Only 130 days until the Week 1 regular season home opener against Brockport.🕔
The Class of 2023 announcements by HC Kevin DeWall '00 wrapped up last week giving us some time to get to know the newest Statesmen on the team. While it's possible one or two players may "melt" (an admissions term for someone who changes their minds last minute, even after putting down a deposit) out or in (getting in off the wait list for example), we can expect most, if not all, of these student athletes heading to Hobart in the fall.
Given it's a relatively smaller recruiting class than we've seen in recent years, I thought it might be interesting to break it down and "analyze it". I'll couch this by saying this really isn't analysis, but my opinion based on watching a little film, knowledge of certain HS programs and reviewing basic statistics. Ultimately it's up to the coaches to find out who can play and mold these kids to their best potential. Injuries can also come into play - see FY LB CJ Calero who looked like an absolute stud coming out of HS but unfortunately had a non-contact ACL tear in the preseason that preempted what might have been an outstanding rookie campaign. Hopefully we'll have a chance to see him and what he can contribute in 2019, along with some of these other players below.
At a high level, this is pretty diverse class from a geographic perspective:
NY - 10
CT, MA & NJ - 12 (4 each)
FL & VA - 4 (2 each)
GA, NH & TX - 3 (1 each)
Here's a breakdown by position (another caveat - these could change during camp as it's not unusual to see a DB become a WR or vice versa, for example, so keep that in mind as far as position designation goes), starting with the defense (13):
Defensive Line (DL) - 5
Gunn, Norris, O'Grady, Powers, and Williams
Last season the DL was not a strength of the team until later in the season. Hobart's rushing D finished fourth in the conference allowing over 130 YPG and allowed the third most rushing TDs with 13 (which is actually not bad, but also not as good as Ithaca and Union who only allowed five). They also had the second worst sack total in the LL, tallying 18 over nine games (basically two per game), so hopefully that will improve in 2019.
Norris and Powers appear to be the strongest in this group, but time will tell. A lot can happen during preseason camp and how players look "on paper" and in HS highlight film doesn't always transfer to the college game.
Linebacker (LB) - 3
Duckett, Hanley, and Visconti
LB is a key position group given Hobart's traditional 4x4 scheme (although they did go away from that last season and it's looking like we can expect to see more of a base 3x4 / package philosophy going forward). All three of these players come from strong HS programs, Hanley in particular. While he's more of an OLB, I could see Duckett and Visconti getting looks at ILB.
Secondary (FS/SS/CB) - 5
Barnosky, Diallo, Hansen, Harps-Zhu, and Inwood
Like the DL, the DBs struggled early in the season and Hobart ended the 2018 campaign with a second to worst 247.6 YPG allowed and a LL high 21 passing TDs completed against them. Although there are some bright spots in JR CB Jared Leake, JR FS Cal Sullivan, and SO FS Jay McCoy, the Hobart secondary needs to play better against what's become a very pass heavy LL.
From this group I like the looks of Diallo and "JHZ" as cover corners, while Hansen is a pro-typical strong safety. Inwood played CB and S so I'm sure he'll be given looks in both spots. Barnosky is more of "center fielder" / traditional FS based on what I saw. Another thing I like about this group of recruits is that most are over 6'-6'1" tall. No more "itty bitty committee" like Coach Cragg used to joke around about a decade or so ago.
Now let's take a look at the offense (15):
The Hobart offense finished first in most LL statistical categories and return a good bulk (literally and figuratively) of starters from last season. That said, these recruits are about building depth across every position which I know is a priority of Coach DeWall's.
Offensive Line (OL) - 6
Cecere, Cremers, Fowler, Frank, Trowbridge, and Wright
The OL is the number one priority and it looks like the Statesmen added some nice players to build out depth in this critical unit. Cremers was once a UMass commit so in theory he could be the best of the lot, and while some of this group is undersized (for now), players like Wright (6'3" 270) aren't far off from what the Statesmen like to see on the OL. With a young group of starters in spring camp, this recruiting class should help in building out more depth in the OL which is a key element of a DeWall coached team.
Tight End (TE) - 1
Pierce
Most FY players don't see a lot of action, but Pierce could be an exception given his size (6'2" 245 lbs) and good hands. The Statesmen could benefit from a strong, blocking TE for certain formations, and Pierce fits the bill, at least on paper.
Running Back (RB) - 2
Denham and Walsh
Not a big need, but both of these runners have good size and speed. With only five to six RBs on the roster (sounds like the FB role is going away so players like JR FB Shane White will play RB going forward) these players add depth to this position.
Wide Receiver (WR) - 3
Bartosic, Schicke and Surra
The Statesmen are loaded at WR for 2019, but will graduate off a lot of talent after this season. Bartosic is a smaller guy (5'11" 170), but is very athletic. Schicke and Surra are both big targets (6'5" and 6'3") which can create match up problems for opposing defenses.
Quarterback (QB) - 3
Roberts, Robles and Pelletier
Each one of these QBs are fairly pro-typical in that they are tall (Roberts is 6'1" while Robles and Pelletier are both listed at 6'4") with strong arms. Which player comes out of this group as a potential future starter will depend on a number of factors. Hobart only has two QBs on the roster, so this is a plan for the future also.
Special Teams (ST) - 1
Amaral
I have to say I was a little surprised by this add given JR PK Kyle Hackett is set to rewrite the Hobart record book and has two more years of eligibility. He also has an understudy in SO PK Rob DiGregorio. Still, competition and depth is always a good thing, and this could be a move to alleviate the punting duties taken on by SR WR John DelliSanti after the Brockport game last season. To his credit however, Hobart ended up leading the LL in net punts, so maybe that won't change in 2019 and this is more of a longer term play for the kicking game.
That gets you to 29 and brings the overall roster count to 97, which is pretty typical for a D3FB squad.
That wraps up all the news on the Class of 2023. I will try and get to a recap of the Block H awards dinner, which occurred on Monday night, April 29th, later this week.
Thanks for stopping by the blog and go 'Bart!
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