Detailed Look at the Final Scrimmage
HANOVER (Sept. 11) – Unless they are played as regular games – and that means tackling – statistics from scrimmages are more representative than realistic, if that makes any sense.
Ballcarriers in non-tackling scrimmages believe they have been whistled down too soon. Pass rushers are annoyed they aren’t credited with a sack when they whiz by the quarterback. Drives may start arbitrarily at the 25- or 35-yard line and two-minute drills force incompletions to stop the clock.
All that was in play Tuesday during Dartmouth’s final intrasquad scrimmage, which is by way of saying the statistics below should give you an impression of the afternoon but not a completely accurate picture of the action. That said, here are the leading numbers compiled by your correspondent sitting in the stands. (Worth noting is that top receiver Paxton Scott, starting tailback Q Jones and kicker Owen Zalc were among the prominent players who did not participate.)
PASSING
Jackson Proctor: 12-of-15, 107 yards, 1 TD, 1 int
Woods Ray: 13-of-19, 118 yards, 1 TD, 1 int
Grayson Saucier: 9-of-12, 74 yards, 1 TD
RECEIVING LEADERS
Christian Benson: 5-59
Grayson O’Bara: 4-27
Remington Gall: 3-40
David Haughton: 3-30
Chris Corbo: 4-21
Ky’Dric Fisher: 2-69
RUSHING LEADERS
Christian Benson: 4-23
Dylan Elder: 9-16
Jackson Proctor: 3-12
Here are highlights from the scrimmage drive-by-drive, starting with the first drive, which began at the minus-25:
• Proctor hits all five of his attempts with a long of 13 yards to Corbo after a terrific ball fake. After a third-and-10 completion to Nick Lemon gains just five yards Davis Golick’s punt is downed inside the 20.
• Ray goes 4-for-5 with a long of seven on a third-and-four pass to Benson that probably would have been negated by a sack. The seven-play drive is stopped near midfield and left-footed punter Luke Armistead hits a 47-yard spiral.
• A fumble on a handoff is nearly recovered by Jordan Washington, who after a scrum scoops-and-scores for a TD. Julian Coviello boots the PAT.
• Saucier goes 1-for-2 for four yards but the offense goes three-and-out.
• Under heavy pressure from Josiah Green, Proctor throws the ball away only to have Green credited with a sack. On a third-and-15, O’Bara collects a pass on the left side and with a juke the brought roars goes for 17 yards and a first down. Great coverage that forces Proctor to run for two, a Green “tackle” at the line and an incompletion lead to a short Armistead punt.
• A third-and-eight completion to Ian Scott for six yards highlights a three-and-out followed by a strong Davis punt.
• What looks like a Cam Lee sack comes off the board because of a penalty and after a flag on the offense freshman Noah Trigueros completes a short third-and-four pass to Fisher that the freshman carries for 48 yards before he’s brought down by Jorden Barnes. Elder gets the touchdown on a three-yard run and Coviello adds the PAT.
• A drive from the minus-25 opens with Kyle Meier running for two yards in the wildcat. On a second-and-10, Ray hits Jonathan Nelson for 12 yards and a first down. Lee has a big hit and a pass breakup before the drive bogs down at the minus-36. Armistead follows with a 39-yard punt.
• Proctor is at the helm as the offense takes over at its own 45 with 35 seconds left in the half. He throws the ball away when no one is open on first down and then hits O’Bara for five yards. Time out. The QB then runs for five yards and a first down. After downing the ball to stop the clock Washington either does or does not interfere on a pass breakup. With six seconds left Proctor finds Haughton for six yards to the 34 setting up a 51-yard Matisse Weaver field goal attempt that has no chance against the wind.
• Saucier is at the controls for the final drive, another 35-second bid from the minus-45. He hits big Remington Gall for back-to-back four-yard gains on the right sideline before finding Jackson Namian for eight yards and first down at the plus 39 with 21 seconds left. Safety Harrison Keith follows with a pass breakup and safety Carson Franks ends the bid with another at the goal line.
