Taylor and Brosko Named Preseason All-Americans

It only took five days for my preview to be wrong (well, about Hobart being overlooked in the preseason awards category, anyway). Today SR RB EJ Taylor and JR DL Billy Brosko were named to the second and third preseason All-American teams published by D3football.com. 

Taylor returns as the second leading active rusher in D3FB and first in rushing TDs. Brosko is coming off a dominant year in the trenches where he logged 63 tackles and 12.5 TFL earning him an All-Region second team nod from D3football.com last season. 

I noticed that GR P Vicente Lyon was conspicuously absent from this list after earning third team All-American recognition from the same publication last season (he earned higher marks in the AFCA and AP lists). I just have to assume Pat Coleman (the Executive Editor who makes the list), just either didn't realize he was coming back this year or simply thought there were three other options he preferred over Lyon, which is certainly his prerogative. 

Congratulations to EJ and Billy on this recognition!

Go Bart!

Hobart College Football 2026 Season Preview

The Hobart College Statesmen football program is looking to bounce back after a challenging 2025 season where injuries and close games got the better of them, at least for the first half of the year. While the Statesmen struggled at times, they did manage to win their final five games, including an impressive 42-14 romp in the ECAC James Lynah Bowl game. 

The positive momentum won’t get them any preseason poll votes, but with changes and graduations across the Liberty League, Hobart could be a team flying under some people’s radar with potential to surprise this year. The Statesmen return a good core from the 2025 squad but will need some up-and-comers to make their mark also. 

Let’s take a look, starting with the Hobart:

DEFENSE

The biggest change from 2025 to 2026 is the graduation of half the starting LB corps, particularly Mike McGhee ‘26. There will be a lot of production to replace here, but one thing HC Kevin DeWall ’00 has shown in his eight years leading the Statesmen is his ability to keep finding excellent LB talent.

Season ending injuries to players like SO LBs Nate Bush and Tyler Cummings impacted the 2025 group, but both return healthy. SO LB Jeron Atwater, Jr., who also missed part of the season due to injury, finished his FY campaign with 36 tackles, 5.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks. SR LB Jack Ligarzewski and JR LB Matt Huliev will be expected to make bigger contributions in 2026 also. 

Up front, Hobart welcomes back some proven players in JR DL Billy Brosko and SR DL Hunter Vos. These two combined for over 100 tackles, nearly 20 TFL and four sacks. I expect JR DLs Perry Goodridge, Jon Regan and Trey Dillabough to play bigger roles this season.

The secondary also returns a strong and experienced unit that includes JR DB Ryan Van Tassel, SR DB Zeshaun Dixon and SO Isa Abdus-Salaam. 

OFFENSE

Injuries to SO QB Aidan Conrath and SR QB Tru Styles affected the early QB play to start the season, and eventually SO QB Jeremy Weiss’s improvements landed him the starting job. He finished the season with a 62.5% pass completion mark (80-128), for 1,447 yards and 15 passing TDs. He set a couple of records against SLU with a 96-yard TD pass and finishing with the highest pass efficiency rating in Hobart history (316.7). That said Styles and Conrath also return, meaning the Hobart QB preseason battle will be a competitive one once again. 

The Statesmen OL lost some experience due to graduation but returns a couple of cornerstone players in JR OL Jake Jeffay and JR OL Javon James. There are several other strong OL players that will be working their way into the starting rotation / depth chart this preseason. 

Leading the rushing attack for the fourth year in a row will be SR RB E.J. Taylor. He has rushed for 2,883 yards and 33 rushing TDs in his great Hobart football career. Last season he had a career high 19 receptions for 172 receiving yards also, including one receiving TD. Behind Taylor is a strong group of unproven, but still very talented, RBs.

