2014 Hobart Football Preview - Defense

Defensively Hobart brings back one of the best teams in the East. The Statesmen “D” led the LL in scoring (14.5 PPG), total (296.4 YPG) and red zone (60.6%) defense in 2013. This unit remains mostly intact, save for the secondary, which we will discuss below:

DE – The Statesmen boast one of the best DEs in the nation. Once again led by SR DE Tyre Coleman opposing offensive coordinators will struggle to keep their QBs and RBs upright in 2014. Coleman earned All-American honors for the second year in a row and comes into this preseason as a first team All-American pick by D3football.com, Sporting News and Lindy’s. In 2013 Coleman led Hobart with 7.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss (TFL). The other DE job is open and will be a competition between the five returning players, plus a talented FY class. Who wins this job will be a key outcome of this preseason’s camp.

DL – SR DT Troy Johnson and JR DT Tucker Gumkowski returns to bolster the middle of the Hobart defense. Both players contributed a combined 75 tackles, 7.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks in 2013. Like at DE, the Statesmen have a number of young, up and coming players who will get time rotating in to spell Johnson and Gumkowski.

ILB – Hobart will need to replace the production of Cory Davis who finished 2013 second on the team with 74 stops including two TFL and half a sack. Fortunately leading tackler JR LB Trayvon Toney returns and could be poised for another big year. Toney racked up 77 tackles, including 4.5 TFL, in 2013. SR LB Jacob Price (48 tackles, 1 TFL) and SO LB Zach Thornton (25 tackles, 2.5 TFL) also return and should play big roles in 2014. JR LB Jacob Stanley (10 tackles, 1.5 TFL and one sack) converted to ILB in the spring and adds depth to an already talented squad.

OLB – Not having Devin Worthington back is a big loss, but once again the depth Hobart boasts in this area should impress Statesmen fans. SR OLB Nolan Toran was a force in 2013 tallying 20 tackles, one TFL and two interceptions. SR OLB and Co-Captain Matt McGriff and SO OLB Marcus Jemison (33 tackles and one TFL) will compete for more time in 2014. SO Mike Harper is also in the mix, having converted from FS to OLB this spring.

DB/FS – The secondary lost a good deal of experience with the graduations of Jolyon Davis and Connor Garrett. SR DB Fajri Jackson returns off a 1st team All-LL season that included 44 tackles and will take a leadership role in the defensive backfield this season. SO DB Matt Cragg also earned valuable experience and could see an expanded role in 2014. Otherwise, Statesmen fans can expect to see both new upperclassmen and incoming players competing for time at FS and CB. The development of this unit will play a key role in the 2014 season, especially against teams like Endicott, Curry and LL foes such as Union and UofR who should have strong passing games as they've had in prior years.

2014 Hobart Football Preview - Special Teams

After establishing themselves as a regular Liberty League (LL) and NCAA playoff contenders in the prior decade, the Hobart College Statesmen have developed into a Top 20 caliber DIII football program. The Statesmen enter their 121st season coming off a 10-1 overall campaign which included another undefeated regular season and the program’s third consecutive LL championship. During this run, the Class of 2015 has an incredible regular season record of 26-1. The only loss came back at the end of the 2011 season to a Mike Hermann led RPI team, 28-27.

Although many fans think 2014 will be more of the same for Hobart, graduations of All-Americans such as Steven Webb and Devin Worthington as well as experienced leaders like Jolyon Davis and Michael Green leave big shoes to fill. Fortunately the program has developed a great deal of depth and there is still plenty of talent on both sides of the ball for the Statesmen.

Below is a positional overview of the team, starting with the special teams unit. Normally I'd preview the offense first, but given the "top down" look of the blog, I think it'll read better going ST, Defense, then the "O".

The Statesmen’s special teams unit was bolstered by the addition of SO PK Sean Kirshe in 2013. Kirshe averaged 57.2 yards on kickoffs and was second on the team with 53 points scored (44 on PATs and going three of five with a long of 35 yards on FGs). These long kicks helped the coverage team finish first place finish in the LL in 2013. Going into 2014, FY PK Will McCool will compete for time with Kirshe.

Given Yosh Karbowniczak's graduation the Statesmen will need to find a new punter. Kirshe (who punted four times in 2013 with a 26.75 average) and SR WR Elvin Souffrant (who averaged 33.31 YPP during the 2011 season) are potential successors.

Hobart will look to maintain (and/or improve) their success in the return game. The Statesmen finished second in the LL in kickoff returns with a strong (22.4 YPR) and first with a 9.7 YPR on punts. Last season a wide variety (10) players returned kickoffs. I imagine several players will be given opportunities to do the same in 2014. Last season SR WR and Co-Captain Troy Robinson fielded the majority (30) of the punts, racking up 266 yards with a long of 35 yards.

More news later this week on the preseason preview and news from camp.

Hobart Coaches Complete ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

This video clip is too good not to share.

Please consider making a donation of your own to www.projectals.org.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Statesmen Check into Camp

Hobart College Football players checked into camp this weekend. The Statesmen come into the season with another high national ranking but also with question marks in key positions. There should be many interesting "battles" to sort out who some of the new starters will be going into the Dickinson game (which is only 19 days away!).

I'm excited to have booked a trip back for the first time since 2012 to see the season opener against Dickinson. A large crowd of alumni, including the family of the late Hobart HOFer Don "A to Z" Aleksiewicz '73, are expected to be in attendance as well.

Below are a few pictures from twitter posted by @HobartFootball:

Players filling out NCAA forms

Stretching before practice Monday

More news from camp later this week or weekend with updates on scrimmages expected.

