Looking Back on 2014....

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a happy, healthy and enjoyable holiday. It's hard to believe it's already 2015! Over the next several months I'll report on any "signings" / new recruit commitments to the Hobart Class of 2019. Before we look to the future, I'd like to do a little retrospective on the 2014 season.

The Hobart College Statesmen came into the 2014 season with high expectations and a bit of a chip on their shoulder after a sub par playoff performance against local and Empire 8 rival Saint John Fisher College in the second round of the 2013 NCAA playoffs.

Given a strong returning core of letter-men the Statesmen were picked to repeat as Liberty League (LL) Champions and return to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. There were some question marks around who would fill in on the OL and whether or not Hobart would evolve into more of a passing team given the graduation of RB Steven Webb.

The OOC schedule had the annual Dickinson game and the addition of back to back road trips to the Boston area which was great for MA and New England based alumni. Unfortunately both Endicott and Curry ended up having down seasons and really didn't provide the Statesmen with much of a challenge.

The LL schedule also proved to be less than challenging at times, at least in September and October. The good news was a lot of underclassmen had opportunities to gain valuable playing time and experience.

As expected Saint Lawrence rose to the occasion and gave Hobart a run for its money. It's hard to point to any other game in the regular season that showed the heart and grit of this season's Statesmen team than that 29-27 triumph over the Saints. The experience from that close and hard fought victory would prove very beneficial for Hobart in the playoffs.

The Statesmen defense would rise to the occasion and SR QB Patrick Conlan would engineer two game winning drives in Round 1 vs. Empire 8 Champion Ithaca and then again in Round 2 vs. Centennial Conference Champion and #7 Johns Hopkins.

Although Hobart's playoff run would end in Dover, DE; the Statesmen earned high marks for battling #4 Wesley close, at least until SR DE Tyre Coleman had to leave the game with an injury.

Hobart's 12-1 mark would tie the programs' record for most wins in a season and the Statesmen would finish the year ranked in the Top 10 in both major polls. Hobart SR OL Ali Marpet and DeAndre Smith would earn All-American recognition from D3football.com and Coleman would add Defensive Player of the Year to his All-American and other recognition.

Although comparison between this and the 2012 team are obvious, the 2014 team definitely had its own personality and definitely left it's mark on the Statesmen program.

While several key positions will need to reload in the 2015, I expect Hobart will once again be viewed as a top contender in the LL and the East Region.