Shed Shines at Pro Day

SR WR Brandon Shed wowed NFL scouts at his Pro Day yesterday at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Shed ran a 4.4 in the 40 yard dash, jumping 10' 8" in the long and 35.5" in the vertical. He finished the combine style day with 16* reps on the bench and running a variety of routes to show his skills to the scouts in attendance.

Photo courtesy of the Shed family / Facebook

The Cardinals, Dolphins and Falcons scouts were particularly interested, the latter expressing serious interest (which is maybe no surprise given HC Dan Quinn is a former D3 player himself - at Salisbury State). While it remains to be seen if Shed will get drafted a month from now, his Senior Bowl play and today's Pro Day should leave no doubt he's NFL-ready.

I'm hoping he gets good news in the later rounds and, worse case, has some offers to attend camps as a UDFA.

Congratulations and good luck to Brandon on his NFL journey!

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Cragg Coaching Tree Continues to Grow

Every off-season there's a "coaching carousel", i.e., a number of new hires, firings and retirements, and the start of 2018 was no different. The announcement of Coach Cragg's retirement from coaching was a bit of a surprise for some, but a 30+ year career with 157 wins* (albeit the number really should be 174) is a good way to go out, while opening the door for "the next generation."

While Mike Cragg's coaching career and commitment to Hobart are remarkable, I don't think enough has been made of the fact of how many former Statesmen have gone on to successful coaching careers of their own. The latest was the appointment of Coach Brian Bubna '04 to the HC of MIT - a school that Coach Chad Martinovich '94 had led for nine seasons prior to taking the HC job at Rochester.

Late last year we saw Coach Nate Milne '03 be named the HC of Muhlenburg, and we all saw Coach Jon Drach (not an alum, but clearly a Cragg disciple) earn the Wilkes job and of course, Coach Kevin DeWall 00's going from Endicott to Hobart.

Lest we forget, HC Scott Yoder '01 who's entering his sixth season at Shenandoah University - the Hornets will host the Statesmen in Week 3, on 9/15 - and is yet another branch of the Cragg coaching tree. And that's not including the number of young, assistant coaches on all the above staffs that have Hobart ties including, in alphabetical order:

Aaron Backhaus '00
Walt Bennett '05
Kelvin Cruz '12
Tom Elder '13
Art Garvey '13
Mike Green '14
Jack Pfohl '17
Shane Sweeney '18
Drake Woodard '12

I'm sure there's lots more out there at the HS (e.g., Bobby Wynne '94 at the Salisbury School in CT, Devin Worthington '14 at Chesire Academy, Orlando Patterson '10 formerly Tabor Academy, now HC of Roxbury Latin School in MA and Tony Aguilar '97 at Eastern Alamance HS in NC etc.) and upper-division levels that I'm forgetting / missed given Cragg's having mentored hundreds of Statesmen over the past three decades.

While all the LL schools, and many others in D3, have released their 2018 schedules, the Statesmen are still working on that elusive Week 5 / Homecoming match-up. Barring an update on that, I'll turn to looking at some changes to the Hobart offense as Coach DeWall '00 begins to put his stamp on the Statesmen in 2018.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Two for Tuesday! Huntington's Jamison Selects Statesmen

Huntington Public School's online news publication, hufsd.edu, reports that SR C / NG Clay Jamison will attend Hobart College this fall. A teammate of SR WR Alex LaBella (see last Monday's post), Jamison was literally the centerpiece of the Blue Devils' program last fall, earning All-Division and County honors as a center / nose guard.

A link to the article confirming Jamison's selection can be seen here.

The article mentions Hobart beating out Brockport in Clay's recruitment and the fact he (and LaBella) will be reunited with another former Huntington teammate, current Statesmen SO CB Jared Leake.

Jamison brings a nice combination of size (6'1" and 310 lbs) and strength, and he has good technique at the point of attack / line of scrimmage. You can view his highlight reel here. Although I can imagine Coach Green would love to have Clay on the OL, Jamison would likely be best utilized as a NG, especially given the graduation of Zack Robak '18, who is one of several losses on the Statesmen DL after 2017.

Please join me in welcoming Clay and the Jamison family to Hobart!

