Spring Practice Opens for Dartmouth Football Today

4/13/2010 1:00:00 PM | Football

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. — The Dartmouth Big Green football squad begins four weeks of spring practice this afternoon — every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday — and head coach Buddy Teevens is very excited about having his players on the field, working toward the goal of returning to Ivy League prominence.

“We have new offensive and defensive coordinators, so spring practice will give us the opportunity to improve our understanding of the schematics on both sides of the ball, not to mention special teams,” stated Coach Teevens, who will be coaching Dartmouth in the fall for his 11th season. “We have a good bit of depth and great numbers on campus for practice, giving us a high degree of competitiveness amongst the players.”

Those players total nearly 90 on the field this spring, with 52 returning lettermen. Let's take a quick look at how they break down by position.

QUARTERBACK
Everyone loves a competition at quarterback, and new offensive coordinator Jim Pry has one brewing. Both sophomore Conner Kempe (6-4, 225), who threw for 1,031 yards and seven touchdowns while completing 51.5 percent of his passes, and freshman Greg Patton (6-0, 190), who not only set a school record by rushing for 243 yards in a game, but also completed 17-of-28 passes for 262 yards without an interception, started behind center multiple times in 2009. Returning after missing the fall with a broken leg is junior uber-athlete Tim McManus (6-0, 185), who will split time at quarterback and at wide receiver, where he was an honorable mention All-Ivy selection in 2008. In addition, sophomore Dan Rooney (6-3, 215) has shown a marked improvement during his tenure with the team and will gets some reps as well.

“Essentially we have three number ones at quarterback, three guys that have started there for us at some point,” Teevens noted. “With Timmy missing last year, we'll have Kempe and Patton out there on the first day, then work in McManus and Rooney. It's a bit of a luxury to have a couple of different types of quarterbacks, and we'll find who understands and executes the offense most successfully.”

RUNNING BACK
That rushing record that Patton broke was held for all of two weeks by sophomore Nick Schwieger (5-10, 205) with a 242-yard performance against Columbia. Schwieger finished the season leading the Ivy League in rushing average (78.3 yards per game) to garner All-Ivy first-team recognition, but missed all but one play of the last three games with a broken finger. Sophomore T.J. Cameron (5-11, 205) carried the ball 10 times for 21 yards last fall, while several up-and-comers from the JV squad — bruising sophomore Chris Hardy (6-2, 235), and freshmen Billy Bradshaw (6-1, 225) and Jeremy Rick (5-10, 185) — bring numerous options for the coaching staff.

FULLBACK/H-BACK
The Big Green have gone with either a one-back alignment, or a traditional fullback or H-back to block (unless they put a Wildcat formation on the field). Juniors Chase Jensen (6-3, 205), Kevin Estrada (5-11, 215) and Darrius Pelissier (6-0, 230) are out of the traditional fullback mode, as well as freshman Jason Lawrence (5-10, 225), all of whom will be getting a close look as none has seen much action. Freshman Justin Foley (6-3, 255) garnered increasingly more playing time at the position as an H-back as the 2009 season wore on, putting his blocking skills as a tight end to good use.

WIDE RECEIVER
Whoever ends up at quarterback will have a solid corps of receivers from which to choose. Junior Tanner Scott (6-4, 190) exploded onto the scene after walking on the squad two springs ago, leading the team with 45 receptions and 510 yards to earn All-Ivy honorable mention. Sophomore Michael Reilly (6-1, 190) plays taller than his listed height, and despite some nagging injuries last fall, still managed to play in eight games and bring in 38 passes for 498 yards and four touchdowns to tie for the team lead. McManus, as noted before, is back and anxious to go, having caught 60 passes in 2008, the fifth most in school history. Plus with the elusive sophomore Garrett Babb (5-9, 165) and his 12 receptions for 99 yards and a score, junior Will Deevy (6-5, 205) and his height, and junior Brad Dornak (6-0, 200), not to mention sophomore Joey Casey (5-10, 185) and the excellent freshman trio of Corey Vann (6-1, 165), Shawn Bode (6-2, 205) and Brian Kosnik (6-5, 220), Dartmouth has many weapons for an air attack.

TIGHT END
This may be the deepest position for the Big Green, beginning with sophomore John Gallagher (6-3, 250) who was an honorable mention All-Ivy pick for his 30 catches for 288 yards and a touchdown. The aforementioned Foley hauled in five passes in his rookie campaign for 35 yards, while fellow freshman Mitch Aprahamian snared two passes for 41 yards and junior Kevin Gallagher shook off some injuries to catch a pass for a 20-yard gain. All four are more than capable as receivers and blockers, and freshman Jackson Floyd (6-6, 245) warrants a look as well.

