Cottrell, a native of Somers Point, N.J., has always had the FCS on his radar. In his senior year of high school, he considered universities with reputations for both strong football programs and academic traditions, looking specificlally to the Ivy League and institutions such as Lehigh University and Colgate University.
"The obvious reason [for looking at Ivies] was that I could get a top-notch education while still being able to play a varsity sport," Cottrell said. "A friend of mine's older brother played at Princeton, so I had the Ivy League in mind."
After coming to Hanover for his official visit, Cottrell fell in love with Dartmouth and knew that it was the school he wanted to attend.
"I came up for my official visit weekend and committed on that Sunday," Cottrell said. I just saw myself with the guys on the team and knew this was the place for me."
After not seeing much time on the field his freshman year, Cottrell played in all 10 games his sophomore season. He ended the season with 38 tackles and valuable on-field experience.
Cottrell emerged as a dominant defensive force and a feature player for the Big Green during his junior season. He led Dartmouth's defense with 95 tackles, coming up fourth in the Ivy League. He was tied for the team lead in tackles for loss with eight and was second on the squad with three sacks. His play earned him an honorable mention for the All-Ivy team.
Cottrell only continued to get better over the course of the 2007 season. As the co-captain, he led the team by example: Cottrell led the Ivy League with 10.8 tackles per game, which ranked 10th in the FCS. Cottrell's four-year total of 243 tackles has placed him 13th all-time in Dartmouth history. In addition, Cottrell led Ivy League linebackers in interceptions with three. Cottrell's outstanding season was rewarded with FCS All-American honors
"It's a great feeling," Cottrell said. "This is something I haven't just been working towards for the past four years but my whole life, and it's a great thing knowing all those years of hard work paid off."
Twelve players from the Ivy League, including Cottrell, received honorable mention All-American honors . Harvard earned four, Yale had three. Brown had two, and Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth came out with one each.
Only two players from the Ancient Eight were named All-Americans, Yale running back Mike McLeod and Harvard cornerback Steve Williams.
After his standout career at Dartmouth, Cottrell hopes to take his athletic prowess to the next level. Since the Dartmouth season ended, he has been training in hopes of earning a roster spot on a professional team next season.
"Right now I'm training and working out with our strength coach, Dan Nichol, to get in the best shape possible," Cottrell said. "Hopefully by the end of February or beginning of March I'll be going to some pro days. We'll see what happens, but I'm trying to play."
Although the common view of the FCS is that it does not provide the competition or training to allow many players to make the professional leagues, Cottrell disagrees.
"The number of guys coming out of the subdivision is increasing," Cottrell said. "There are a lot of guys beginning to come out of the sub-division and it gives the league more credibility. It helps open doors for guys like me."
After an impressive season and a productive off-season, Cottrell is highly optimistic about his chances of playing at the next level.
"I think I have a good shot," Cottrell said. "It'll come down to how I test, but I'm confident in my ability to play at the next level. I really think I'll end up catching on with a team."
While it appears that Cottrell won't be hanging up his spikes in the near future, he is sad to leave the Dartmouth football team.
"[I'll miss] just being in the locker room day in and day out with some of [my] best friends and all the camaraderie that you build being on a football team together," Cottrell said. "The shared experience of playing four years of college football is something that I will look back on forever."
