FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[lumbercat]

Congratulations to Trinity, Wesleyan, Williams, Colby and Bates on posting 2025 Rosters at least 10 days before the first game :-)
https://bantamsports.com/sports/football/roster
https://athletics.wesleyan.edu/sports/football/roster
https://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/football/roster
https://colbyathletics.com/sports/football/roster
https://gobatesbobcats.com/sports/football/roster

Looks like Charlie was right about the Bantam QB room as neither Jake Robbins, Vincent Ferrara, nor Bobby Wiesenhahn are on the '25 roster. Robbins was a senior last year so that's not a complete surprise depending on his remaining eligibility.

Aronson was a 4-Star QB prospect by Rivals and had at least four other FBS offers coming out of high school. There's not a long track record of successful D1 to NESCAC transfers, but if he turns out to be the real deal then Trinity would be in a great spot at quarterback for the next three seasons.

Yes 9-0-- I questioned the accuracy of Chucks post also but let me stand corrected on that, he was right.
I doubted Devanney would be that ruthless, maybe these kids are begging him him for a chance to play at Trinity..... but I doubt it.
He recruits these kids and then cuts them. Not even like D1 where they can keep kids they recruit. Devanney knows he has the strictest roster limitations in the NCAA and he consistently over recruits. Love to know that he tells these kids to get them in the fold and then he cuts them.
He's like an airline that overbooks.

[Trin9-0]

Congratulations to Trinity, Wesleyan, Williams, Colby and Bates on posting 2025 Rosters at least 10 days before the first game :-)
https://bantamsports.com/sports/football/roster
https://athletics.wesleyan.edu/sports/football/roster
https://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/football/roster
https://colbyathletics.com/sports/football/roster
https://gobatesbobcats.com/sports/football/roster

Looks like Charlie was right about the Bantam QB room as neither Jake Robbins, Vincent Ferrara, nor Bobby Wiesenhahn are on the '25 roster. Robbins was a senior last year so that's not a complete surprise depending on his remaining eligibility.

Aronson was a 4-Star QB prospect by Rivals and had at least four other FBS offers coming out of high school. There's not a long track record of successful D1 to NESCAC transfers, but if he turns out to be the real deal then Trinity would be in a great spot at quarterback for the next three seasons.

Yes 9-0-- I questioned the accuracy of Chucks post also but let me stand corrected on that, he was right.
I doubted Devanney would be that ruthless, maybe these kids are begging him him for a chance to play at Trinity..... but I doubt it.
He recruits these kids and then cuts them. Not even like D1 where they can keep kids they recruit. Devanney knows he has the strictest roster limitations in the NCAA and he consistently over recruits. Love to know that he tells these kids to get them in the fold and then he cuts them.
He's like an airline that overbooks.

Let's settle down just a little bit, Lumber. All we know for sure is that the kids aren't on the roster. Robbins graduated so it's understandable that he didn't coming back for a grad school year if he wasn't likely to play and that's if he even had any eligibility left. As for Ferrara and Wiesenhahn they may have quit the team for all we know.

Whatever the circumstances, with the return to roster limitations in the NESCAC this won't be the only time kids who were recruited don't last. And that'll be the story across the top teams in the league. Your obsession with Devanney is inching closer to nescacman's infatuation with Aaron Kelton.

[nescac1]

Was there a final decision on this year's roster limit?  I note that Trinity's pre-season roster has right around 100 players on it.  So they will need to make a LOT of cuts if there is a roster limit somewhere in the 80s ...

[Brady12]

So if a 4 star recruit with FBS offers doesn't start after transferring to D3 what are we to make of that? Is Trinity and the CAC closer to that level of play or is the kid over rated or is this just a week 1 thing?

