HANOVER – Urgency.
If there’s one word Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle stressed to his team throughout the spring and the preseason, that was it.
McCorkle didn’t have to mention it to his players on Sunday afternoon.
It’s what they were all about.
“We’re into our regular schedule now, so when we are out here on Sundays during the season it’s usually lighter," he said. "It was a little different today. This was a longer one. Still, classes start tomorrow and we wanted to get guys out of here, so we needed to be efficient and we really were.
"The guys did a really good job getting out there on the field, lining up and hustling back. Every time I looked up at the clock we had time left in the period. Sometimes it was two minutes. That’s good work.”
In fact, there were still five minutes left on the scoreboard clock when McCorkle blew the whistle and ended the practice.
MORE THAN THE FIRST WEEK OF THE SEASON
For much of the time since McCorkle arrived in Hanover in 2005, the first day of classes was actually after the first game. A change in the calendar several years ago moved classes up, which is why McCorkle took time Sunday to make essentially the same spiel to the team at their post-practice huddle at midfield that his mentor Buddy Teevens used to make on the eve of the start of the academic year.
“I told them to make sure you get your butts up, get a good breakfast, sit in the front row like we always tell them, and introduce yourself to your professors,” McCorkle said. “And they’ve already been doing that. I’ve received a number of emails from people who speak highly about the way our guys are representing themselves on campus.
“Hats off to our first-years. They had orientation and I’ve heard multiple times about the way they represent us. They know what our standard is and they’re living up to that standard.”
GAME WEEK IN A NUTSHELL
Big Green freshmen had their first practice on Aug. 22 and have gotten into something of a routine over the ensuing 23 days. With the preseason over, that routine now changes.
For the uninitiated, here's how practice will run day-by-day now that game week has arrived:
“On Sunday after a game, we’re normally out here in just helmets, if even that. Monday is a day off. No meetings. No anything. They can come on down and watch film on their own, but the NCAA rule is that you’ve got to take a day off from football and for us that's Monday.
“We’ll be back out here in full pads on Tuesday and Wednesday. We’ll get after it and be a little more physical. Then on Thursday, we’ll go just in ‘uppers,’ and that will be a heavy, heavy day for special teams and ‘team period’ stuff.”
Friday’s schedule differs for home and away contests.
“If we’re traveling," McCorkle explained, "we’ll either load up the buses and leave early in the morning and stop somewhere halfway, usually at a prep school, and do a walk-through. Or we’ll do a walk-through here before we leave.
“If it’s a home game, we’ll do our walk-through out here in the afternoon.”
GAME WEEK MAGIC
It’s always interesting how players who have been battling nagging injuries suddenly feel ready to go once game week comes around.
McCorkle snickered a bit when asked about that and, not surprisingly, avoided mentioning any names. But he admitted there can be something to game week magic.
“You said it, not me,” he said with a laugh. “But yeah, it’s definitely game week. Guys who had a little bit of this or a little bit of that are finding their way back into more of the rotation and getting more reps.
“But,” he cautioned, “it’s that fine line. You’ve got to be smart, but at the same time, those guys you need have got to be out there ready to go.”
OF FRESHMEN AND THE DEPTH CHART
McCorkle continues to play it close to the vest with his two-deep. “We’re just about there,” he said, repeating a line he used several times last week before adding, “We’re pretty dang close.”
As for freshmen, he wasn't making any promises but was willing to toss out the names of a few first-year players under consideration for a seat on the bus this Friday.
“I could potentially see (running back) Jacob Henry making the trip and helping with special teams,” he said. “(Defensive back) James Rush could help with special teams. (Linebacker) Gavin King could help us with our depth. That’s what a lot of first-year guys do, but they also help us in the special teams aspect.”
SATURDAY’S MOCK GAME
If you read the previous BGA Overtime story, you know Saturday was all about what McCorkle termed a “dress rehearsal.” Virtually every aspect of a game day was practiced on a day without a real practice.
Any hiccups?
“It went well,” McCorkle said. “A lot of it out here was special teams things. The biggest thing was making sure guys were prepared for all different scenarios. It was good.
“Something we did bring up was communication, communication, communication and making sure that was working. It was a very beneficial day for our guys, and us as coaches.”