HANOVER – An indelible memory from the 2018 Dartmouth College football season is that of tight end Jake Guidone juggling what, after several touches, became a touchdown reception at Cornell.
The 6-foot-3, 275-pound sophomore had been used primarily for his blocking prowess and had practiced mostly at his natural position of guard. This was the second time in as many receptions that he’d scored, however, and he and his teammates were delighted.
Flash forward to Tuesday’s spring practice opener on Memorial Field, and big No. 72 was working exclusively with the tight ends.
Seems those scoring strikes got his coaches to thinking.
“He’s a hybrid, but he did a very good job at the tight end position, so right now we’re going to work him there,” said head coach Buddy Teevens, noting that the move gives some other young linemen more practice repetitions. “He can easily move inside, but this will polish and expand his role as a tight end. He can catch, and he’s a force.”
Guidone possesses the athleticism of a much smaller person but blocks like he’s 300 pounds and, despite his gregarious nature, plays with a mean streak.
“He’s raspy, nasty, salty, all those adjectives,” Teevens said with a grin. “Once he gets on the field, it’s Jekyll and Hyde.”
Guidone’s former linemates feature only one player with starting experience — senior guard Zach Sammartino. Losing four starters from one of the best such units in Dartmouth history will no doubt be a challenge, but this isn’t coach Keith Clark’s first rodeo.
“He does as good a job as anyone I’ve ever been around in developing offensive linemen,” Teevens said. “We’ll have a group that can play, and we’ve got good depth. These guys can run.”
Clark said Guidone knows line play well enough that it freed him to learn the intricacies of tight end. The coach said Guidone’s crushing blocks on opposing defensive ends were a huge part of Dartmouth’s offense last year, and his skills can make its young line better.
“All through the Dalyn Williams years, the one thing we didn’t have was a tight end who owned the edge,” Clark said, referring to the former star quarterback who led the Big Green to a share of the 2015 Ivy League title. “That’s how you beat Harvard, how you beat good football teams.
“(Guidone’s) learning curve is steeper at tight end, so we don’t want to do what we did last year, which was dabble in him playing there and then fully commit him later.”
Guidone said precise route-running on passing plays is his biggest challenge and that he’s “in the fog” a bit with the various details and terminology. He’s fine-tuning his catching, although it wasn’t bad to begin with, coming off high school days as a basketball center and baseball first baseman.
“Reading coverages and changing routes, I’ve never seen that stuff before,” said Guidone, who played in all 10 games last fall. “I have to get better at every aspect of both positions.”
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Help Wanted: Dartmouth must replace six starters on offense and five on defense from a team that finished last season No. 15 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision coaches poll. All-Americans Matt Kaskey, an offensive tackle, and Rocco Di Leo, a defensive end, are prominent among the losses.
Running backs Rashaad Cooper and Miles Smith have exhausted their eligibility, as has standout nickel back Kyran McKinney-Crudden and the surly offensive line brother duo of Patrick and John Kilcommons.
Chief among the returnees are quarterbacks Derek Kyler and Jared Gerbino, who split time under center. Three of the top four receivers return in Hunter Hagdorn, Drew Estrada and tight end Connor Rempel. Offensive lineman Zach Sammartino, linebacker Jack Traynor and defensive linemen David Chalmers and Jackson Perry are each slated to receive a fifth year of eligibility and play next fall. All missed significant parts of previous seasons because of injuries.
An intriguing battle might develop for the placekicker’s job. Touted freshman Connor Davis made only six of 14 field goals last fall, so there will be three new prospects to challenge him come preseason camp.
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Notes: Dartmouth’s starting offensive linemen for one stretch of Tuesday’s practice included center Evan Hecimovich, guards Sammartino and Calvin Atkeson and tackles Donald Carty and John Paul Flores. … The Yale Bowl is getting artificial turf, leaving Brown as the lone grass holdout in the Ivies. … Safety Micah Croom worked part of Tuesday’s practice at receiver, and former reserve quarterback Cole Douglas has switched to that position as well. … Callie Brownson, last season’s offensive quality control coach, has been promoted to recruiting coordinator. She will continue to have on-field duties, Teevens said. … Former Dartmouth receivers coach Jerry Taylor, who departed for William & Mary before last season, is now at Columbia. … One of the Big Green’s freshmen next fall will be linebacker Patrick Wright, a Georgia product and a grandson of former college president James Wright. … Former Dartmouth defensive lineman Nick Tomkins is playing in France for the St. Ouen L’Aumone Cougars.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.