FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[Patrick Coleman]

I believe Trinity had 85 players last year with 22 being Seniors. With O'Brien coming back how can they bring in 29 players? 

The 2025 Trinity roster listed 83 names (23 Seniors). I'm not sure if anyone other than O'Brien are returning for a Graduate year, but assuming he's the only one and nobody else has transferred or left the team it would leave 61 players. If you add in 29 freshmen that puts the number of players reporting for camp at 90. With the roster limit at 84 players, it seems like a pretty reasonable number when you factor in potential injuries that could pop-up along with a handful of roster cuts.

Significantly more than one senior returning, as Jeff Devanney said in our podcast interview with him last week:
https://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2026/05/18/atn-podcast-408-nescac-countdown-bomber-boss-mascot-madness/

[Brady12]

Sounds like the Bantams are stacked and looking to make a run in first year of playoff eligibility.  Can't wait to see if any teams can step up and derail those plans.

[Trin9-0]

Significantly more than one senior returning, as Jeff Devanney said in our podcast interview with him last week:
https://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2026/05/18/atn-podcast-408-nescac-countdown-bomber-boss-mascot-madness/

Thanks Pat! Great interview; especially the roster limit conversation. It sounds like there will be 6 (SIX!) returning grad students for the Bants which includes the aforementioned Nolan O'Brien who will be a POY candidate.

Brady, the Bants do indeed look poised to make another run. They'll need to figure out Wesleyan and always seem to struggle in Vermont, but getting the Cards and what looks to be a strong Eph team in The Coop should help.

On offense Trinity returns Jaxon Carroll at QB, four starting O-Linemen and their top TE, Jamieson Hodlin. Carrol will have his top two WRs back in O'Brien and Darison Hooper. In addition, Devanney sounded very excited about reincorporating WR Pat McCaffrey back into the mix after he missed all of last season with a back injury. They do lose Tyler DiNapoli in the backfield, but (somewhat surprisingly) both Jack Tosone and Tate Hoffmeister averaged more rushing yards per game than DiNapoli last season.

On defense, the Bantams bring back all three starting defensive linemen, including Matt Hickey who was 2nd Team All NESCAC last year. Linebackers Lincoln Moore, an All-NESCAC 1st Teamer, and 2nd Teamer, Ethan Krauss, return. In the secondary, Shane Mosia who was 2nd team All-NESCAC and named a co-Captain this year, and Tyler Roberts are back.

A lot of it will come down to Carroll who was 2nd in the NESCAC last year in passing efficiency and and TD passes but with the pieces around him he should be expected to do more in '26. I'm hopeful this is the year Trinity can put it all together for 9 weeks and earn the league's first ever postseason bid.

[Charlie]

Significantly more than one senior returning, as Jeff Devanney said in our podcast interview with him last week:
https://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/2026/05/18/atn-podcast-408-nescac-countdown-bomber-boss-mascot-madness/

Thanks Pat! Great interview; especially the roster limit conversation. It sounds like there will be 6 (SIX!) returning grad students for the Bants which includes the aforementioned Nolan O'Brien who will be a POY candidate.

Brady, the Bants do indeed look poised to make another run. They'll need to figure out Wesleyan and always seem to struggle in Vermont, but getting the Cards and what looks to be a strong Eph team in The Coop should help.

On offense Trinity returns Jaxon Carroll at QB, four starting O-Linemen and their top TE, Jamieson Hodlin. Carrol will have his top two WRs back in O'Brien and Darison Hooper. In addition, Devanney sounded very excited about reincorporating WR Pat McCaffrey back into the mix after he missed all of last season with a back injury. They do lose Tyler DiNapoli in the backfield, but (somewhat surprisingly) both Jack Tosone and Tate Hoffmeister averaged more rushing yards per game than DiNapoli last season.

On defense, the Bantams bring back all three starting defensive linemen, including Matt Hickey who was 2nd Team All NESCAC last year. Linebackers Lincoln Moore, an All-NESCAC 1st Teamer, and 2nd Teamer, Ethan Krauss, return. In the secondary, Shane Mosia who was 2nd team All-NESCAC and named a co-Captain this year, and Tyler Roberts are back.

A lot of it will come down to Carroll who was 2nd in the NESCAC last year in passing efficiency and and TD passes but with the pieces around him he should be expected to do more in '26. I'm hopeful this is the year Trinity can put it all together for 9 weeks and earn the league's first ever postseason bid.

I think this year's Bantams team is truly stacked.

Defensively

The front Seven are All star caliber. Luke Ventura , Matt Hickey & Joe Toyias bolster the DL. All three could have been easily been first team All stars last year. This is big strong front three who can stop the run and get after the QB. They only had one game together last year and shut down Colby before injuries kicked in. If these three stay healthy all year this could be one of the best defenses we have seen in many years.These three are the reasons the LB group played so well last year. In addition to these three DL you have capable back ups in Wes Selmani , Emre Sensoy , Seamus Miller as well as a Uconn transfer who the staff is high on for DE.

Linebacker wise they loose one LB from a great crew last year. Returning are Lincoln Moore , Ethan Krauss and Aaron Poawui and this was one of the strongest units last year. At the outside position you have John Toyias who showed glimpses last year in games and specifically Williams and is poised to have a breakout year at OLB. He played well before injuries limited playing time.

The secondary is strong with Bryce Ferrell , Tyler Roberts , Shane Moscia and Jacob Tobias returning depth may be an issue if injuries kick in but this should be a solid unit.

This defense will be hard to score on and the veteran leadership from 5 th years Joe Toyias , Matt Hickey , Aaron Poawui will make this a veteran crew to go along with the Senior group already anchoring this line up. The key will be injuries If Hickey and both Toyias brothers stay healthy this should have a direct impact on the LB making plays. Shane Moscia is a veteran Senior Captain who will anchor the secondary. I feel that with there run stop ability of front seven along with the pass rush this defense is going to be fun to watch.

The only real question mark will be special teams. While Trinity always had great special teams they loose there special teams coach to sabbatical. They will bring back Lincoln Moore and John Toyias for snapping duties and the explosive Nolan O'Brien and Josh Woodford returning kicks and Punts. However Trinity is relying on a Sophomore kicker Max Wallace to handle the Punting and Kicking duties. While he has a very strong leg could not fight the freshman jitters and had less than a stellar performance making field goals and extra points. He is now handling the punting and kickoff duties so look for teams until he has proven himself to try to exploit this inexperience.

Overall this defense with some young players getting some experience look tough to score on. However with a new DC coordinator potentially we will see if that has an effect.

I will post offense later