Spring Practice Begins Tuesday Afternoon

Connor Rempel (42) and Hunter Hagdorn (1) celebrate a touchdown.

Photo by: Tom McNeill (www.tommcneillphotography.com)

4/2/2019 2:00:00 PM | Football

Twelve practice sessions on the field culminate with the spring game on May 4

By: Rick Bender

HANOVER, N.H. — After finishing the 2018 fall season ranked 15th in the nation by the coaches and 18th by STATS, the Dartmouth football team will take to the gridiron for spring practice today to begin the chase for its 19th Ivy League crown next fall.

Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach Buddy Teevens will have to replace half of his starting lineup — six on offense and five on defense — including a pair of All-Americans in offensive lineman Matt Kaskey and defensive end Rocco Di Leo. But the expected return of several fifth-year seniors will help bolster the roster and make the Big Green one of the preseason favorites in the Ancient Eight.

Even with the losses of Kaskey and Di Leo to graduation, the Dartmouth player that received the most postseason accolades will be gracing the gridiron for the Green in junior cornerback Isiah Swann. A first-team All-American as selected by seven organizations and the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, Swann led the nation with nine interceptions and has 13 picks in his career, tying him for the Dartmouth record with one more year to break it.

The Big Green have five other starters expected to return on defense, three of whom would be fifth-year seniors — linebacker Jack Traynor, and linemen Jackson Perry and David Chalmers. All three were integral members of the defensive unit that ranked second nationally in fewest rushing yards and points allowed, plus fourth in total defense.

On the other side of the ball, the biggest question mark will be the offensive line that featured five seniors, each of whom started every game last fall. One of that quintet, Zach Sammartino, is looking to return for a fifth-year, but the other four graduated, giving offensive line coach Keith Clark a few holes to fill up front.

Dartmouth employed a tandem at quarterback last year and will almost assuredly do so once again as junior Jared Gerbino and sophomore Derek Kyler guided an offense that averaged 34 points a game. Gerbino led the team with 700 rushing yards and eight touchdown runs, while Kyler completed a school-record 68.9 percent of his 177 passes for 1,362 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Three of the top four receivers from last year will be back in the fold, including junior Drew Estrada who led the Big Green with 27 catches and sophomore tight end Connor Rempel who had a team-high five touchdown grabs among his 22 receptions. And with former Ivy League Rookie of the Year Hunter Hagdorn, who is 10th all-time at Dartmouth in both catches (122) and receiving yards (1,523), the quarterbacking duo will have experienced weapons at which to throw.

The running back by committee loses Rashaad Cooper (657 yards, six TDs) and Miles Smith (278 yards, 3 TDs) to graduation, but still has sophomore Caylin Parker (291 yards, 3 TDs) and freshman Zack Bair (167 yards, 8.4-yard average per carry) to pick up the slack.

On special teams, junior punter Davis Brief (36.0-yard average, 13 of 34 punts inside the 20) will be back, as will sophomore place kicker Connor Davis, who will look to fine-tune his big leg.

Practices have been scheduled for four weeks on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 5 p.m. and Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. (weather permitting), starting today, April 2, with the week of April 16 off. The annual Green-White scrimmage will conclude the spring season on Saturday, May 4.