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A Look at 2007 Football
4/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
2007 DARTMOUTH FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
When Buddy Teevens returned to Dartmouth two years ago, he was honest about the extent of the task he faced. Rebuilding a proud Big Green program that hadn't enjoyed a winning season since 1997, he said, was going to take time.
After back-to-back 2-8 seasons, Teevens is confident that three recruiting classes, hard work in the weight room and two full years in his system will be reflected in the 2007 campaign.
An area-by-area look at the Big Green heading into the 2007 spring drills (with players listed according to their year in the fall):
OFFENSE
Offensive Line
Buddy Teevens: "This has been a concern since our arrival. We are more seasoned at this point. We have guys who understand systemically what we are doing. We've added depth. The key thing is having young, inexperienced guys stepping up and performing at a high level."
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Seniors Jared Dowdakin (6-2, 295), Taylor Layman (6-1, 280) and Ben Goeke (6-4, 311) are returning starters up front with the ability to play different positions. Classmate Tim Wheeler (6-4, 325) also has seen starting time.
The line graduated a pair of starters in left tackle Preston Copley and center Mike Shannon. Wheeler and junior Alex Rapp (6-5, 265) are probably the leading candidates to replace Copley at the critical left tackle spot heading into camp. Dowdakin, Layman and Wheeler all have experience snapping the ball and might get a look at stepping in for Shannon at center.
Junior Eddie Tabasky (6-3, 290) and sophomore Jon Summers (6-5, 300) are bigger linemen who saw action last year and will push for playing time as will sophomore Alex Stonehouse (6-2, 305). A wild card is junior Dustin Adkins (6-6, 302) who missed his entire freshman year and finally got on the field with the junior varsity midway through last season as a center.
Receivers/Tight Ends
Teevens: "We have good depth here. We are adding speed and will be working with a lot of height."
evans
Dartmouth loses leading receiver Ryan Fuselier, a second team All-Ivy League choice, and steady Sam McDonald, but both starting tight ends, the wide receiver who led the Ivies in yards per catch and an intriguing corps of receivers all return. Seniors Mark Brogna (6-3, 250) and Brett Lowe (6-2, 225) have manned the tight end spot for two years. Brogna averaged a healthy 15 yards on his nine catches last year while Lowe had two touchdowns among his eight receptions. Add to the mix sophomore Carroll Papajohn (6-5, 235), who averaged a mind-boggling 28.6 yards per grab on 10 catches with the jayvee team last year. He also had three touchdowns.
Senior Brian Evans (6-1, 195) returns outside after using his sprinter's speed to lead the Ivies with 17.8 yards per catch on 22 grabs in 2006. Speedy Phil Galligan (5-11, 181) added 15 catches last fall. Senior Brendan Holm (6-5, 220) is a big target who will challenge for time if he stays healthy. Junior Eric Paul (6-4, 190) caught four balls and showed promise last year. Sophomore Ian Ferrell (6-5, 215) caught a team-high 13 passes with four touchdowns for the jayvees last fall while athletic classmate Jordan Kling (6-3, 205) pulled in 11 throws after making the transition from quarterback. Mix in a handful of other prospects and competition at the receiver slot figures to be intense.
Tailback/Fullback
Teevens: "We are almost morphing the tailback and fullback positions. We've got some guys who can do the job as a bigger back, but they can also load it up as a fullback. And they catch the football."
With the graduation of leading rusher/quarterback Mike Fritz and proven tailback Jason Bash, exactly who will top the Big Green in rushing next fall is an open question. Expected to get long looks at the hybrid tailback-fullback slot are sophomore Tom Brown (6-0, 220) and senior Julian Collins (6-0, 215). A bruising fullback, Brown opened eyes with his running ability with the jayvees last year, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, albeit in limited action. Collins, who moved over from linebacker and enjoyed his first healthy year last fall, had six carries in the varsity fullback rotation. Junior Hudson Smythe (6-3, 210), who had 231 yards on 70 carries in 2006 and classmate Nate Servis (5-10, 200), who came on strong late in the season, will be in the running for time as the big back while flashy junior Milan Williams (5-9, 175) and sophomores Rob Mitchelson (5-10, 190) and Chris Burns (5-9, 175) bring added quickness to the table. As there are at virtually all positions, a few wildcards like junior Cole Springer (6-3, 205) could surprise.
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Quarterback
Teevens: "We believe the guys we have can run the offense we used a year ago although we always will play to the strength of the guy behind center. In terms of determining a depth chart at this point, none of them have any real experience so it's pretty much wide open."
Mike Fritz, who led Dartmouth in rushing and was second in the Ivy League in passing efficiency, is graduating, leaving a big hole. Taking the first snaps in spring -- based on seniority according to Teevens -- will be senior Tom Bennewitz (6-0, 192). Sophomores Max Heiges (6-3, 212) and Alex Jenny (5-11, 180) will both get a shot at winning the starting job with the wildcard being Josh Cohen (6-4, 220) who threw for 1,529 yards as a freshman in 2005 after wresting the starting job from Charlie Rittgers. Cohen missed last season while he was out of school.
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