Quote from: jumpshot on April 19, 2025, 05:31:40 PMthe academic schedule in November is intense 

This is always the part of the anti-playoffs argument that bothers me the most. Here is a list of the sports where NESCAC teams competed in late November (Nov. 16-30):

• Men's soccer
• Women's soccer
• Volleyball
• Field hockey
• Men's cross country
• Women's cross country
• Men's basketball
• Women's basketball
• Men's ice hockey
• Women's ice hockey
• Men's squash
• Women's squash
• Men's swimming and diving
• Women's swimming and diving

NESCAC student-athletes have proven time and again that they can balance school and sports. Why is the academic workload in late November and early December manageable for these 14 NESCAC sports but wouldn't be for football players? This decision was long overdue and a great win for NESCAC football.

Quote from: RedAndBlack on April 03, 2025, 10:15:23 AMHow would Kenary have eligibility? I just looked up his stats and he started 9 games in 4 seasons. He doesnt have a medical redshirt year to work with. Am i missing something?

You're right. Having played in 9 games all 4 seasons, Kenary is no longer eligible. I got myself confused because I know there are people who have been on D3 teams for 4 consecutive seasons from 2021-2024 and are transferring to D1 schools, but they are retroactively redshirting for a season where they were hurt or didn't get into the games. The difference in D3/D1 rules plus the blanket bonus eligibility from 2020 even for players who had real seasons (i. e. not the NESCAC) really makes this stuff messy.

I guess that means the pro day appearance comes with NFL aspirations for Kenary, and we'll see how that goes.

Quote from: lumbercat on March 28, 2025, 04:03:09 PM

Quote from: NESCACFball24/7 on March 27, 2025, 01:48:59 PMHe went to the UConn Pro day. It is rare for power 5 programs to allow other schools prospects at their pro days. Makes sense he went to a g5 one instead

24/7 Thanks for the info - good to see Perry did get a Pro Day look.

BC has always had kids from other schools at their Pro Days. This year there were participants from UNH, Bentley and Merrimack among others.

I was the one who said Perry would be at the BC pro day. Not entirely sure why plans changed, but 24/7 is correct that he ultimately competed at UConn's pro day last week. Perry is from Connecticut, so that may have played a role.

I also want to highlight Midd DE Tomas Kenary, who competed at Navy's pro day. I don't know what his ambitions are or how realistic of an NFL prospect he would be, but he also has one year of D1 eligibility left if he wants it, and this event likely gave him some exposure on that front too.

Quote from: Nescacman on March 16, 2025, 04:33:19 PMWe'd be remiss if we didn't also congratulate Hartford State on making their 2nd straight final four. Not an easy thing to do.

What's not easy, making consecutive final fours or congratulating Trinity? 

Regardless, I'll echo the congratulations... always great to see the NESCAC winning on the national stage.

On that note, shoutout to the 4 NESCAC hockey teams still playing as the NCAA quarterfinals approach this weekend. Those would be Hamilton on the men's side, and Middlebury, Amherst, and Colby on the women's.

Quote from: Brady12 on February 28, 2025, 03:26:44 PMLooks like no combine invite for Perry. Anyone know his plan?  Is Duke Manyweather having a showcase work out for him? 

Tough break for TP missing out on the NFL combine, his agility and strength are so good for an OL that it would've been huge to get to show them off on the national stage. As crazy as it might sound, he had a legitimate chance to break the bench press record. My understanding is that he plans to continue working with Manyweather for now, and then that he will participate in Boston College's pro day later this month.

Quote from: Brady12 on January 28, 2025, 04:18:39 PM

Quote from: nescac1 on January 28, 2025, 02:10:06 PMSome more Perry highlights here:

https://x.com/D3Direct/status/1884316667817382076

Kid is looking good. Did he play much center at Mid? 

He played almost exclusively guard and one game at tackle. He only started training at center a month or two ago because of his height compared to other NFL prospects.

The Middlebury coaching staff is down in Texas this week watching him get ready for the Shrine Bowl (which is Thursday). TP would be just the second Middlebury grad to go to the NFL and the first to do it directly from Vermont.

Thank you to everyone and especially NM for the info. Huge step in the right direction for NESCAC football.