The WR corps return all three starters from last season including JR WR Johnny Harding, SR WR Marcus Peterson and JR WR Tristan Reynolds, the latter who missed half the season with injury. Also back is JR WR Jordan Nolan (the guy on the receiving end of Weiss’s 96-yard TD pass that was mentioned above) and JR WR Luke Hansen. This group tallied over 1,600 receiving yards and 15 receiving TDs in 2025.

The Statesmen will also welcome back some talented blockers and receivers in the TE group, which will be led by players like SR TE Timothy McKeever and SO TE Harry Salters.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Hobart welcomes back three experienced PKs in GR Vicente Lyon, a 2025 All-American, SR PK Luke Monteyne and JR PK Colin Goff. Monteyne attempted seven FGs in 2025, with four successful tries with a long of 37 yards. He added 39 successful PATs also. Goff averaged 52.3 YPKO with six touchbacks last season. 

SCHEDULE

Hobart will play the same opponents as 2025, but in a slightly different order. The schedule is also highlighted by the fact that this season the Statesmen get six, instead of four, home games. This is a welcome change, given the longstanding home field advantage (and winning percentage) Hobart has at the “Boz.”

The Statesmen will open the 2026 season at home under the lights on Friday, September 4th against Alfred University of the Empire 8, then welcome Brockport to the Boz in Week 2. The first road trip of the year will be to Utica in Week 3, then Hobart kicks off Liberty League play in Week 4 on the road against RPI. Weeks 5 and 6 feature big home games against Ithaca and Union. After these blockbusters, Week 7 brings Hobart a much-needed bye week. Week 8 opens on the road at Saint Lawrence, followed by home games in Week 9 and 10 against Rochester and Hilbert (LL affiliate). The latter will serve as the Statesmen’s Senior Day game. The regular season finale will be at Buffalo State in Week 11.

LOOKING AT THE LEAGUE

Union and RPI will be auditioning new QBs in 2026, and Ithaca has a new HC in Brandon Maguire. The Bombers seem to be in the best shape, returning nine offensive and eight defensive starters. QB Michael Reed, RB Chris Scully, WR Nick Lang, S Joe Spirra and CB Marcus Boyle are all back at Ithaca. I would expect to see them “receiving votes” in some polls, and they could be the LL preseason favorite. 

RPI hasn’t reported returning starters, and Union will need to replace players like QB Patch Flanagan, TE Cam Fries and DT Charles Johnson, who helped them win the LL last season. The Dutchmen reported five returning offensive and nine defensive starters back, meaning they will likely need to lean on their defense early in the season, but they should have an established QB and offense by the time they arrive in Geneva come Week 6.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While the memories of a 6-5 season from 2025 (Hobart’s worst since the 2010 and 2018 seasons), still sting a bit, Team 132 is a fresh start that shouldn’t be burdened by last year. This Statesmen squad has a great opportunity to turn around some of the struggles from 25 and make 2026 a special year. 

I am looking forward to Ted Baker and Coach DeWall’s weekly podcasts and following the team this fall. 

Thanks as always for reading and go ‘Bart!

Here Comes the Class of 2030 (Reprise) - Part V

We wrap up the work week with the fifth (and potentially final) group of new Statesmen players. This one's only six versus the seven a day we saw from Monday-Thursday; so perhaps things are either slowing down, or this is the final bunch to bring us to 34 (which is a good-sized recruiting class). 

We clocked of a couple of the below commitments in the spring (e.g., Larsen, Wells and Oji), but the other three are new names to Hobart fans and extended families.

Let's take a look below:

If that's a wrap on recruiting news, up next will be my 2026 preseason preview. More to come.

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Here Comes the Class of 2030 (Reprise) - Part IV

Moving right along to the fourth batch of incoming Statesmen football players, we see a more familiar names from earlier this year (Mongno, Lopez, Lawrence and Perez), with a couple of newer ones.

Cummingham will join SO RB Juah-Siblay Kolliegbo as the second St. Paul's player from MD. Cheaton is an interesting get as he'll be the only Hobart player from the state of DE on the roster.

