Looking at the Big Green

Dalyn Williams is as good as it gets... and he stays healthy!  

My quicke-version, week-by-week look at Columbia’s 2014 opponents continues today with Dartmouth. I’ll be ramping up these quick previews in the coming weeks before I publish my complete predictions and outlook for Ivy Football two weeks before the beginning of the season.  

Dartmouth was one of my 2013 picks that I got exactly right. I expected the Green to make a move into the upper echelon with Dalyn Williams at QB, Dominic Pierre at RB, and a defense that was passable enough to protect the leads in most games.

As I expected, Dartmouth came in third and proved to be competitive against the co-league champions by surprising Princeton with a win in Hanover and only losing to Harvard in Cambridge by a field goal.

I believe Williams is the best overall QB weapon in the Ivies. What’s been most impressive to me is the fact that he’s stayed healthy for his first two seasons. Dual threat QB's usually don't last too long in this league. Now I think he’ll be even better this season.

There’s a lot of hand-wringing in Hanover about RB Kyle Bramble and whether he’s recovered well enough from injury to be a decent replacement for the graduated Pierre. But I don’t join in that worry, simply because Williams’ abilities are good enough to make almost any running back better as it is. Williams is the key to everything. 

The WR corps is also strong. Stars like Ryan McManus and Bo Patterson return, so does up-and-coming player Victor Williams.

Almost the entire Big Green O-line is returning for 2014, and that includes 1^st Team All Ivy Scotty Whitmore and Honorable Mention Sean Ronan.

In short,  I’m convinced this will be a very potent offense this fall.

Maybe the defense is the more questionable unit, but it’s not a problem child by any stretch. Dartmouth got a big boost from a pair of younger D-linemen last season in Cody Fulleton and Even Chrustic. They both made 2^nd Team All Ivy and are back for 2014.

The linebacking crew has some work to do to replace Michael Runger and Bronson Green, who both graduated. Runger was 1^st Team All Ivy and Green was Honrable Mention. But the staff is high on senior Eric Wickham, and juniors Zach Slafsky and Will McNamara.

The secondary also seems very solid. Stephen Dazzo and Vernon Harris both made 2^nd Team All Ivy and they come back. Garrott Wagoner is the big loss here, a 1^st Team All Ivy player who has graduated.

All of this makes Columbia’s Homecoming game prospects against Dartmouth looking pretty thin at press time.