Week 1 - Statesmen vs. Saxons Game Preview

The 131st season of Hobart College Football will come down to how the Statesmen play on the road. This opening game will be the first of six road contests for Hobart who are looking to defend their Liberty League Championship and return to the playoffs in 2025.

This season will open under the lights of Yunevich Stadium at Alfred University. The Statesmen will face the Saxons for the 83rd time in an Upstate rivalry that dates back to the 1902 season. Hobart leads the all-time series by a 43-35-4 margin, winning the last 14 in a row. Last season, a long lightning and weather delay made the Hobart home opener a very drawn out, and occasionally, dramatic one. Alfred led the game 7-3 until an eight-yard rushing TD by QB Johnny Columbi '25 gave the Statesmen their first lead of the game with only 1:52 remaining. Hobart would hold on and win, 10-7. 

Alfred would go on to finish the 2024 season with a 7-4 overall record. This year, not unlike Hobart, the Saxons are looking to replace some key players due to graduation, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Scouting the Saxons

SR QB Chris Kelly took a big step forward in 2024, throwing for 2,071 yards and 18 TDs. He added 194 rushing yards and 1 rush TD. An established starter, you can expect Kelly to lead the Saxons offense in 2025, barring a preseason injury. 

The Statesmen secondary will see almost a totally new WR corps however, as only SO WR Carmine Hoag is returning. SR Thomas Welch caught 18 passes for 196 yards and a TD in 2024, but he's listed as DB (and one of Alfred's captains) for the 2025 season. Hoag finished second on the team with three receiving TDs.

The Saxons will also be auditioning a new starting RB. While undersized, JR RB Steven Bidwell looks like the most experienced returnee. He carried the ball only eight times last season, but he netted two short yardage TDs. There are six other RBs on the roster, including three FY, so your guess is as good as mine on who gets the call here. One element to note about Alfred's offense is last year they liked to use a TE/H-back in goal to go situations. Something to keep an eye out for if they encroach the end zone.

Leading the way for Kelly and the specialists will be a huge OL, which is a staple of many E8 teams. The OL group is led by the giant SR OL Carter Fronk. Standing 6' 5" and 370 lbs., Fronk will be a mismatch for the Hobart DL. The Statesmen will likely have to rely on their speed to get around him and the other OL starters. While the starting lineup here is TBD, the Saxons boast 10 OL players who weigh in at or over 300 lbs. 

Defensively, Alfred lost a stud with the graduation of LB Joe Copp '25. JR LB Landon Spencer is undersized but sturdy. He racked up 49 tackles for the Saxons in 2024. SR DL Quadir Holmes led Alfred with 3.5 sacks to go with 4.5 TFL and 22 total tackles up front. 

The Saxons have six P/K listed on their 2025 roster. JR PK Dominic Bronco went 7-8 on FGs last season. JR PK Owen Bishop handled KO's, averaging 54 YPKO. Bishop also went 2-3 on FG attempts in 2024. SO PK Colin McGovern averaged just over 40 net yards in punting. We will see if the other three FY PKs crack the lineup, otherwise, it seems like Alfred has an experienced Special Teams unit. 

Having only returned six punts all last season, I imagine the Saxons will find a sure handed speedster for this job. Same for KOs as both players who handled the majority of them last season have either graduated or left the program. 

Keys to the Game:

1. Close In On Kelly - The new look Statesmen defense will be put to the test early by the Alfred offense, especially by Kelly who's one of the better QBs Hobart will face this season. Given the Saxons OL's size, I imagine they will test Hobart with the run early and look to open up mismatches in the passing game. It'll be imperative for the Statesmen DL and LBs to get steady pressure on Kelly early on in this one.

2. Stick with the Program - While we will see a lot of new faces on the field in this first game, after six seasons, we know what Hobart Football under Coach DeWall '00 looks like - an aggressive, attacking defense, with an opportunistic RPO style offense and will be run first, while looking to make a big pass play down the field later in the game. Couple that with a strong special teams' unit, and the Statesmen should be fundamentally strong across the board. I expect a low scoring first half as both squads get up to game speed. Hopefully after some halftime adjustments, Hobart can open things up.

