Questions For Coach
HANOVER – You asked it, Sammy McCorkle answered it.
Here’s how the Big Green head coach responded after Sunday’s practice to questions you submitted on BGA the past several days. Both the questions and the answers are gently edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: It used to be that Dartmouth's future nonconference schedule was fully set, and available five years in advance in the press guide. The only noncon games we know about right now are New Hampshire and Central Connecticut in '27, New Hampshire in '28 and Towson in '29. What other games do you know of, and why the secrecy?
SM: Scheduling just isn’t done as far out as it used to be done. Some of that has to do with all the conferences changing or adding teams. A conference that has 10 or 12 teams has to play more league games. In addition to (the games mentioned above) I know one more team we have penciled in, but I probably shouldn’t say who it is, if it’s not confirmed yet.
Q: LIU beat Eastern Michigan, Bryant beat UMass, Holy Cross almost beat Northern Illinois and New Hampshire had Ball State on the ropes. You've had Dartmouth teams that could have beaten some of those FBS teams. I imagine your players would like the challenge and $350K or so would be a nice paycheck. What are the chances we can see Dartmouth play a game like that down the road?
SM: With us playing only 10 games and starting later than everyone else, that makes it difficult for teams to schedule us. Most (FBS) teams are into their league schedule by the time we start. And they have a number of games they have to play to be bowl eligible. But we’d love to have an opportunity to play a team at that level. It would be exciting if hopefully we can do that in the future.
Q: The FCS has approved in-helmet communication. Is the Ivy League using it this fall? If not, what arrangement is there going to be against a team like New Hampshire, which I would expect has been using it?
SM: We are using it. The last I heard, seven of the eight of us in the Ivy League were all set. I don’t know who the eighth is, and haven't heard if they have it by now. If we didn’t have it and UNH did, they would be allowed to use it. In other words, you don’t have to not use it, if your opponent doesn’t have it.
Q: You have two players from Germany, two from Nigeria, one from Hungary and one from Canada. Some coaches say an advantage of international players is they don't have as many bad habits on the field. Would you agree?
SM: Yeah, I do agree. They are athletic, but they’re raw and you can sculpt them the way you want. I think sometimes with guys who have played a long time, or are taught a certain way, it can be harder because they have doing it their way for so long. I think the one tough thing at times (with players from outside the United States) is the communication. The football verbiage. That's the one part some of our international guys take a little time to get used to. Their English is good, but the terminology, the actual verbiage of the game, can be an adjustment.
Q: How did you end up with so many players from outside the country? Do you see the international trend continuing?
SM: No doubt it will continue. For us, we’ve got a good connection, an alum who runs Gridiron Imports (Chris Adamson ’97) and he does a phenomenal job connecting us with those players. He specifically finds European players, and the goal is to get them in the prep schools, and then get them to Ivy schools. It's become a big thing, especially in Canada. I mean, you talk to a lot of the prep schools, like Rabun Gap down in Georgia. He's got a good number of Canadians. There’s a big pool of talented football players in Canada.
Q: Has the Ivy League decided on tiebreakers to determine which team gets the FCS playoff auto-bid in the event of co-champions or tri-champions?
A: Yes it has. It starts with head-to-head, and if that doesn’t work, we have three computer-generated (ratings) that the FCS uses including the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) and Sagarin. If it goes beyond that, it will be scores against common opponents. In that case, if there's a three-way tie, it would come down to scores against the fourth-place team.
Q: What was the most valuable lesson you learned from Buddy Teevens, both about coaching and about Dartmouth?
A: The importance of developing players. Helping a young man, not just football-wise, but in everything he does – which in the long run helps him become a better football player. Overall, I’d say Buddy helped me understand the culture he build here, how every little thing is important, and everybody in this community is important. He showed what Dartmouth and Dartmouth football can do to change an individual’s life.
Q: What has most surprised you since becoming a head coach?
A: What hasn't surprised me? Actually, you know what? Not too much. You always hear you spend a lot of time on non-football stuff. That's true. I wasn't surprised by it, but there really is a lot of other stuff that you're having to deal with on a daily basis. I was a head high school coach, so I had a pretty good idea of what that’s like. I was right there with Buddy for many years, so I kind of saw all the stuff that frustrated him, that he enjoyed, and all that. So I had a little bit of an idea. But you can think you know what it’s all about until you're actually in it. I like that there's never a dull day.
Q: We understand that the staff assists players in maintaining eligibility for a potential grad transfer season, but has the staff had to "re-recruit" underclassmen to convince them to stay at Dartmouth if they are hearing from other schools with NIL money?
A: We haven't really had many of those. Now that the COVID's over, we won't see any of that unless a young man was injured. I don't think we had to (re-recruit) anyone last year. But that’s not to say it won't happen. If it does, we'll have that conversation.
Q: Assuming players who grad transfer want to take part in spring practice at their next schools, are they taking extra classes during the winter and spring, or are they here for a summer session? Do you have players who are finishing their degree requirements this fall or winter?
A: They do try to get ahead. I don’t think we have any who are finishing this fall, but we will have guys that finish in the winter. Josiah Green did that last winter so he could get to Duke for spring ball.
Q: Dartmouth appears to be getting a larger number of commitments from recruits before their senior season in high school. I assume you and your staff encourage this. Does NIL and the increased churning due to the transfer portal play a role in this development? And how do NIL and the portal impact the overall recruiting process in the Ivy League?
A: I wouldn't say NIL has made a difference in that, but definitely the transfer portal has. It has really nerved up high school recruits. The fact is, high school recruiting has been cut in half because a lot of colleges, especially your power fours, are not taking nearly as many high school kids anymore. It's not about development at a lot of schools. Instead, they're taking transfers. So I think a lot of high school kids know they need to be ready to go early somewhere, because those offers aren't going to be there at the end. Everybody's going sooner, and the Ivy League is no different than the rest of the country. We've done a really good job here of getting in front of that.
Q: Outside of the Ivy League, what schools do you go up against most in recruiting? How do you do in those recruiting contests?
A: I'd say the academies. Air Force, Army, Navy. And we are starting to battle against the MAC schools more. A lot of that is financial. There is a huge different between a full MAC scholarship and having to pay here. But if the kids are full need, there’s no difference. So we’ve had some success beating out those schools.
Q: Keeping in mind you did not know they were coming and that these are off-the-cuff responses, tell me, who are maybe your two of three fastest players?
A: (Sophomore receiver) Luke Rives, for sure. He can fly. And maybe (freshman defensive back) Santino Ciccarelli, a 100-meter track guy.
Q: Who is your strongest player, pound-for-pound?
A: (Senior defensive lineman) Dakota Quiñonez.
Q: Who is your funniest player?
A: (Senior tight end) Chris Corbo. I don’t know if he means to be funny, but he’s right up there.
Q: Which player is most likely marry a movie star?
A: (Junior safety) Harrison Keith. Or maybe (sophomore defensive back) No’koi Maddox.
Q: Which player is most likely to one day be a movie star?
A: Grayson Saunier
Q: Which player is most likely to be elected president?
A: (Senior offensive lineman) Max Wentz. Or maybe (sophomore defensive lineman) Jackson Ashford.
#
How Was Your First Game-Week Practice?
McCorkle: “You could feel the vibe. The energy. We said it today, ‘This isn’t practice 19 in the preseason. It’s UNH practice one.'
“The guys are definitely in game mode. The focus has shifted to an opponent now. They know every day is another day preparing ourselves to play a very, very good football team and we did a good job of that today."