I know I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but I want to add that it is absolutely ridiculous that it took this long. Just this year, two NESCAC teams played for the men's soccer national championship on December 7. Middlebury won the field hockey national championship on November 24th. But the football season was over on November 9... why? Football players can't handle balancing academics and sports as well as people in other sports? And as others have pointed out, it's not like the NESCAC will be the only high-academic schools eligible for the playoffs. So what, Hopkins football can handle it but the NESCAC can't? About damn time they fixed this unnecessary imbalance.

Quote from: BigKat on December 09, 2024, 08:30:03 AM

Quote from: MapleBBQChicken on December 08, 2024, 10:07:46 PMOn the subject of NESCAC players in the Super Bowl, let's not forget about Stephen Hauschka (Middlebury '07). He won one with the Seahawks in the 2013-14 season and was 2/2 on field goals and 5/5 on extra points in that 43-8 win over the Broncos. He played in the Super Bowl the next year too (and he'd have a second ring if the Seahawks gave the ball to Marshawn Lynch at the goal line ).

Great trip down memory lane of past nescac SB players but let's be real: if Hauschka didn't play a season at NC State , get some Lou Groza recognition, he would have never been invited to a camp and his NFL career would have never happened. Tremendous kicker though and cool he played at Middlebury.

Point taken, but he also wouldn't have gotten his spot at NC State without his success at Midd. Similarly, Logan Tomlinson probably wouldn't be in the NFL conversation without his pit stop at UNH, but I'm sure the board will be (justifiably) fired up if he gets a shot at the next level.

Quote from: Trin9-0 on December 12, 2024, 10:15:59 AMHow long until we start hearing rumors of NESCAC transfers to North Carolina...? 

Great question

As maybe the lone die-hard Tar Heels fan on this board I'd love to hear some of these...

On the subject of NESCAC players in the Super Bowl, let's not forget about Stephen Hauschka (Middlebury '07). He won one with the Seahawks in the 2013-14 season and was 2/2 on field goals and 5/5 on extra points in that 43-8 win over the Broncos. He played in the Super Bowl the next year too (and he'd have a second ring if the Seahawks gave the ball to Marshawn Lynch at the goal line ).

Middlebury's Thomas Perry will play in the Shrine Bowl in Dallas in January. Would be pretty cool to see him get drafted, and this is a good step in that direction. You can see a tweet about it here.

Unfortunately, Carter Stockwell is not returning. He is already a 5th-year senior and is graduating this winter.

It will be interesting to see how the Panthers handle workload at RB next year. McClellan looked like the clear #1 guy by the end of this season, and as a sophomore I think he will start in that RB1 role. However, Weitzman and Smith will also be back for their junior years, and they'll likely continue to get carries as well.

Lastly, FWIW I think the Moran-Ahonen connection could be a real threat next season.

Great to see Middlebury start the year with a win today at St. Joseph, who was the GNAC champion last year and won an NCAA tournament game. Everyone seems to be low on the Panthers... I don't think they'll be a top team in the NESCAC, but I'd be shocked if they finish as badly as some of these predictions suggest. Tristan Joseph and Sam Stevens are legit and Coach Brown will find a way.

I'm excited to be joining the basketball board, and it's nice to see some familiar names from football season.

I think Connor McClellan and Jack Nye are the clear front runners for ROTY, and it will be interesting to see how the coaches make the RB vs WR comparison.

McClellan: 83 carries for 430 yards and 7 TD + 5 rec for 38 yds
Nye: 36 rec for 526 yds and 1 TD

My (admittedly slightly biased) vote would go to McClellan for the touchdowns.

Matt Diaz was excellent against Amherst and Trinity, and he certainly has a bright future, but someone who carried the football in just 3 games is in my view not qualified for a season-long award.

Quote from: Bucket on November 09, 2024, 07:37:43 PMCongrats to the Cardinals. After seeing them struggle mid-season—after the epic beatdown of my Panthers—I gave them no shot of winning a title.

Hats off to Wes.

Well said, Bucket. Congratulations to Wesleyan and all of their fans on this board!

NM and others – see you in Middletown for week 1 next year. Maybe we can return the favor of a home loss to start your title defense