Hanover
So who will be Dartmouth’s signal caller when Georgetown visits Memorial Field for the hosts’ season opener on Sept. 15? There’s a line of thinking that junior Jake Pallotta, last season’s backup, will ascend to first string, given that he’s familiar with the offense.
Might freshman transfer Jake Allen, who spent last season at the University of Florida, be the man? He’s got to learn the playbook, but his background excites many Big Green backers. Junior Jared Gerbino was a running star last year, and if he can prove that he can pass reliably, he could be the pick.
The dark horse? That’s sophomore Derek Kyler, who’s displayed scrambling ability and a bit of a gunslinger attitude since he arrived last year. There’s also a reserve quartet of Cole Douglas, C.J. Hadnot, Harry Kraft and Jack Alexander.
Allen, who decided in April that he didn’t fit with the offense of new Gators head coach Dan Mullen, stayed after practice on Sunday to work with Kraft and a receiver. He said in a humble tone that he intends to win the Dartmouth starting job.
“I wasn’t what they were looking for at Florida, and I was kind of in the dumps,” said Allen, who didn’t want to sit out a season to play at another NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision school. “The idea was if I’m going to go (the Football Championship Subdivision), why not go to a great academic school?”
Allen said his personal quarterbacks coach played at the University of Florida with Dartmouth associate head coach Sammy McCorkle and that receiver coach David Shula had connections at his high school, St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale.
“My idea of who I wanted to be in (high school) to now is pretty much a 180,” said Allen, who picked Dartmouth over Columbia. “I was thinking I needed to be a Heisman (Trophy winner) and a first-found NFL draft pick. Being at Florida opened my mind, and I realized there are people to meet and things to do outside of football. There’s more to life.”
Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens said the more-experienced quarterbacks are currently taking most repetitions but that the depth chart will soon take on sharper focus.
“We’re going to adjust it quickly because … we’ve got to figure out who’s one, two, three probably in a week,” Teevens said. Allen is “impressive throwing the football, but he just needs to learn our system and terminology.”
Dartmouth fans have to be wondering where Gerbino will fit. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound junior has the cut physique of a professional player and ran for 478 yards and seven touchdowns last season from the wildcat formation. However, he attempted only four passes, completing two of them for 21 yards.
Even a hint of becoming a dual-threat player could make Gerbino a truly devastating weapon. He’s also played some receiver at Dartmouth.
“He’s really throwing the ball a lot better and worked on it during the summer,” Teevens said. “He’s become a quarterback who can run, not a runner who can maybe or maybe not throw. The spring (practices) really helped and it’s making more sense to him. He’s going to be on the field in some capacity.”
Gerbino ran for 202 yards and four touchdowns during a victory over visiting Princeton in last season’s finale. Dartmouth was 8-2 overall and 5-2 in Ivy League play.
In news destined to make traditionalists utter happy sighs, Teevens said his team will wear only white helmets this season. During recent campaigns, the Big Green had three choices, black and silver among them. The coach said that after checking with player leaders, he used the trade-in on the black and sliver helmets to purchase 35 new ones made by a company named Vicis.
“They’re rated as the top ones around, and we wanted to work them in gradually,” Teevens said, noting that the new helmets cost $900 each, roughly $450 more than other those made by other companies.
The goal is to eventually have 90 of the Vicis helmets, but the cost makes buying more and having them painted prohibitive, Teevens said. Dartmouth will use the new lids for “frontline guys and those who may have concussive issues,” the coach said. Players may chose to wear a different brand if they wish.
Dartmouth lost starting kicker David Smith to graduation last spring, but newcomer Connor Davis, a 6-1, 175-pound Florida product, widened eyes on Sunday with his strong leg. Several balls landed on the roof of the soccer and lacrosse locker room pavilion.
“He’s got some punch, and he’s well-coached by his dad, Judd Davis, who was (the 1993) Groza Award winner at (the University of) Florida way back in the day,” said Teevens, mentioning the honor that goes to the country’s best placekicker. “His kicks get up quick and are gone. We thought he’d be capable, and the first day was impressive.”
Judd Davis played collegiately with McCorkle. Connor Davis was a 2017 first team all-state selection at Forest High in Ocala, Fla. Other alumni include former Boston Red Sox player Reid Nichols, NFL punter Rick Tuten and U.S. Olympic speed skater Erin Jackson.
Connor Davis was rated the No. 1 high school kicker in the country by the website Maxpreps in 2016. His father was cut by the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks in 1995.
“I would say that 95 percent of my coaching comes from my dad directly,” Connor Davis told the Gainseville (Fla.) Sun in 2016.
Notes: In recent years, Dartmouth has scrimmaged Harvard the week before its season opener. That won’t be happening this season, Teevens said, because of a change in NCAA rules. Asked if he might instead go with a full-contact intrasquad scrimmage, the coach said no. Big Green players have not tackled each other in practice since 2013. … Alexander, a freshman quarterback from Redondo Beach, Calif., missed practice with what Teevens said was a “stomach issue.” … The Big Green is looking for a starting tight end after senior Vito Penza required knee surgery two months ago for an injury suffered late in spring practice. … Teevens said the team is scheduled to practice on the grass surfaces of the Blackman Fields during the next two weeks. … Junior cornerback Tyler Addison, who played in eight games each of the last two seasons, primarily on special teams, isn’t healing well from a surgery and will likely miss the season. In addition, sophomore offensive lineman Hunter Ziegelmeyer has given up football.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.