Photo credit - Darin Reed / hufsd.edu

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

LaBella Looks Like a Real Catch for Hobart

Huntington HS SR WR Alex LaBella has committed to attend Hobart College this fall. He was a star WR for the Blue Devils who finished the 2017 season with a 5-4 overall record. Alex was also selected to play on the US National Team by USA Football, and performed very well during their All-Star game.

A link to his highlight reel can be viewed here. 

The tale of the tape shows that what LaBella lacks in size (5'11", 160 lbs) he more than makes for in talent. He runs crisp routes, has sure hands and a knack for making would be tacklers miss after the catch. He can probably get some initial playing time on the varsity as a special teams return man, based on how elusive he is once he has the ball.

While this highlight film was enjoyable to watch, the one on the NCSA recruiting website was even better, including this personal statement:

"I am a passionate football player. I love to play the game and I am physically and mentally committed to the sport and my team.  

I am also a student of the game; consistently working hard on and off the field to improve myself and my abilities. My coaches tell me I am a fierce competitor and a loyal teammate. I am eager to continue playing the game I love at the college level.  

But football can also go beyond the playing field and impact an entire community. That’s what makes it so special to me.  

In addition to my own short highlight reel, I’ve attached a video link that demonstrates just that.  This year I was able to help my honorary teammate, Eli Mollineaux, score a touchdown.  Eli suffered from a very rare and fatal disease and asked that I be the one to push his wheelchair down the field and across the goal line during one of our games. Rallying around Eli, football brought our entire community together and I got to be a part of it."

I'm really impressed with Alex's character based on the above. He looks like a great get for the Statesmen program.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Central Catholic's Awiszus Commits to Hobart

David Willis of The Eagle Tribune reports that Central Catholic (Lawrence, MA) DT/OL Michael Awiszus has committed to attend Hobart. Awiszus is a big (6'4"-5" 270-5 lbs) student athlete who played on the left side of the OL, helping pave the way for the Raiders 10-1 season. He earned All-Star awards in his SR season, and was a highly rated OL prospect from the state of MA.

A link to his highlight reel can be seen here.

Please join me in welcoming Michael and the Awiszus family to Hobart!

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Getting the Band Back Together

Twitter notifications from former Hobart great Art Garvey '13 and former Colgate LB Greg Hadley indicate that both will be joining HC Kevin DeWall's '00 coaching staff.

Garvey was a Co-Captain and All-American OL for Hobart's first ever 12 win / Elite 8 team. He started at LG his senior year and helped the Statesmen offense achieve several national accolades, including:

 - 10th in sacks allowed (0.62/g)
 - 26th in rushing offense (237.15 YPG)
 - 30th in scoring (36.08 PPG)
 - 49th in total offense (414.31 YPG)

Hadley, who attended CBA and grew up in the Syracuse area, will also be returning "home to the 315". He had coaching stints with Ithaca College as part of Coach Mike Welsh's staff, served as the co-DC for Saint Lawrence under now Williams HC Mark Raymond and as the DC under Coach DeWall at Endicott. Hadley, who earned All-Patriot League honors his senior season, will likely serve on the defensive side of the ball as well as a strength coach.

Coach Garvey will work on offense, but Coach DeWall is still evaluating the current staff and will decide on exact coaching position and other responsibilities for his team in the near future.

Please welcome Coach Garvey and Hadley to Hobart!

Thanks for reading and go ' Bart!

Coach DeWall is Coming Home to Hobart

Rob Flowers (VP of Student Life) sent an announcement today to SAA Members and Hobart FB Alumni that HC Mike Cragg would be stepping down after 32 years (he will take a senior fundraising role in the Development Office) and hand the reigns of the Statesmen program to Coach Kevin DeWall '00.

A link to the announcement can be found here.

While a surprise to some, I kind of expected it to happen after Coach Drach left for the HC job at Wilkes about a month ago. It's a great homecoming for Coach DeWall who was a huge part of the Statesmen's rise as a national power.

I will look to get more information on the change, but for now, Statesmen FB fans and families should be escatic about this news.

Congratulations to Coach Cragg and welcome home Coach DeWall!

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!