3. And Stick with the Script - You have to go back to 2018 for the last time the Statesmen lost a season opener. That was Coach DeWall's first game as Hobart's HC (I was in attendance) against a Brockport team that ultimately made it to the National Semifinals / Final Four. Hobart is 4-0 vs. Alfred in season opening games dating back to 2021, so it stands the Statesmen are road favorites here. That said I expect a tough game from both teams and turnovers/mistakes may ultimately decide the outcome. 

Prediction:

While I think we'll see more scoring that we did last season, and I like the idea of Hobart working out some kinks offensively early, but with a strong running game, they will be able to pull away and win this one 35-14. 

Looking forward to tuning in next Friday night to listen / see how this one goes. Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

The 2025 Hobart College Football (Team 131) Preseason Preview

Welcome back to football season!

The Statesmen wrapped up their 2024 campaign taking the Landmark Conference Champions, National Semifinalists and 2025 preseason Top 5 ranked Susquehanna University to the limit, dropping a 42-35 shootout in the playoffs. Hobart rushed for 217 yards and four TDs in the game. The Statesmen won the Liberty League Championship with a perfect 6-0 record and finished 9-2 which matched the 2016, 2019 and 2021 seasons for total wins. 

This season Hobart is returning key players in several position groups but will have to lean on experienced second stringers and perhaps some newer players to step up into starting roles in others. For the first time in a while, the Statesmen will have six road games, which have proved challenging in the past. Hobart has only lost three home games since HC Kevin DeWall ’00 took over the program in 2018 but has been more like a .500 team on the road (this is a topic for a whole other post because a lot of these road games have been against ranked teams). Just like in prior years, I’ll preview the offense, defense, special teams and the regular season schedule. 

OFFENSE

Looking at the offensive side of the ball, Hobart returns effectively the entire OL from last season which is a big plus. SO OL Javon James, SR OL Quinn Broggy, SR OL Ashton Mejias and SO OL Jake Jeffay create a solid core for Coach DeWall to build his offense around. SR OL Ben Goodell, who started every game in 2023, is also back and will likely step in at guard. While it remains to be seen if any of the incoming FY players can jump in and play like James and Jeffay did last season, I would anticipate others in the mix and good competition to determine the two deep and to potentially overcome a few injuries which often occurs up front. 

The WR corps were a pleasant surprise last year, with a lot of new faces who quickly became All-Conference level players. SO WR Johnny Harding would win the LL ROTY award with a team high 43 catches for 584 yards and eight TDs. Several other receivers such as SO WRs Luke Hansen, Tristan Reynolds, and Owen Preskar will look to improve upon their solid FY campaigns. I also expect JR WR Marcus Peterson, who had four receptions for sixty yards last season, will play a bigger role this year. 

At TE, Hobart graduates a couple of starter level players but also welcomes back a key returnee in SR TE Luke Hescock who has another year of eligibility after he missed the 2023 season due to injury. When he’s healthy, he’s a de facto All Conference talent in my book so with him back, along with SR TE Lukas Ruby and JR TE Timothy McKeever, this position has good depth, blocking and receiving wise.

Speaking of blocking, the OL and TE group will once again be opening up holes in opposing defenses for JR RB EJ Taylor who had a breakout 2024 season. He led the team with 1,196 rushing yards on 211 carries with 12 TDs. He added 15 catches for 109 yards and two receiving TDs out of the backfield also. While you can expect Taylor to get the majority of the carries this fall, Hobart has a strong group of RBs behind him that could get opportunities to make their mark as the season progresses. 

The biggest change for the Hobart offense this fall will be at QB. 

JR QB Tru Styles backed up Johnny Columbi ’25 for the past two seasons, playing in 12 games in his Hobart career. Styles has passed for 292 yards and three TDs while also rushing for 157 yards in those games. 

Also competing for the starting QB role are SO QBs Aidan Conrath and Jeremy Weiss. Both of these QBs were early decision commits to Hobart's Class of 2028. We first met Jeremy in January of 2024 as a recruit out of Commack HS (NY). We first met Aidan about a week later in February of 2024 as a recruit out of Gonzaga College HS (DC). 

While they didn't see the field as varsity players in the 2024 season, both had very impressive film from their HS careers, so it's no surprise they are in the mix to potentially start at QB this fall.  

