HANOVER — A cursory glance at the Dartmouth College football team’s preseason scrimmage might yield the conclusion that the Big Green’s defense is far more ready for the season opener than the offense.
But defensive coordinator Don Dobes, leader of a unit that is replacing eight of 11 starters after ranking fifth in the Football Championship Subdivision in total defense and third in scoring defense in 2021, does not quite see it that way.
“We’re very much in a growing process,” Dobes said. “Our lack of experience is a major concern to us. The tough thing is you can get a certain amount of experience here on the practice field, but a lot of your growing experience happens on game days. We’re trying to speed it up as quickly as we can.”
The Big Green kicks off the new season by hosting Valparaiso on Saturday at Memorial Field.
Defensive performance can be difficult to gauge in preseason practices and scrimmages, where tackling is nominally prohibited, although many players found it hard to stop themselves from wrapping up the ballcarriers on Thursday. Particularly when the second- and third-string units were on the field, the defense routinely broke through the offensive line and forced the quarterback out of the pocket.
Dartmouth returns one starter from each level of the defense — lineman Shane Cokes, linebacker Marques White and safety Quinten Arello, all seniors. But three fifth-years also have significant experience. Lineman Luca Di Leo also saw action in all 10 games last year, linebacker Joe Heffernan made three starts in the second half of the season and cornerback Robert Crockett III started the final game against Brown, making a career-high eight tackles and breaking up a pass.
“(The scrimmage) was great because it was a simulation of what we’re going to be doing a week from now,” head coach Buddy Teevens said. “We’re getting close. Monday, we should have (the defensive depth chart) all nailed down.”
Several defensive players showed the ability to cause disruptions to the offense on Thursday. Heffernan recorded a sack, as did freshman linebacker Thaddeus Gianaris, and fifth-year linebacker Alex Schmidt came close on a couple occasions. The play of the day on defense belonged to junior safety Cam Maddox, who snagged an athletic interception of junior quarterback Dylan Cadwallader.
“I was happy with the guys up front. We had a really good push,” Dobes said. “Our angles in pursuit were good. For the most part, our coverage was good and we were right on people. I didn’t see too many mental or major errors, so I was pleased with that. Our conditioning has to improve; our ability to tackle in space and our ability to get off blocks are the key things we’re going to have to work on.”
Howard showcases arm: Perhaps the biggest storyline coming into the season for the Big Green is senior quarterback Nick Howard’s ability to handle a much bigger passing workload. Splitting duties with Derek Kyler last season, Howard was Dartmouth’s leading rusher but threw the ball just 18 times.
He equaled that total in Thursday’s scrimmage, completing 12 of his passes for 93 yards. His best throw of the day came on the first series, a dart over the middle to fifth-year tight end Joe Kramer for a 24-yard pickup. With a clean pocket, Howard connected with senior wideout Jamal Cooney on a similar pattern later in the game for 16.
“He’s got a presence about him,” Teevens said. “He loves to compete, he loves to win, and it’s inspiring to see a quarterback with kind of an aura and a little bit of electricity. With the inexperienced offensive line, that’s critical.”
Cadwallader, the projected No. 2 quarterback, is just back after recovering from COVID-19 — part of an outbreak that swept through several players and coaches, including Teevens. He completed nine of his 15 passes, including a 29-yarder to junior tight end Nic Sani, but also threw the game’s only interception.
The only touchdown pass of the day came from sophomore Jackson Proctor, with sophomore receiver Remington Gall making an acrobatic catch in the end zone.
“(Gall) is a get-up guy,” Teevens said. “He’s tall, he’s lean and long and he has a great presence with the ball in flight. He’s missed a lot of football, but the more he gets, the better he looks.”
Kicking competition heats up: With senior Cameron Baller out for the year, fellow senior Zach Drescher entered the preseason as the Big Green’s only healthy kicker. Drescher made both his field goal attempts in the spring game but had not attempted a kick in a real game, so Teevens brought back senior Ryan Bloch, who was 2-for-3 on extra points a year ago.
Bloch, an environmental engineering major, was uncertain about returning to the football team this year, but Teevens convinced him, and each kicker attempted three field goals Thursday. Drescher was short on a 43-yarder on the first drive of the game, but converted from 43 and 42 later on. Bloch made a 19-yard chip shot on his first attempt and a 44-yarder late in the first half, then missed from 45 on the final series.
“They haven’t been kicking long, but they stood up and whacked it pretty good,” Teevens said. “We’re capable, and now we have two of them. We feel a little bit more secure with that.”
Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.