scored a game- and career-high five goals while leading the Duke women's lacrosse team to a 14-11 win over Louisville on her senior day with the Blue Devils. McCorkle recorded a hat trick in the fourth quarter alone. Find the story HERE.

In addition to her achievements in lacrosse, McCorkle was a two-time, all-state basketball player and 1,000-point scorer at Hanover High School.

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EXTRA POINT
We leave on our month-long train trip across and around the country one week from tomorrow and it's starting to look as if I'm going to have to mow the lawn before we go. I can't tell you how glad I am that our lawn tractor has been repaired. What I can tell you is how glad That Certain Nittany Lion '16 will be that it's fixed because he'll be helping out with the lawn while we are gone. Which reminds me . . .

Last fall Mrs. BGA and I planted a bunch of daffodil bulbs and the hope is that they bloom before we leave. They are closing in on six inches in height now and it starting to look as if it will be a photo finish whether we actually see the flowers before we are "all aboard." It may fall on TCNL '16 to send along a few pictures of the daffodils before he mows them over ;-)

Spring So Far

The polish that helped Wendy Laurent become Dartmouth's associate head coach and the intensity that makes players want to play for Don Dobes are both on display in this look at spring practice to date:

Take an inside look at spring @DartmouthFTBL camp, which is almost finished week two!#TheWoods🌲 | #GoBigGreen pic.twitter.com/Gp4IKD42aD

— Dartmouth Athletics (@dartmouthsports) April 12, 2024

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Joining the Dartmouth staff in the offensive quality control role is Grayson Kline, a former walk-on tight end and quarterback at Penn State, where he earned degrees in sociology and criminology. He was most recently an offensive assistant at LIU. Find his Penn State bio HERE.

Fired up to join the staff at Dartmouth as an Offensive QC! DM’s are open for all the ballers looking for great football and a world-class education! #TheWoods pic.twitter.com/lkwzKc0r64

— Grayson Kline (@grayson_kline) April 12, 2024

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Posting an interesting offer is senior nickel Tyson McCloud:

Blessed to receive a PWO from Notre Dame ☘️ pic.twitter.com/OqvgrsFHmj

— Tyson McCloud (@TY5ONJM) April 12, 2024

McCloud had 36 tackles and four pass breakups last fall. 

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Defensive lineman Gannon McCorkle, another potential grad transfer, sounds excited about an offer from the University of San Diego, Xweeting, "I’m excited to get on campus next week." He also holds an offer from Marist.

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Hoping to have a mid-spring look at Dartmouth practice in the next day or so. Stay tuned.

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EXTRA POINT
Having walked all 18 holes of Augusta National on multiple occasions while covering the Masters, it has occurred to me that, like Monday's eclipse, you can see all the pictures and watch all the coverage you want of Amen Corner and the rest, but the only way to really, truly see it is to have been there.

Hometown, Uh Home State Hero

Former Dartmouth offensive lineman/tight end Jake Guidone '21, who helped UConn to the 2022 Myrtle Beach Bowl as the grad transfer starting center, is on a different kind of field these days. A smaller field.

From a story in The Sun (LINK):

Fresh off a bye week, the Walpole native is ready to get back to business, toeing the offensive line for the undefeated Massachusetts Pirates (3-0) of the Indoor Football League.

The team, which moved to Lowell in the offseason, plays host to the Iowa Barnstormers on Friday (7:05 p.m.) in what promises to be another action-packed arena football affair.

And . . . 

A 6-foot-3, 315-pound lineman, Guidone certainly knows his way around the gridiron. He worked out with the Green Bay Packers in September after attending rookie minicamp with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent this past season.

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Speaking of offensive linemen, Dartmouth will be honoring one at commencement this year. From The Dartmouth (LINK):

Former professional football player and assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology John Urschel will receive a Doctor of Letters. Urschel, who previously played as a lineman for the Baltimore Ravens before transitioning to a career in academia, is the author of “Mind and Matter: A Life in Math and Football.”

Green Alert Take: Those who think you can't combine top-notch academics and major college football might be interested to know Urschel starred on the gridiron and in the classroom at Penn State after seriously considering Princeton. He earned his doctorate at MIT after earning the Campbell Trophy, known as the "academic Heisman," while playing for the Nittany Lions.

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Still on the topic of offensive linemen, Dartmouth's Ethan Sipe has added Old Dominion to his growing list of grad transfer offers.

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Back on the subject of academics and major college football, a friend of BGA shared a link to a story that shows a different side of the equation. The USA Today headline pretty much says it all: QB Shedeur Sanders attends first in-person lecture at Colorado after more than a year;  Colorado quarterback has been doing coursework online instead. University life ain't what it used to be. (LINK)

From the story:

“It’s so different now man because most of the school is online,” Deion Sanders said. “Like, they go to classes and I’m like, 'You guys are missing the best part of college − to be on campus, to walk around and build the atmosphere and build relationships on campus with other students outside of football.' That’s the best part of it, but now you have so many kids, they’re just online. I don’t even know if Shedeur has partaken a class on campus in his college career.”

Green Alert Take: That's pretty hollow. Maybe, just maybe, if Coach Sanders went so far as to tell the players he wanted them to actually experience school in person they might have the experience he says they are missing.

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Have you been wondering – as I have – which Dartmouth basketball players did not vote to unionize? In a letter to the editor of The Dartmouth, 6-foot-6 forward Connor Christensen of Eden Prairie, Minn., explains why he thinks the union is a bad idea. From the letter (LINK):

I believe that the movement opposes the core values and traditions of Dartmouth athletics — the balance between a rich academic history and competitive athletics — and may lead to unintended consequences for athletes across the College. 

And . . . 

Ultimately, unions exist to protect people from being taken advantage of. I, however, do not feel exploited by Dartmouth. It is an honor to represent the College and attend an institution with world-class academics and prestige. 

Christensen writes that he intends to continue as a member of the team.

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EXTRA POINT
I got this note in my email yesterday from web host Weebly. It's bittersweet:

bgafootball.com has expired

We wanted to let you know that bgafootball.com expired today and has been taken offline. Any connected site or email is no longer functional.

But if you want to get back online, you still have 29 more days to do so!

For what it's worth, the site was still up when I checked it just now. ;-)