[nescac1]

I think for ANY position save for QB, a four star recruit with FBS offers would be an absolute lock to be a major star at NESCAC if healthy and engaged.  But QB is a position that is incredibly difficult to evaluate, probably the toughest in all of sports.  Heck, even after four years of high-level college tape, NFL teams routinely miss out on QBs who end up starring on the biggest stage or draft total busts with top-three picks.  Things like how you react to defensive pressure, how fast you can learn a new offensive system, how quickly you read the field, and what kind of leader you are can be really difficult to ascertain based on watching someone sling it in a relatively simple scheme against potentially overmatched high school kids.  It's not simply a matter of being bigger/stronger/faster/more nimble like D1 recruits at other positions.  And the returning Trinity QBs, who presumably have talent just by virtue of being Trinity recruits, have the advantage of one or multiple years in the system, instead of just a few weeks. 

If memory serves Trinity has brought in a few other acclaimed D1 QB transfers over the years (granted, not four star recruits) who were not immediate starters. 

[Trin9-0]

I think for ANY position save for QB, a four star recruit with FBS offers would be an absolute lock to be a major star at NESCAC if healthy and engaged.  But QB is a position that is incredibly difficult to evaluate, probably the toughest in all of sports.  Heck, even after four years of high-level college tape, NFL teams routinely miss out on QBs who end up starring on the biggest stage or draft total busts with top-three picks.  Things like how you react to defensive pressure, how fast you can learn a new offensive system, how quickly you read the field, and what kind of leader you are can be really difficult to ascertain based on watching someone sling it in a relatively simple scheme against potentially overmatched high school kids.  It's not simply a matter of being bigger/stronger/faster/more nimble like D1 recruits at other positions.  And the returning Trinity QBs, who presumably have talent just by virtue of being Trinity recruits, have the advantage of one or multiple years in the system, instead of just a few weeks. 

If memory serves Trinity has brought in a few other acclaimed D1 QB transfers over the years (granted, not four star recruits) who were not immediate starters. 

The aforementioned Jake Robbins was a transfer from West Virginia. He played mop-up duty in four games but only attempted 5 career passes.

Jordan Vazzano transferred from URI. He played in 9 total games though the vast majority of his snaps came in 2018 when he led Trinity in total offense. Over his career he accounted for 19 total touchdowns and just 6 picks.

Billy Schweitzer transferred from UVA in '03 but wasn't eligible until '04. He split time with Josh Pitcher in '04 and '05. The Bantams went undefeated both seasons and Schweitzer passed for just over 1,000 yards and 9 TDs in 13 appearances.

There may have been others but those are the three that I can recall who transferred from D1 schools.

[GroundandPound]

Added Midd to 2025 Rosters and removed Williams since theirs is not done yet...
https://athletics.middlebury.edu/sports/football/roster/2025
https://bantamsports.com/sports/football/roster
https://athletics.wesleyan.edu/sports/football/roster
https://colbyathletics.com/sports/football/roster
https://gobatesbobcats.com/sports/football/roster
NO ROSTERS: Hamilton, Tufts, Bowdoin, Amherst, Williams

[Charlie]

Was there a final decision on this year's roster limit?  I note that Trinity's pre-season roster has right around 100 players on it.  So they will need to make a LOT of cuts if there is a roster limit somewhere in the 80s ...

I still believe the roster limits could possibly be adjusted. I have heard that Wesleyan , Tufts and Trinity all sent letters from the school to the NESCAC board and that the NESCAC has not finalized there stance. However with next week being opeing day does not look promising. I Have heard that possible litigation could also occur but with such a close proximity to start of season do not know what purpose that would serve. My only feeling is that NESCAC could possibly suspend roster moves since they would probably do away with this once playoffs commence next season. I guess time will tell but we should have an answer this week.

[Charlie]

Was there a final decision on this year's roster limit?  I note that Trinity's pre-season roster has right around 100 players on it.  So they will need to make a LOT of cuts if there is a roster limit somewhere in the 80s ...

Wesleyan is showing around 99 players so curious when and if these cuts will come down for either school

[RamapoRUFan]

Congratulations to Trinity, Wesleyan, Williams, Colby and Bates on posting 2025 Rosters at least 10 days before the first game :-)
https://bantamsports.com/sports/football/roster
https://athletics.wesleyan.edu/sports/football/roster
https://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/football/roster
https://colbyathletics.com/sports/football/roster
https://gobatesbobcats.com/sports/football/roster

Looks like Charlie was right about the Bantam QB room as neither Jake Robbins, Vincent Ferrara, nor Bobby Wiesenhahn are on the '25 roster. Robbins was a senior last year so that's not a complete surprise depending on his remaining eligibility.