That gets us up to 28 new Statesmen in the Class of 2030. Stay tuned for another group tomorrow - at least I suspect there will be at least one more, we shall see.

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Here Comes the Class of 2030 (Reprise) - Part III

Good morning, Statesmen fans and families! 

Here are the next seven incoming first year players, as posted this morning by Hobart Football HC Kevin DeWall '00. 

This group features at least one future Hobart player we caught back in June, as well as an apparent teammate to one we captured in February. A strong showing from the Tri-State area, plus a young man from Jacksonville, FL to mix things up a little. So far, this class has players from Texas, Florida, and North Carolina. 

Here's the latest group:

That gets us up to 21 new Statesmen for the Class of 2030, but I imagine we have at least 1-2 more groups to post about before this week is up. Stay tuned!

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Here Comes the Class of 2030 (Reprise), Part II

Another round of seven new Statesmen was released this morning with one familiar name (Magley) from earlier this year. A kicker from NC was an interesting get, as well as a lineman named Mania. 

Here's the next group in Coach DeWall's latest update:

Another strong group, bringing the Class to 14, so far. This one is a nice group from places Hobart has had success in the past - NJ, Boston area and Southern CT - along with the usual NYS group. 

More to come here on the recruiting front as I would expect another group tomorrow and likely into Thursday. 

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Here Comes the Class of 2030 (Reprise Edition), Part I

With only two weeks to go until fall preseason camp, Hobart Football HC Kevin DeWall '00 has taken to the app formerly known as Twitter to start introducing the new members of the Statesmen Class of 2030. 

Let's see who he's recognized, and we'll keep adding updates as we see them:

A strong group to start us off. I had previously tracked down the commitments from Watson and Regan, but the other five are new players to me. Very interested in the Milligan commitment. Hobart doesn't often get student athletes from Texas. 

More to come here on the recruiting front as I would expect another group tomorrow and likely into Wednesday or Thursday. 

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

More Moye's To Attend Hobart

Hope everyone is enjoying a happy and healthy summer. It's already pretty hot here in Florida and it's only June!

I was recently given a heads up that the Pingry School (NJ) SR QB Ryan Moye, younger brother of rising SO WR Jack Moye, will be coming to Hobart this fall as part of the Class of 2030.

Moye was a three-sport student athlete at Pingry, also playing basketball and baseball. You can check out his football highlight reel here. 

Moye had a record-breaking career on the gridiron for Pingry, passing for 4,389 yards, 50 passing TDs compared to only 15 INTs in his four years there. A dual threat, he also rushed for 956 yards and 13 rushing TDs over the same time period. 

Needless to say, he looks like he has the tools to be a QB of the future for the Statesmen, but time will tell as he adjusts to the college game. 

Please join me in welcoming Ryan to the Hobart College Football family. Great to have more Moye's on the team!

Thanks as always for reading, and go 'Bart!

Hunterdon Central's Mongno Says Yes to Statesmen

Hunterdon Central Regional HS (NJ) SR WR/FS James Mongno took to Instagram to announce this commitment to attending and playing football at Hobart College. 

Mongno appears to be a WR who can play slot or on the outside. He runs good routes and creates separation with the defense. You can check out his highlight reel here.

Please join me in welcoming James and the extended Mongno family to the Hobart College football one!

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

We're less than 100 days away from the 2026 season! 

Red Hook's Oji Signs with Statesmen

Red Hook HS (NY) recently posted on twitter / X feed that their graduating SR WR Brantley Oji officially committed to playing football at Hobart in a signing day ceremony last Wednesday.

 You can see Brantley flanked by his proud family and coaching staff in the photo below. 

Based on his Hudl film, Oji uses his height (6' 2") and long stride to create separation and outjump would be defenders. He definitely will cause some matchup problems for most D3 DBs.

Please join me in welcoming Brantley and the extended Oji family to the Hobart Football one!