 

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Introducing the Hobart Football Class of 2018

Name	Pos	Cl	Hometown, State	School
Adams, Timothy	DT	FR	Brockton, MA	Berkshire School
Apicella, Christian	FS	FR	Albany, NY	LaSalle Institute
Ball, Brandon	DE	FR	Collins Center, NY	Springville Griffith Institute
Conde, Almamy	ILB	FR	Jersey City, NJ	Saint Peters Prep
Cyr, Chris	TE	FR	Scarborough, ME	Scarborough
D'Antonio, Tommy	FS	FR	Greenwich, CT	Salisbury School
Dawoodani, Ahil	OL	FR	Glenmont, NY	Albany Academy
Falsone, Ryan	CB	FR	Orchard Park, NY	Orchard Park
Fineberg, Drew	WR	FR	Lakewood Ranch, FL	Out-of-Door Academy
Fischer, Randy	ILB	FR	Annapolis, MD	Broadneck
Frater, Matthew	DE	FR	New York, NY	Hotchkiss
Gudell, Justin	OLB	FR	Rochester, NY	Brighton
Helm, Alex	OL	FR	Fallston, MD	Fallston
Hoffer, Will	OLB	FR	Round Hill, VA	Woodgrove
Koca, Angjelo	DE	FR	Woodhaven, NY	Choate Rosemary Hall
Letizia, Joe	RB	FR	Blauvelt, NY	Trinity Pawling
Maciejewski, John	FB	FR	Hackettstown, NJ	West Morris
McCool, Will	K	FR	Glenside, PA	Springside Chestnut Hill Academy
Murphy, Liam	OL	FR	Whitesboro, NY	Whitesboro
Najarian, Jack	OLB	FR	Needham, MA	Williston Northampton
Quay, Dylan	TE	FR	Latham, NY	Shaker
Reagan, J.P.	CB	FR	Massena, NY	Massena
Rogers, Stephen	CB	FR	Stanhope, NJ	Hopatcong
Sanchez, Jared	ILB	FR	Hopewell Junction, NY	John Jay
Savage, Dillon	ILB	FR	Upper Jay, NY	AuSable Valley
Scales, Daryl	CB	FR	Parlin, NJ	St. Mark's School
Shed, Brandon	WR	FR	West Palm Beach, FL	Benjamin School
Sheppard, Patrick	DE	FR	Islip, NY	Islip
Sutliff, Matt	OL	FR	Andover, MA	Andover
Tierney, Roddy	OLB	FR	Wappingers Falls, NY	Roy C. Ketcham
VanHoesen, Stephen	DT	FR	Niskayuna, NY	Niskayuna
Wallerstein, Adam	QB	FR	Wanaque, NJ	Lakeland Regional
Withers, Zachary	TE	FR	Webster, NY	Webster Schroeder

Another strong recruiting class will be arriving into Geneva this weekend for the opening of the 2014 preseason camp. At first blush it's fairly noticable that this class brought in a lot of players for a few key areas of need (LB and DB) and reflects HWS's ties to New England and NYS prep and parochial schools.

18 of the 33 student athletes are from NYS (including one from Greenwich, CT which is more of an extension of NYC than New England - at least that's my Hartford native perspective / bias ;).

Nine student athletes come to Geneva via NJ, PA, MD and VA. Four come from New England (three from MA and one from ME). Two student athletes come from my home state of FL. One of them was profiled on this blog back on March 28.

A handful of schools, including Scarborough HS (ME), Out of Door Academy (FL), Saint Peters (NJ), Trinity Pawling (NY) and LaSalle (NY) have sent Hobart student athletes for the second year in a row.

It will be interesting to see over the next four years how these young men add to the success of the Statesmen program.

More news from camp and an update on Season 7 of "ITH" coming up next week!

Thanks for reading and go Bart!

Massena's Reagan Signs with Statesmen

Massena (NY) HS SR RB JP Reagan has committed to attend Hobart College. Reagan led the Red Raiders with an impressive 1,709 rushing yards and 25 TDs in the 2013 season. He also caught 14 passes for 166 yards and a TD.

Reagan and the Red Raiders came up short against Potsdam (who somewhat ironically have a similar uniform color scheme as Hobart) in the Section X title game but still had a successful 7-3 overall campaign. "JPR" stands 5' 10" and 175lbs but he runs and breaks tackles like I haven't seen in some time. His 9.2 yards per carry stat is certainly impressive and he has break away speed, once exploding down field for a 90 yard TD run. Although these are great stats, my favorite is probably that Reagan only lost one fumble out of 186 carries, so he can "protect the rock" too.

His highlight reel is reminiscent of old Barry Sanders NFL film in that when Reagan runs into a crowd, he somehow manages to escape several would be tacklers and suddenly is off to the races. To be fair, the level of competition (and tackling) will be much tougher at the collegiate level, still Reagan looks like another fine addition to the Statesmen offense.

Reagan isn't a "one trick pony" either. He was solid defensively for the Raiders tallying 49 tackles including a sack, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. I could see Reagan gaining some time and experience early in his college career on special teams, having both fielded kickoffs and punts for Massena. Interestingly enough, he also converted four PATs, so he could be utilized for the old "quick kick" in pinch.

Please join me in welcoming "JPR" in the Hobart Football Family.

This is probably the last recruiting entry for the Class of 2018. Preseason camp begins this weekend and I am expecting to receive a roster update, including the complete FY recruiting class, later this week once it's posted either via the SAA or HWSAthletics.com.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Preseason Awards Continue to Come in for Coleman and Marpet

The D3football.com 2014 Preseason All American team came out on Friday, August 1st. A link to the release can be found here.

SR Tyre Coleman earned first team recognition at DE and SR Co-Captain Ali Marpet earned second team recognition at OL.

Earlier in the year both Statesmen earned similar Preseason recognition by Lindy's and the Sporting News.

More recruiting news coming up. Preseason camp is starting up in less than two weeks!