HANOVER – The ranks are always a bit thin during the Dartmouth College football team’s spring practices. Many of the seniors have exhausted their eligibility, leaving Floren Varsity House and Memorial Field to younger warriors.

That being said, the Big Green has substantial questions at running back, despite returning its top two rushers from last season’s 3-7 campaign.

The top man was quarterback Nick Howard, who was worn down and beat up by carrying 101 times for 506 yards in his trademark, confrontational style. Dartmouth’s best player missed two games last fall and struggled through others, so the presumption is he’ll carry considerably less of the rushing load in 2023.

Sophomore running back Q Jones ran for 410 yards but 158 of that came during one game, an overtime loss at Sacred Heart. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Coloradan carried more than 10 times only once more during the campaign and while displaying his ability on the outside, still needs to prove he can consistently gain yards between the tackles.

That job was mostly left to muscled senior Noah Roper, 6 feet and 210 pounds with a pounding style. He gained 229 yards but transferred to the NCAA Division II Colorado School of Mines.

Another running back, senior Zack Bair, gained 400 yards but transferred to Robert Morris. That’s a Division I school in suburban Pittsburgh that went 0-11 and 0-5 during Big South Conference play in 2022.

Dartmouth has seven running backs in spring practice. Behind Jones there are juniors Joey Richmond, Tyler Green and Tevita Moimoi, sophomore Christian Benson and freshman D.J. Crowther and Desmin Jackson.

“They all bring something different,” said acting head coach Sammy McCorkle, who’s in that position while head coach Buddy Teevens attempts to recover from injuries suffered in a March 16 bike crash.

“If you can have a stable of those guys, you can spread the load out and keep them fresh and it gives you more offensive options.”

During roughly the last decade, Dartmouth has featured some dominant running backs. McCorkle said he wouldn’t mind having one again, but he also wonders how good stars like Nick Schwieger and Dominick Pierre could have been if there had been the depth to give them more breathers.

McCorkle characterized Crowther and Jackson as speed-first rushers like Jones and the rest as more likely to excel up the middle.

“I’m looking for mentality as much as anything,” the coach said. “Who really wants to be the guy with the ball in his hands as much as possible?”

Kicking things off

Dartmouth has other concerns besides running back, chief among them the placekicking area. Freelance writer Bruce Wood, who covers the program with his Big Green Alert blog, notes that when viewing the All-Ivy League results as voted upon by the coaches during the past decade, the Big Green has had the least success among its Ancient Eight peers at kicker.

The Big Green had to pull senior Ryan Bloch out of his planned retirement last fall and while he converted 7 of 10 attempts, his longest was only 32 yards.

There are no kickers participating in spring practice, but two are scheduled to matriculate later this year – North Carolina’s Owen Zalc and Wyoming’s Matisse Weaver.

“They’ll have to come in ready to go,” said McCorkle, who oversees Dartmouth’s defensive backs and specials teams. “Kickers are different than other positions, especially these days when they’re so specialized and prepped to play right away.”

Zalc is ranked 16th among current high school seniors by influential kicking coach Chris Sailer. Weaver attempted only four field goals last fall but starred as a defensive end for Lander High, which at roughly 500 students, is about the size of Lebanon High.

Catching up with the pros

Dartmouth is represented in both professional leagues operating this spring. Niko Lalos is a defensive end for the Seattle Sea Dragons (5-2) and has played in seven XFL games. The Ohio native has made seven solo tackles, 12 assisted stops and has four tackles for a loss.

Lalos played in six NFL games for the New York Giants during 2020 season, recovering a fumble and intercepting a pass. He’s also spent time on the Giants’ and New Orleans Saints’ practice squads.

Another one-time Big Green player, offensive tackle Matt Kaskey, is with the United States Football League’s Birmingham (Ala.) Stallions. The team is 9-1 and leads the South Division while outscoring its opponents by 65 points.

A taste of ‘Prime Time’

Although it’s not pro football, former Dartmouth defensive lineman Shane Cokes is drawing attention at the University of Colorado, to which he’s transferred and is playing for new coach Deion Sanders. The Buffaloes’ official press releases refer to the former NFL star as “Coach Prime”.

Cokes is a graduate student with two years of NCAA eligibility remaining. Colorado was last among Division I teams in sacks and rushing yards allowed last season.

Former Dartmouth players who transferred to other programs include tight end Zion Carter (Buffalo), offensive lineman Michael Flores (Old Dominion), cornerback Robert Crockett (Bryant), cornerback Tyron Herring (Delaware), defensive end Bobby Jefferson (Robert Morris) and defensive back Seth Verilus (Robert Morris).

Notes

The players and coaches were mixed together and then split into small groups at the conclusion of Saturday’s practice. They discussed such topics as which peer on the roster they admire most and why, and which teammate they would trust to “pack your parachute.” McCorkle said he got the latter idea from his daughter, Maddie, a former Hanover High sports standout who plays lacrosse at Duke… All Big Green players except quarterbacks are wearing padded helmet covers during Dartmouth’s spring drills. The lids significantly reduced concussions when NFL players wore them during 2022 training camps… Junior running back Tyler Green hails from Lenexa, Kan., a Kansas City suburb. The city of roughly 50,000 claims actor Paul Rudd and Wild West gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok as former residents… Jarrail Jackson, Dartmouth’s receivers coach from 2006-11, is currently the head coach of both football and baseball at Texas College, an NAIA Division I school east of Dallas. The Steers were 1-9 on the gridiron last fall, Jackson’s first at their helm, and haven’t won more than two games during a season since 2007. The baseball team entered the weekend 0-21 and had suffered 11 shutouts, including a 33-0 loss to Our Lady of the Lake.

Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.

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