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Webster-Thomas High's MJ Wells is Staying Close to Home with the Statesmen

Webster-Thomas HS (NY) SR RB/LB MJ Wells took to twitter recently to state that:

"I am excited to announce my commitment to Hobart to continue my academic and football journey. I would like to start by thanking my mom and my family for guiding me along the way and helping make the right the decision thank you. I would also like to thank my coaches as-well as teammates for helping me get better and motivating me to push through. Finally, I would like to thank the coaches at Hobart for believing me and giving me this opportunity to play at the next level."

With his hometown only about an hour away, MJ's family won't have to travel far to see his home games in Geneva. Standing 6' and weighing 200 lbs., MJ shows a lot of the skills we've come to expect from Statesmen LBers. You can see for yourself here. 

Please join me in welcoming MJ and the extended Wells family as the latest edition to the Hobart Football Class of 2030!

Thanks, as always, for reading and go 'Bart!

Jupiter's KJ Larsen Selects Statesmen

One of my "sources" has informed me that Jupiter HS (FL) SR TE/LB KJ Larsen has recently committed to Hobart. KJ helped his team to their first undefeated regular season in school history. While they lost a close one to Orlando area powerhouse Dr. Phillips HS in the playoffs, Larsen and his teammates had a historic run.

Standing 6' 2" and 220 lbs., Larsen is a matchup problem for defenses out of the backfield as a receiver and his athleticism makes him a menace to opposing offenses from the LB/OLB position. At JHS Larsen also starred on the hardwood, helping his team win a district championship in basketball.

You can check out his highlight reel here. 

 

Please join me in welcoming KJ and the extended Larsen family to the Hobart College Football one!

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Post #1000 - Reflecting Back on (what is it?) almost 17 Years of Hobart Football

1000 posts.....really?!?

While I'm not sure if this is an impressive milestone or just confirmation of my loyalty, longevity, and perhaps insanity as a Hobart alumni and football fan, this feels like an important opportunity to step back and take an opportunity to reflect.

I was a terrible football player at Hobart and only lasted one season until I realized my talents were better suited to playing rock and roll in the college bars and fraternity parties. Still, that year of 1992-1993 taught me how much effort, athletic talent and mental toughness is required to play college athletics. While I didn't have much of the latter, I was able, through this and other mediums, to excel as a fanatic (remember the SAA motto is "Be A Fan") and I've tuned into pretty much every Statesmen football game since. Special thanks need to be mentioned to Ted Baker (get this guy in the HOF please), who's been the voice of Hobart Football (among several other HWS teams) teams past 20 years. His broadcasts with Dave Gage and Coach Muffley were and remain a vital lifeline for the alums and families to live far away from Geneva and New York State like me. 

Anyway, the backstory here started when I originally found D3Boards.com in the early 2000's as a way to connect with fellow D3FB and Liberty League fans (like Frank Rossi, for instance) while I was living on the West Coast. I started emailing friends and classmates Hobart Football write ups as early as 2004 or 2005 and I'd post recaps and previews on D3Boards for a few years until I found this site and officially decided to "become a blogger."

Since August of 2009 until now, I've found this as an enjoyable pastime which has allowed me to stay connected to my alma mater, while also making some friends along the way. I'll never forget when Jarrid Blades '12 called me from the bus after Hobart upset Saint John Fisher, 56-20, to let me know my prediction was way off. 

Over the years this blog (and podcast) has gotten me connected to many Hobart players, friends and families. While obviously HWSAthletics.com is the source of record, many of these people have come here week in and out to get a different take on upcoming matchups, game recaps and news.

I have a lot of fond memories from the last 16+ years including, but not limited to, the epic 41-5 run from 2011-2014 where Hobart took its place as one of the top programs in the nation. There was some bad news in there sometimes, but I always tried to focus on the positive. I enjoyed putting together compilations like the "Best 20 Games of the Last 20 Years" in June and July of 2016. I also posted about the "Hobart Team of the Decade" in January of 2011 and March of 2020. I did my best to cover the wins, losses, bowl bids, schedules, new recruits and other news as it came up along the way.