OFFENSIVE LINE
There are no less than 10 returning lettermen on the offensive line, headlined by sophomore Austen Fletcher (6-1, 280), a two-year starter at center. As a whole, the line merely touched on its potential last year, showing flashes in the form of the rushing record falling twice. With so much experience returning, that potential has a chance to become something exceptional. On the left side, junior William Montgomery (6-5, 290) and sophomore Ryan O'Neill (6-4, 265) are at the top of the depth chart entering practice, with freshman Thomas Prewitt (6-7, 305) and sophomore Patrick Lahey (6-3, 275) pushing them for time at the respective positions. On the other side of center, Coach Teevens has sophomore Kyle Cook (6-5, 270) at guard and junior John O'Sullivan (6-5, 305) — back from an injury — at tackle. Junior Alex Wodka (6-3, 280) and Brock Middleton (6-5, 275) are quality linemen as well with a chance to push their way into the lineup. Freshman Rob Bathe (6-3, 285) is a solid back-up at center, and despite the loss of sophomore Grant Palmer (6-5, 275) to injury for the spring, the Big Green have the numbers to really push their linemen to go to the next level.

DEFENSIVE LINE
Much like the offensive line, Dartmouth has a strong number of lettermen (nine) returning on the other side of the line, headlined by junior end Charles Bay (6-3, 250) who led the Big Green with eight tackles for a loss and three sacks in 2009. At the other end junior Matt Oh (6-2, 230) with his 24 tackles and sophomore Connor Phillips (6-3, 240) with 16 stops split time in the fall and will battle for playing time. When given the opportunity as a freshman, Mick Davis (6-3, 245) did not disappoint at defensive end and will make his case to play. In the middle of the line, sophomores Eddie Smith (6-3, 285) and Mark Dwyer (6-4, 295) return with a combined 58 tackles and four sacks between them a year ago. Juniors Lane Shipley (6-2, 275) and Tyler Green (6-4, 280), as well as freshman Elliot Kastner (6-2, 260) will be worked into the mix on the interior. A wild card on the line is junior Buddy Benaderet (6-3, 225), who will be working his way back from an injury that caused him to sit out last fall. And with several freshmen and sophomore Bruno Vetter (6-1, 235) providing depth, the line is in its best shape in quite a few years.

LINEBACKER
Another position with great experience and depth, the linebacking corps will likely be the key to the defensive schemes under new defensive coordinator Don Dobes, as his linebackers at Princeton were among the best in the Ivy League on an annual basis. Nine returning lettermen give Coach Teevens an experienced group on the field this spring. Freshman Garrett Wymore (6-2, 210) had a terrific rookie season at middle linebacker with 63 tackles, tied for second most on the team with Diego Fernandez-Soto on the weak side. Both of those two finished the fall season playing their best football with the former making double-digit stops in three of the last four games, while the latter had 10 in each of the last two contests. The strong-side linebacker, Pat Scorah is moving back to strong safety, so junior Luke Hussey (6-0, 210) and his 14 tackles in a supporting role in 2009 tops the depth chart there. Sophomore Tyler Melancon (5-11, 210) will also vie for time on the strong side. In the middle, freshman Tom Patek (6-3, 220) has currently muscled his way into a back-up role, while sophomore Alex Shulman (6-2, 210) has as well on the weak side. Unfortunately, sophomore Alex Johns (6-4, 220) is sidelined with an injury, but with junior Spencer Hood (6-2, 215), sophomores Aaron Limonthas (6-0, 215), Ben Magnus (6-3, 205) and Brendan Murray (6-0, 220), plus several more freshmen, Dartmouth is in good shape at the linebacker positions.

DEFENSIVE BACKS
Highlighting the defensive secondary is sophomore cornerback Shawn Abuhoff (5-11, 185), an All-Ivy second-teamer and one of the top cover men in the Ivy League without question as his 14 passes defended tied for the league lead, three of which were interceptions. At the other corner, Dartmouth has sophomore J.B. Andreassi (5-10, 180) who led all defensive backs with 51 tackles while breaking up eight passes as well. Juniors Steve Morris (6-0, 200) and Kevin de Regt (5-9, 185), and freshman Chase Womack (6-0, 185) are solid back-ups with junior Robbie Krattiger (5-11, 205) on the sidelines with an injury. Junior Pat Scorah (5-8, 210), who led the team in tackles with 64, moves back to his familiar strong safety slot after spending last season as a linebacker, and he will be spelled by freshman Cole Pembroke (6-0, 215). At free safety freshman Garrett Waggoner (6-2, 210) is ready to take over for All-Ivy selection Pete Pidermann after notching 38 tackles and a fumble recovery as a rookie in the fall. Sophomores Chad Hollis (5-10, 180) and Anthony Diblasi (6-1, 185) provide experienced depth at the position with freshman Alex Douglas (6-2, 185) in the mix as well.

SPECIAL TEAMS
One spot above all others at which Dartmouth has excelled of late has been special teams. Sophomore Foley Schmidt (5-9, 195) is about as a reliable place kicker as you'll find in the Ivy League, and junior Donald Kephart (5-11, 225) has the power in his right leg to send kickoffs into the end zone. Junior Matt Kelly (6-3, 210) quickly emerged as a solid punter with good hang times as well, making the Big Green kicking game quite stable. Return men Abuhoff and Andreassi make for a great duo — Abuhoff ranked second in the league in kickoff return average and would have been second in punt return average had he qualified, leading him to be selected as the return specialist for the All-New England FCS squad. Andreassi, meanwhile, averaged over 22 yards a kick return himself. Junior Shane Peterlin (6-4, 260) has garnered interest from professional teams for his long-snapping ability, while McManus and Reilly are both adept holders.