DEFENSE

The Statesmen defense was the strength of the team last season, finishing fourth in the nation allowing just over 11 PPG. The biggest question marks going into the 2025 campaign will be around who will replace the highly productive LBs lost to graduation in Anthony Romano, Cashon Young, Jamien Bliss and Vincent Giordano ’25.

SR OLB Mike McGhee is the only returning starter from this unit and he’ll take a greater leadership role in 2025 because of it. In 2024, he finished third on the team with 61 total tackles to go with nine TFL, 3 sacks, and 3 INTs (one which was a 67-yard pick six against Buffalo State). I think we’ll see a number of incoming FY, rising SO and other players get looks at these open LB roles. 

The Statesmen return several players for the DL, including SO DL Billy Brosko who’s promising 2024 campaign was cut short due to injury. Other players like SR DL Dante Randle (who earned All-Conference honors in 2024), JR DL Hunter Vos and SO DL Perry Goodridge will be in the mix. 

In the secondary, Hobart will welcome back SR DB Alex Smith and JR DB Zeshan Dixon. Other Statesmen expected to step up in 2025 include SO DB Corey Rock and SO DB Ryan Van Tassel. Both were ball hawks last season, even as rotational players / backups, collecting a combined seven INTs. I could see a handful of incoming FY players competing for backup roles in this group potentially. 

SPECIAL TEAMS

With the graduation of Tobias Wefering ’25, the kicking duties will fall on the capable shoulders of SR PK Vicente Lyon and JR PK Luke Monteyne. I expect LS duties to transition to a new Statesman, with the possibility of new recruit FY LS Teague Blanchard getting some opportunities eventually after working on developing his skills on the JV squad. 

Last season SO WR Johnny Harding and SO WR Tristan Reynolds handled the majority of the punt and kickoff return duties, but I expect the coaching staff will give some other newcomers a chance to prove themselves on special teams.

SCHEDULE

For the first time in many years, Hobart will have an unbalanced schedule with six road games. The month of September may dictate the remainder of the regular season as there are two tough Empire 8 crossover games at Alfred (7-4, 5-2) and Brockport (8-3, 5-2) in Weeks 1 and 2. The Golden Eagles (given all the graduations and new coaching staff at Cortland) could be a prohibitive favorite to win that league this year. Time will tell. 

Week 3 the Statesmen host Utica (5-5, 3-4), who was the last program to beat Hobart on their home field (in the low scoring, 10-6, 2023 ECAC bowl game). In Week 4 the Statesmen hit the road to break the curse of Butterfield Stadium and open their defense of the 2024 LL Championship. As everyone already knows, Hobart is 0-18 all-time there and that has to change for this program to take the next step. 

Week 5 has the Statesmen hosting RPI which is always a tough battle. In Week 6 Hobart hits the road to take on long-time conference rival Union College before getting a bye in Week 7. 

Hobart will host Saint Lawrence in Week 8 then hit the road for back-to-back road games at Rochester and new affiliate LL member, Hilbert, in Weeks 9 and 10. This will be the first time in several decades that the Centennial Cup game won’t be contested in Week 11. This season, that game will be Hobart hosting Buffalo State on Senior Day. 

While the coaches may not agree with this statement, the Statesmen’s schedule is much easier in the back half than the front. If Hobart can escape September with a winning record, they could be on their way back to the playoffs for the second straight season. 

The NPI process and “dials” will remain in effect for the 2025 playoffs, so the Statesmen’s goal needs to be a minimum of 9 regular season wins, and/or a chaotic round-robin 6-1 conference season with tiebreakers like we saw in conferences like the SAA and PAC last year, to qualify for the playoffs. That’s getting way ahead of ourselves here, but you can count on me and Frank to cover all the NPI “stuff” later in the season on In the D3FB Huddle. 

While a few big questions remain heading into preseason camp, we can expect the offense to carry this team, at least early on, while the defense solidifies itself for a potential postseason run. It was the opposite last year, with the defense doing the heavy lifting until the offense came around. Given the personnel coming back, Statesmen fans should be optimistic going into the 2025 season.

Thanks as always for reading (it was pretty cool to see this little blog go over half a million views!) and go ‘Bart!