Football's preseason doesn't officially begin until Aug. 24, but Robbins, Marcoux and Gay are among a handful of athletes who are preparing early for the fall season in order to acclimate themselves to a new offense, new training and a new team.
"We've been doing a lot of running and lifting and getting to know some of the guys up there," Marcoux said. "We've been drilling on the field, trying to build some sort of chemistry before the season."
His senior year of high school, Marcoux received national recognition as the winner of Fox Sports Net's reality show "The Ride," which earned him a roster spot in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, a showcase of talented high school football players from across the nation.
Marcoux said his goals for the team include winning an Ivy League championship and he cited the strength of the incoming freshman class as well as upperclassmen leadership as factors that will help bring the Big Green to the championship.
"I think we're capable of making that jump right away," he said. "There are some really good athletes here, guys that understand what it takes to win."
After Marcoux's impressive performance in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, a number of larger Division I schools contacted him. Marcoux chose to stick with Dartmouth, however, because of the academic opportunities that the College offers as well as the strength of the incoming team, he said.
"We are in the position to win games," he said.
At wide receiver and quarterback respectively, Robbins and Gay both bring promise to a team that will look towards its incoming freshman class to spark new talent.
Given the disappointing records of past years, the Big Green has a chance to start anew and has already jump-started its season to be as ready as possible for its competitors.
"The selling point when I was getting recruited here was that my class is going to be a group that really helps bring great honor back to the Dartmouth football program," Robbins said.
Robbins, who hails from Stanford, Calif., played for Menlo High School and received numerous recognitions during his standout senior year. After helping lead his team to the school's first Central Coast Section Championship game and posting 1,706 yards second most in the state Robbins was named on ESPN's CalHiSports.com All-State football team.
"It was a really great honor, and we worked very hard to do well senior year and I wanted to have the best year possible," Robbins said. "It was awesome and it only helped with trying to get yourself attention from colleges, and I'm really glad that it happened."
Garnering attention from Dartmouth was not daunting, despite the 3,000-mile distance from California, as Robbins was neighbors with Big Green head coach Buddy Teevens when Teevens coached at Stanford University from 2002-2004.
Already knowing the coach was a factor that encouraged Robbins not only to choose Dartmouth, but football in general, as his time on the Menlo baseball team also presented that sport as a collegiate option.
"All through junior and senior year, I started contacting Dartmouth for baseball and football, but I ended up wanting to stick with football," Robbins said. "It was easy to communicate with someone I knew and someone I trusted, so it made it easy to choose Dartmouth football."
Dartmouth will look to Gay as another of the team's new quarterbacks, along with Marcoux.
Starting football at the age of eight, Gay helped lead his team in Mill Creek, Wash., to two league titles in a row.
Losing only three games in those two years, Gay said he is excited to bring that winning streak to Dartmouth.
"I see it as challenge and exciting opportunity to bring winning tradition back to Dartmouth," he said. "Everyone is having more fun when you're winning. I'm really competitive and I want to try to bring that experience and winning tradition to football here."
The team lists five quarterbacks on its roster, where the rookies will compete for time alongside Conner Kempe '12, who started five games last season.
Expectations for this season's football results have risen with the likes of Robbins, Gay and Marcoux on the field, and when the team kicks off against Bucknell University on Sept. 18, it will start a season with new hopes and goals for the Big Green.
Staff writer Ann Baum contributed to the reporting of this article.