Aronson was a 4-Star QB prospect by Rivals and had at least four other FBS offers coming out of high school. There's not a long track record of successful D1 to NESCAC transfers, but if he turns out to be the real deal then Trinity would be in a great spot at quarterback for the next three seasons.

As someone who puts together team previews, I agree with the frustration around rosters being posted late.  Quite frankly, it was one of the factors for me to set up my site, as I saw a lack of timely and comprehensive information around the league.  I was able to interview each NESCAC coach to prepare my previews (final one posted today at https://nescacfootballreport.com/), but in terms of figuring out who is starting at QB for Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, etc., the coaches limited their answers to who was in the mix (2 to 3 options).

[RamapoRUFan]

#24328
August 23, 2025, 09:17:46 PM
Quote from: RamapoRUFan on August 21, 2025, 09:06:47 PM
I have posted 2025 Team Previews for Amherst, Trinity and Middlebury at https://nescacfootballreport.com/team-overviews/

Ramapo HS (Raiders) or Ramapo College (Roadrunners)...that is the question....

Ramapo HS Raiders, sir

[Razorback]

I am hearing NESCAC presidents voted against waiving the roster limit this week, so looks like some cuts will need to occur at a few schools for sure.  Going to be some tough conversations for coaches and players unfortunately. 

[Charlie]

The NESCAC presidents voted not to change roster limits so there will be cuts coming on many rosters. I did here not sure on how this works that schools can elect not to abide by the rule and be sanctioned by the NESCAC and receive a penalty. I do not know that penalty will be. I also heard that some schools will allow players to practice but not dress for games. It seems there is a great deal of uncertainty. No matter what the schools have decided the Presidents have voted and what each school does with the roster limits remains to be seen.

[lumbercat]

The buck stops here boardsters......NESCAC Presidents have spoken.....They have already approved bigger rosters, a 9 game season AND Championship eligibility to the surprise of many. As a NESCAC follower for many years I never expected these concessions, especially in such a short period of time. These changes follow a period of many years where they never changed a damn thing!

I think the NESCAC coaches are pushing too hard for too many changes too soon at this point.

My two cents to newbie NESCAC parents and NESCAC recruits---if you want an environment where teams have 120 man rosters and are fixated on winning it all look at the WIAC, Centennial, CCIW, MIAC.....

NESCAC parents-- Do the research before junior commits to a NESCAC school. Don't come on the board after your son gets on a NESCAC campus saying why doesn't the NESCAC do this or that. I'm thrilled with the recent changes and hope to see more but I think further changes are on the back burner in view of college funding issues etc.

Just my take, I was wrong before about recent NESCAC Football changes and won't mind being wrong again if change continues but I don't anticipate more changes at this point in time no matter how many letters are written or how many "equity" plays there are.

Again, hope I'm wrong, I hope change continues but wouldn't hold my breath at this point.

[VoodooDoc]

LumberCat is correct. The NESCAC has been following the Ivy League approach to football established in the 1920's.  A remarkable amount of progress has been made in recent years to bring the Conference into the 21st century.  For many years the NESCAC schools' reputations for strong academics and alumni networks that introduced graduates into the business world were strong enough to draw in players.  Today, other colleges are able to offer a lot to prospective students.  The coaches are pushing for a 21st century approach because they are experiencing a much greater degree of difficulty recruiting against other colleges.  The NESCAC beginning to participate in the Division 3 playoffs is a tremendous step forward.  The next steps of some relief on roster sizes will become self-evident as the NESCAC college begin to participate in the playoffs against college with rosters of 120 to 150 or more, as well as adding the 10th game against a non-conference opponent.  The NESCAC schools offer students so many wonderful opportunities, but it needs to be competitive.  Otherwise, the financial pandemic that is dragging other colleges down around the country will come knocking at its door.