Second Half
• After short gains on back-to-back runs Proctor puts the ball in the air and Christian Harris makes the interception.
• Ray is nearly intercepted by Keith on first down then has a receiver drop a pass before hitting Scott for 11 yards and a first down. After a Nico Schwikal sack and a short run by Colin O’Garro, Ray drops back and while running toward the line of scrimmage launches a 32-yard pass to the corner of the end zone that is brought down in traffic by the 6-foot-5 Gall above the defense. Weaver shows off his leg, booting the PAT from 50 yards out, this time with the wind.
• On first down from his own 35, Proctor and the offense go right while Benson sneaks out left for a 35-yard connection. Proctor goes 4-for-4 on the drive capped by some slick ball handling by the QB that helps free up Corbo for a three-yard TD catch. Coviello adds the PAT.
• Another Meier gain of two yards on the wildcat opens the next drive. Scott makes a nice catch from Saucier on a 16-yard gain and puts the ball right on Fisher for a 20 yard gain. On second-and-10 Saucier swings a pass out to Roper, who shows some serious moves for a 15-yard TD. The PAT is not actually kicked.
• Trigueros completed an 11-yarder to James Elliott for a first down on third-and-seven from midfield. Meier hits his first pass for three yards before his incompletion on fourth-and-three ends the drive at the plus-43.
• A 1:45 drill from the minus-30 opens with Ray stepping up to find Haughton for 10 yards on the first play and O’Bara for five on the next snap. A 14-yard completion to Haughton and a 13-yarder to O’Bara help move the ball to the plus 22 before Franks ends the afternoon activities with a deep interception.
Coach Sammy McCorkle comparing the second scrimmage with the first of the preseason:
“It was good. I think the communication was much better, not as many mental busts, especially up front with the D-line and O-Line. We were hat on hat. We're doing a good job of knowing what we're supposed to be doing.
“We’ve just got to continue to get better on executing. We've got to finish. We have to continue to get better and there has to be a sense of urgency all the time. The most important thing is we came out clean (injury-wise).”
McCorkle on holding the scrimmage on the final Tuesday of preseason (next week is considered “game week”) instead of two days late on Thursday, as in the past:
“We've always done a little bit later but we wanted to do it earlier this year so if there are any bumps and bruises, or anything that comes up, you give yourself ample time to get those guys back and ready to play on Saturdays, when it counts. I also thought it allowed us to kind of do a little bit more stuff.”
McCorkle on holding an intrasquad scrimmage instead of scrimmaging Harvard as they have in the past, or playing the Middlebury junior varsity:
“Not really (would he want to play an outside opponent). When I was a high school coach the kids wanted to play jamborees and scrimmages and stuff. But you end up spending about four days trying to prepare for that. Even though you don't want to, you don't want to ever show up and not give your best, so you prepare for them. So I think that does shorten your preseason a little bit because you are trying to prep for that team as you get ready to play them. So I'm fine the way we are doing it.”
McCorkle on the scrimmage format with seven officials, the coaches in headsets, the scoreboard and clocks running and even the officials announcing a TV timeout:
“We're trying to simulate as much as we possibly can what a game is like. We have a lot of experienced guys, but we also have a bunch of new young guys. We want to replicate as much as possible so when you go out there on game day, you've rehearsed it.
“Because of the new rule about iPads, I took the TV timeout to give our coaches time to go over on the sidelines and, one, figure out how to use it. I'm not naming any names but some are a little quicker than others. (Laughs)
“And two, it helps us see how the operation happens on the sideline with the iPads. How do the coaches utilize it with the players? And how can the players learn from them?”
McCorkle on whether he saw one of his players celebrate a highlight play by throwing the ball in the air instead of getting it to an official, something that may draw a flag in a real game:
“Yes I did see it. We have a lot of young guys but it’s like we always say: Act like you've been there before. For some of these guys, it's their first touchdown as a college player. But they have to get it out of their system now. That’ll be the last time you see it.”
