Thursday, October 19, 2017

Golden Arms, Solid Hearts



Anders Hill






                                                                      Jack Heneghan



The biggest single reason why both Columbia and Dartmouth are undefeated is the improved play from their QB's. You can look at the two players' stats from 2016 at the five game mark compared to where we are now in 2017 and decide for yourself who's made the more dramatic improvement:


Jack Heneghan Dartmouth

After five games, 2016:

113 for 196 (57.6%),  1,202 yards, 7 TD, 7 INT.

After five games, 2017:

85 for 131 (64.8%),  978 yards, 11 TD, 2 INT


Anders Hill Columbiau


After five games, 2016:

57 for 113 (50.4%), 604 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT

After five games, 2017:

103 for 162 (63.6%), 1,365 yards, 13 TD, 5 INT


And then there's the stuff that doesn't show up in the stats. Both QB's have led their teams to dramatic comebacks. Heneghan doing it against Holy Cross, Yale, and Sacred Heart, (the comeback win over Penn was one I'm going to say Heneghan had to share with wildcat QB Jared Gerbino who made the big plays on the ground including the gutsy game winning TD as time expired. Gerbino has been out with an injury ever since).

Hill has done it against Princeton and Penn, and also led the winning drive in what was a tie game against Wagner.

At this time last year, both QB's were still getting their feet wet and didn't really have a total grip on the starting job. Now, they're both their teams' undisputed leaders.

Speaking of that, in a podcast interview Wednesday Head Coach Al Bagnoli finally clarified exactly what happened with the CU quarterback job last season. Skyler Mornhinweg simply did not recover from his off season surgeries as well as anyone had hoped. His foot was not strong enough to give his throws the zip they needed. And it's important to note that Bagnoli said the injury really occurred when Mornhinweg was still at the University of Florida. Hill had to be hurried into a starting job he was not expected to have for another year.

Heneghan had to win out against a QB in Bruce Dixon who at least some of the Dartmouth faithful were hoping could be a clone of all-everything QB Dalyn Williams. Now Dixon isn't even a Dartmouth student anymore.

Oh, how things can change in a hurry.

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