Statesmen Defense Stands Out in Scrimmage

The Hobart College Statesmen football team traveled to Alfred, NY last evening to scrimmage against the Alfred University Saxons. The Statesmen showed well and a lot of players gained valuable playing time, allowing the coaching staff to make some final decisions leading into Week 1.

A few key items of note:

OL - I appears as though the coaching staff has made some initial decisions regarding the OL with SO OL Ludner Mercy moving to C and JR OL Alex Lanzana moving to OG. JR OL Corey Dillon remained in his guard spot from last season and SO OL Kieran Paskewitz and JR OL P.J. Tziachris played as the first team OTs. The latter is an interesting pick by the coaches given P.J. was previously a TE, and at 245 lbs, definitely under-sized compared to past Hobart OTs. Still, quickness, technique and skill can trump brute size and strength, especially for an offense like the Statesmen's.

D - The Hobart defense made a statement, causing at least three turnovers and coming up with several key stops in the scrimmage. While the second string did allow a passing TD in the second quarter, the Statesmen defense completely shut out the Saxons in the first. Hobart only gave up two first downs in the opening quarter, one via penalty. However, the overall discipline showed by this year's team was much improved compared to last season.

QB - The starting job appears to be SR QB Ryan Hofmann's after leading the team on a TD drive and committing no turnovers in the scrimmage. He reportedly looked sharp and in command of the offense, finding his receivers on both short and long pass plays. SO QB David Krewson struggled a bit, and all three FY QBs had opportunities to play.

RB - FY RB Rayshawn Boswell, a name that didn't make it into the recruiting recap, but obviously was a late add to the roster, showed flashes running the ball last night. He joins the Statesmen along with FY FS Alex Barnosky, who was a HS teammate of his at the Berkshire School (MA). Boswell was a triple option / wildcat style of QB who's not only fast (4.5 speed) but also elusive. His highlight reel can be seen here. With JR RB Shane White and JR RB Alex Milliken nursing minor injuries, the younger RBs on the team had ample opportunities to show off against the Saxons.

Overall, it's pretty safe to say Hobart "won" the scrimmage against a solid Alfred team. With the regular season almost upon us, I'll start working on next week's game preview while I wait and see how Hurricane Dorian approaches FL (or not, hopefully).

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!