Spring is coming to a close and believe it or not, the next sporting event to take place on campus will be September 19, when the Big Green football team opens its 1998 campaign against Ivy League rival Penn.
The moral of the story? It's never to early to be thinking about football. And just as students are uncertain about fall housing and classes, Big Green head coach John Lyons has too many questions and very few answers after the conclusion of spring practice last week.
It seems that the success of the past three seasons has finally taken its toll on the Big Green, who are faced with the difficult task of reloading. The remnants of the 1996 squad that went 10-0 were good enough to finish 8-2 last season with the help of lady luck in a few of their contests. And now that the Class of 1998 leaves and takes its NFL defenders and offensive leaders with it, Dartmouth football finds itself in a transition period.
Perhaps it is the nature of football to ponder the future of a squad that is extremely unsettled at quarterback. But the Big Green have to replace more positions than just the signal-caller. The wide-receiver position took a large hit as did the defensive secondary. Combined with the uncertainty at quarterback, there are a lot of questions, but in the minds of Big Green faithful, there are also a lot of solutions.
The quarterback situation is the biggest trouble spot for the Big Green. Last year's backup Mike Coffey '99 entered the spring as the most probable successor and after 11 practices is still the leading candidate. But Lyons was not yet ready to name Coffey the starter for the opener against Penn.
"One of our main goals in spring practice was to finish this spring with a clear idea of who was going to be our quarterback, and that didn't happen," Lyons said. "Mike Coffey is our number-one quarterback based on his experience, but we are still undecided entering the fall. Nobody earned the job in the spring."
To his benefit, Coffey had a strong opening drive in the Green-White scrimmage, driving the first-team offense down for the score and tossing a touchdown pass in the best offensive drive of the day. But challenging freshman John Vogler, a tall and strong quarterback, provided the highlight play of the day with a strong 30-yard run that saw him bounce of tacklers before finally going down. Though Lyons said the coaching staff is evaluating all six candidates, it is almost certain one of those two will be in the lineup against Penn.
Lyons also noted that once a quarterback is chosen as the starter, he will be able to adjust to the role without having to constantly look over his shoulder.
Whoever the quarterback is, they will have the luxury of having a strong running game. Reggie Belhomme '00 enters the season as the starter and will try and build off of his 144-yard performance in the season finale against Princeton. Eric Davis '99 will be the other prominent back in the backfield, and may see playing time at fullback allowing him and Belhomme to lineup together in the same backfield. Along with defensive end Kyle Schroeder '00, Lyons listed Davis as one of the spring's top players.
"Eric Davis was one of the most pleasant surprises of our practices," Lyons said. "He ran really well and will get an opportunity to play as a result."
The success of Belhomme and Davis allowed Lyons to make the inevitable move of Dylan Karczewski '99 from tailback to wide receiver. Karczewski will battle for a starting spot with fifth-year senior Damon Ferrara '98, who was impressive in the spring game. Mike Poncy '00 will be expected to be the big playmaker at the wideout slot, but the Big Green must replace two starters at the wide receiving position.
Defensively, the holes to fill are in the secondary as three seniors, including captain Lloyd Lee '98, depart. To complicate matters, projected starters Brad Verber '99 and Tom Reusser '00 sat out most of spring practice with injuries. Both are expected back in the fall.
The front seven will be the strength of the defense. Steve Varney '00 demonstrated in the final two games last year that he has the playmaking ability of NFL draftee Zack Walz '98.Lyons pleasure with the play of Schroeder can only bode well for a defensive line that returns three starters from last year's sqaud.
"We spent the spring trying out some new schemes that may be better suited for this year's players, but hopefully we can continue to play our style of aggressive defense," Lyons said.
One of the biggest needs for the Big Green is to find a kicker. Alex Csizinsky '00 must team up with a new long snapper to replace Dom Lanza '98 for the Big Green to have success on the field goal unit. Punter Wayne Schlobohm'00 has been a standout the past two seasons.
However Dartmouth shapes up, they must do it quickly. When the team returns in August, the opener against Penn is just a couple of practice weeks away. Last season, it took a freak touchdown on a kickoff by kicker Dave Regula '98 to nudge the Quakers in Philadelphia. This year's game expects to be just as competitive.
"Opening with a league game, especially against Penn which has been one of the top teams recently, is a tough task, especially when you have so many question marks going in," Lyons said.
