Hobart College Football 2022 Preseason Preview

The 128th season of Hobart College Football is upon us, and I couldn’t be more excited! Today is also the 13th anniversary / birthday of the blog, so why not celebrate our 14th (really 13th given the 2020 COVID year) season of Hobart Football with a 2022 preseason preview?

The Statesmen are returning to the shores of Seneca Lake today to continue to build off of their successful 2021 campaign that saw them win 9 games and an ECAC Bowl Championship. Hobart has unfinished business however, as they have not won the Liberty League (LL) title and berth into the NCAA playoffs since 2016. Last season the Statesmen missed an undefeated regular season record by literal inches, but this fall, in order to meet their goals, they will need to answer a great deal of questions, particularly on defense.

You can expect another hyper-competitive LL season, as the conference has catapulted into one of the nation’s Top 4 best. Ithaca (17), RPI (20) and Hobart (23) all appeared in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25 poll, with Union in the “receiving votes” category. It was the second most of any conference in the nation. 

Here's a first look at “Team 128”:

(OFFENSE)

The Statesmen bring back almost every starter from last year’s offense that averaged 31 PPG. Starting up front, four OL return including SR OL Ben Frank, SR OL Cade Frucci, SR OL Kieran Paskewitz and JR OL Devin Adamo. This group only allowed five sacks in 2021 – a league best. Ludner Mercy ‘21’s graduation means there will be an opening at center. 

Both JR RBs Rayshawn Boswell and Tim Denham, Jr. also return. Behind this strong OL, they helped Hobart rack up a league high 2,609 rushing yards and 36 TDs in 2021. Boswell is also a receiving threat, ending up second on the team with 272 receiving yards and a team high 3 TDs.

SR QB David Krewson returns looking to improve the Statesmen’s passing game. With a relatively inexperienced receiver group, Hobart ranked last in the LL in passing yards per game (137.1 YPG) and only threw for six passing TDs in 2021. Krewson has had his moments and with a more experienced WR corps, should fare better this year. SR WR Alex LaBella (32 catches for 354 yards and 2 TDs last season) returns as does JR WR Chris Bartosic, SO WR Marcus Lenz, and SO WR Rane Daramola. Also, back for a fifth year is SR TE Mike Zaccone, a very strong run blocker and team leader.

(DEFENSE)

The biggest question mark for Hobart going into 2022 will be who fills in the numerous openings on the defensive side of the ball given several losses to graduation. Only four starters return (JR DE Connor Gunn, JR DB James Mahoney, SR DB/SS Blake Hansen and JR LB Jamien Bliss) from the 2021 group that held opponents to 12.6 PPG.

Hansen and Bliss ended up fourth (47) and fifth (43) in overall tackles, respectively. Gunn had a solid year, racking up 4.5 TFL and 1 sack. Mahoney was reliable in coverage, especially with teams regularly going at him (and away from Jared Leake ’22, who's now on the coaching staff) with 7 PBU and 1 INT. 

That said, there are a large number of returning letterman in this group that got valuable playing experience last season and should be able to step up, and into, starting roles without too much trouble. I imagine players such as SR DB Jay McCoy, SR DT Naj Johnson, SO DE Alex Karpawich, SO ILB Anthony Romano, SR CB Abdoulaye Diallo, and SO CB Joe McCoy fitting that bill in 2022.

(SPECIAL TEAMS)

SO PK Tobias Wefering is back and will likely be pushed for playing time by FY PK Vicente Lyon. Teams will continue to roll the dice kicking the ball to Boswell, who’s always a threat to “take it to the house.”

(SCHEDULE)

The Statesmen play basically the same schedule as they had in 2021, just reverse home and away sites. I still can’t believe the administration scheduled the bicentennial celebration on a weekend when the team is on the road but having the Ithaca (Homecoming) and Union games at home this year – where Hobart is 11-0 since 2019 – should be big.

(FINAL THOUGHTS)

With at least four teams harboring LL title hopes, Hobart will be in the thick of things yet again. With a strong running game and tough defense, the Statesmen will give all the contenders a good run for their money. Time will tell if Krewson can balance out the offense with his strong arm, but either way you can count on more close games in the month of October – including big back-to-back road trips to RPI and SLU – deciding how 2022 plays out. 

I'll plan to do another update closer to Week 1 following preseason camp.