I'm not sure how much longer I will continue to keep going here, but with the plan to retire from In the D3FB Huddle after 20 years/seasons (after the 2028 season), it seems like going for another 3 years to hit 20 years here makes sense. 

While it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, I do appreciate the website traffic and positive feedback from everyone. It's been an enjoyable hobby and ride these 16+ years now. I probably should have upgraded to a better website a long time ago, or maybe even figured out ways to monetize the site, but that's never been the point. 

As I always say, thanks for reading, and go 'Bart!

Fairfield Prep's Watson Selects Statesmen

I was recently made aware that Fairfield (CT) Prep's SR OL Jack Watson took to his Instagram account to say that he is "excited to announce my commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at Hobart College! Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me along the way! Go Statesmen!"

Jack was recruited by FCS and other higher division programs such as the University of New Haven, and Fordham University. Standing 6' 5" and weighing in at 305 lbs., Jack could be a potential candidate to start in the fall, pending how well he adjusts to the college game. 

The Statesmen OL lost a number of starters there due to graduation, so big guys like Watson are in high demand. You can check out his highlight reel here.

Please join me in welcoming Jack and the extending Watson family to the Hobart College Football one!

Thanks, as always for reading (this is post #999 by the way) and go 'Bart!

Greenwich High's Lopez is Committed to Hobart

Greenwich HS (CT) SR RB/DB Hector Lopez took to Twitter/X last week to announce that he's "Proud to announce my commitment to Hobart College. Thank you to my family, coaches, teammates, and everyone who supported me along the way. Truly grateful for this opportunity. #GoStatesmen"

Hector boasts an impressive resume hailing from GHS; the two-time State Champions. He finished his senior year with an impressive 1,664 rushing and 1,889 all-purpose yards, scoring 19 TDs. He finished in the Top 40 for All-FCIAC and Top 30 for the CHSCA All-State players.

You can check out his highlight reel here. 

Please join me in welcoming Hector and the extended Lopez family to the Hobart College Football one!

Thanks, as always for reading and go 'Bart!

PS - don't forget the ADOD is coming up this week!

Mamaroneck's Perez Commits to Hobart

Mamaroneck HS (NY) SR LB Jack Perez recently took to Twitter/X to announce that he is "Blessed and grateful to announce my commitment to Hobart College to continue my academic and football career. Thank you to my family, coaches, teammates, and everyone who supported me along the way. Excited for what’s next. Go Statesmen!"

Jack had a very impressive HS career and senior season. Check out these stats:

MHS finished 11-2 (Class AA NYS Semi Finalist) and Jack was named an All-League and All-Section Player, including 1st Team All-Star LB. He finished the 2025 season with 82 solo tackles and 54 assists (and astounding 136 total tackles over 13 games), including six sacks, 10 QB pressures, 6 PBUs, an INT, FF and a TD.

You can check out his highlight reel here. 

Please join me in welcoming Jack and the extended Perez family to the Hobart College Football one!

Thanks for reading this latest recruiting update and go 'Bart!

John Jay's Lawrence Selects Statesmen

You'd have to go back almost 15-20 years, but some of us "more seasoned" Statesmen Football fans remember Hobart had a guy from John Jay HS (NY) who was a pretty good QB named Nick Strang '13. 

The newest John Jay SR QB to commit to Hobart is a young man named Logan Lawrence who had an impressive and decorated HS career. Logan passed for 1,800 yards and 25 TDs for JJHS in 2025, and was named the NYS AA OPOTY, among other awards.

You can check out his highlight reel here. 

Standing 6' 3" and 195 lbs., Lawrence has the size and arm strength to be successful in Coach DeWall's offense. More of a classic pocket passer, Lawrence looks like he has strong potential.

Please join me in welcoming Logan and the extended Lawrence family to the Hobart College Football one!

Thanks, as always, for reading and go 'Bart!