McCorkle on starting quarterback Jackson Proctor:
“In the past he might have forced things trying to prove himself, but now he knows he doesn’t have to. So he’s calm and in complete control out there. I thought he looked good and threw it well. He had that one pass he’d like to have back, but he knew he shouldn’t have thrown it and won’t do it again.”
McCorkle on if he has chosen which of his sophomore quarterbacks (Ray and Saucier) will be the primary backup for Proctor:
“No, not yet. I think those guys are going to be ready and they know that. I feel confident, and the staff feels confident in both of them. If either of those guys has to go in, they'll be ready to play.”
On 6-foot-3, 225-pound Kyle Meier, who looks like a cross between graduated tough-as-nails running quarterbacks Nick Howard and Jared Gerbino:
“Nobody’s allowed to call him Howard or to say 17. He’s his own guy. We’re doing a lot of different things with him. He can do all kinds of stuff. We’re moving him around a little bit, so that can be a little overwhelming. But he just has the mentality and the composure to handle that. We're taking it nice and easy with him but he's definitely a guy that there's a place for him for sure.”
McCorkle on whether that means this fall:
“Potentially.”
McCorkle on a breakout day by receiver Remington Gall:
“He’s a good, long guy, a big target, and I’m happy for him. He's been through so many different injuries and whatnot. He just keeps battling back.
“Anytime that you can take advantage of his size, you want to find a way to get him a ball. I think he’s a huge asset for sure.”
McCorkle on senior Christian Benson, the 5-6, 190-pound whirling dervish who showed he can be dangerous running the ball and receiving it:
“CB has had a really good preseason. He knows what the heck to do. He's like the big brother in that running back room. He has very good awareness, good feel, and I tell you what, he does a good job of setting the guys up. You kind of lose him. That's the advantage of being his size. You lose him in that pile and all of a sudden he pops out to the edge. He's a tough one to locate and he's done a great job.”
McCorkle on several other receivers who caught his eye:
“I thought Ky’Dric Fisher stepped up and had big catches for us, which is great for him. EZ, Ian Scott, made nice catches. Grayson O’Bara is Grayson O’Bara.”
McCorkle, who would name every player on the team in true Buddy Teevens fashion, asked to cite just a few who he noticed:
“On the line Dakota Quiñonez was winning up front. Zyion Freer-Brown at linebacker. Sean Ward at tight end has had a real good camp. On the o-line, Cam Davenport is a big boy, a good player who is starting to figure it out.”
BGA Final Thoughts:
Jackson Proctor seemed in total command as the starter. Clearly, the experience he has had the past couple of years combined with the confidence he has after completing 74.5 percent of his passes splitting duty last year has paid dividends. We didn’t get to see him run much but there aren’t many questions about that ability for a QB with touchdown runs of 64 and 78 yards in his career. Both sophomore QBs threw the ball well and it will be interesting to see if and when Meier mixes in.
The young receivers look dangerous and that group will only get better with the return of Paxton Scott. Gall could be a game-changer if they finally take advantage of his height and jumping ability.
Corbo is another big target at tight end and while Ward wasn’t as involved in the pass game as he might be during the season, he could be a weapon as well.
The O-line did not look at all like a unit that lost two players to the transfer portal (Ethan Sipe to Virginia and Nick Schwitzgebel to Butler). Make no mistake Delby Lemieux is the real deal at tackle.
On the D-line, Josiah Green looked like someone who could contend for the Bushnell as the league’s defensive player of the year.
McCorkle mentioned Freer-Brown but Cam Lee seemed to be all over the place at linebacker.
Ditto for Tyson Grimm at nickel and Carson Franks and Harrison Keith showed up at safety. Even with all-everything Sean Williams seeing limited action, the secondary looked solid.
Competition will help the punting improve and Andrew Belles was seamless as the new long snapper.
ON TAP
After a recovery day, the Big Green will conclude preseason with practices Thursday and Friday before morphing into game-week mode ahead of the Sept. 21 opener with 0-2 Fordham.
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