CBA's Smith to Become a Statesman

Christian Brothers Academy (NY) SR DB Alex Smith tweeted out yesterday that going to Hobart College and playing for the Statesmen would be his "Next chapter." He had an impressive SR season at CBA, racking up 82 total tackles, 17 TFL, 2 FF, 2 INTs, 8 PBU and 6 PD plays.

You can see more on his highlight reel here. 

From the film you can see he's strong in coverage, closes in fast and is a sure tackler. At 6' 175 lbs. he has good size and will likely add to that once he's in Coach Gray's strength program. 

Smith will be the second CBA player on the Hobart roster, joining JR RB Tim Denham, Jr., who graduated from CBA in 2019.

Only a short drive down the thruway from Geneva, I am certain Alex and the extended Smith family will be regulars at Hobart Football games going forward.

Please join me in welcoming Alex and his family to the Hobart College Football one.

Pleasantville's Cotter Signs with Statesmen

Sleepy Hollow HS HC Jerry Flora tweeted out earlier this week that he was "Excited to announce that Kieran Cotter a RB Prospect from Pleasantville High School in NY and a Golden Dozen Honoree has committed to attend Hobart College to play football. Coach DeWall runs a great program and I'm happy for you. Great working with you."

Cotter had strong SR year with Pleasantville HS, rushing for over 1,300 yards and scoring 12 TDs for a 12-1 Class B State Runner Up team. While smaller in stature (5' 9" and 175 lbs.), Cotter plays big, bowling over and/or out-running would be tacklers.

You can check out his highlight reel here.

While I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see him in the offensive backfield, I could also see someone with Cotter's athleticism get a chance on defense. He seems like a tough kid, and not afraid to initiate contact. That said I could see him get some looks at safety and/or OLB.

Time will tell where Cotter plugs into the Statesmen system, but there's no denying he looks like a great addition to the team. Please join me in welcoming Kieran and the extended Cotter family to the Hobart College Football one!

Thanks as always for checking the blog and go 'Bart! 

 

Cardinal Hayes' Johnson Commits to Statesmen

Last Thursday, SR OLB / TE Tafari Johnson took to Twitter to announce that he will be coming to Hobart. Johnson has good size (6' 2" 215 lbs.) speed, and versatility, being able to drop back in coverage, pick off opposing QBs and rush.

You can check out his highlights here.

Below was his statement regarding becoming a Statesman:

Please join me in welcoming Tafari and the extended Johnson family to the Hobart College Football one!

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Syosset's Broggy Commits to Statesmen

We're back with some more recruiting news!

Remember how in the Recruiting Roundtable post I mentioned how the Statesmen needed to add more depth to their OL/DL?

A step in that direction happened today as Syosset HS (NY) SR OL Quinn Broggy announced his commitment to Hobart College, posting this photo on his Twitter feed:

Broggy brings brawn (6' 2" 260 lbs.) and brains (over a 4.0 GPA, named as one of Nassau County's best scholar athletes by the National Football Foundation) to Geneva after being wooed by programs such as Wesleyan (CT), Hamilton, and Pace University.

A strong pass and run blocker, Broggy played LT for SHS, but he projects as probably more of an interior OL based on his size. You can check out his highlights here.

Ultimately it appears as though a trip to Hobart back in January may have sealed the deal for Broggy (shown below with who I assume is his dad):

Please join me in welcoming Quinn and the extended Broggy family to the Hobart College Football one. 

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Brighton's Jackson Signs with Statesmen

Coach Steve Lian of Brighton HS (NY) recently announced signing commitments from his Class of 2022 which included SR RB/|DB Tahj Jackson. Jackson has good size (5' 11" and 190 lbs.) and speed (clocking in at 4.5 in the 40-yard dash).

You can see more of his highlights here.

Tajh looks like a strong addition to the Hobart Statesmen program, and his family (pictured above), won't have to travel far to see him play, living just down the road in Rochester.

Please join me in welcoming Tajh and the extended Jackson family into the Hobart Football one.

Thanks for reading as always and go 'Bart! 

Recruiting Roundtable

Hope this finds everyone in the Hobart College Football family well.

As usual, there hasn't been a ton of news over the off-season and from what I can see, the social media commitments for student athletes (likely ED1&2 accepts) have cooled off. At this point, we are likely waiting until mid-May to get to find out and "meet" the rest of the Class of 2026.

What we do know right now is this:

The current spring roster has 64 Statesmen on it. A few quick facts on this group are they consist of:

13 SR, 24 JR and 27 SOs. By way of comparison, the fall 2021 roster had 93 total on it. Based on that I'd expect this fall's FY class to be approximately 30 student athletes, give or take. 

Position-wise the current roster's breakdown is:

15 DB, 1 DE, 6 DL, 1 PK, 13 LB (includes inside and outside), 1 LS, 8 OL, 5 QB, 4 RB, 4 TE and 6 WR.

One key missing piece is JR LB Bryan Aguilar. He was Hobart's leading tackler (85 total) last season, but he did have that bad collision with Emmett Forde '22 in the ECAC bowl game and appears to be taking care of his health, according to my sources. Whether or not we see him again in a Statesmen uniform remains to be seen. Either way I wish him the best. 

Based on the above it would appear Hobart has good depth in the secondary, at QB, RB, TE and the LB corps. What seems a bit "light" to me are the OL and DL numbers. Even 6 WRs is a bit low compared to prior seasons. Given that, it's not a surprise to see what's come in so far in the recruiting roundup.

As of this writing, I have posted on 15 known Statesmen commits, the vast majority of which are coming up to Hobart from NJ and PA. 

Position-wise these 15 were:

6 DL/OL, 5 DB/WR (one - see Ruscetta above - is potentially a TE based on his size), 1 LB, 1 PK, 1 QB and 1 RB (who also played DB, but I view RB as his likely landing spot coming into camp).

I imagine the next 15 or so incoming student athletes will fill out other open needs. The Statesmen coaching staff has consistently stated they prefer quality over quantity, and these 15 to date do not disappoint. 

I'll probably take a break from posting for a bit but will make any updates I find out about as they happen.

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Yorktown's Lyon Commits to Hobart

We take a break from recruits coming to Geneva from the Garden State to tell you about a NYS prospect for a change. Yorktown HS SR PK Vicente Lyon indicated he was "Committed" to coming to Hobart and joining the Statesmen football program.

With currently SO PK Tobias Weffering as the only PK on the roster, Lyon will have some opportunities early on to compete for kicking duties. Weffering had a solid FY debut, going 3-for-3 on PATs, 2-for-3 on FGs and averaging 35.9 YPP and 51.1 YPKO.

Lyon had a solid SR year for YHS, going 5-6 on FGs (with what appears was a long of 36 yards), 22-22 on PATs and kicking 14 TBs. You can see him in action via his highlight reel here. 

It appears as though the Statesmen beat out offers from Utica, WNE and Wilkes to win his PK services (he also was recruited by Trinity of CT and UNH).

Please join me in welcoming Vicente and the extended Lyon family to the Hobart College Football one!

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!