2018 Record: 0-9
2019 Projected Record: 1-8
Projected offensive starters (*8 returning)
QB – Brendan Costa ’21*
RB – Jaason Lopez ’21*
RB – Liam Spillane ’21*
WR – Christian Olivieri ’22
WR – Jackson Hayes ’22*
TE – Isaiah Saunders ’21
C – Jack O’Brien ’20*
LG – Phil Simplicio ’20*
LT – Matt Flanagan ’20*
RG – Nick Florio ’22
RT – Julian Nicolas ’21*
Projected defensive starters (*8 returning)
DB – Jon Lindgren ’20*
DB – Connor Hunt ’21*
CB – Devin Clyburn ’21*
CB – Owen Straley ’22
ILB – Pete Daley ’20*
ILB – Zach Doyon ’20*
OLB – Mike Bulman ’21*
OLB – Liam Greene ’21*
DL – Ramon Ruiz ’21*
DL – Shane Collins ’21*
DL – Jack Ryan ’22
Projected specialists (*2 returning)
K – Simon Redfern ’22
P – Tyler Bridge ’23
KR/PR – Milan Lemon ’21*/Jon Lindgren ’20*
Offensive MVP: RB Jaason Lopez ’21
The Bobcats made the switch last season from the triple option to the spread, moving away from the run game to favor the pass. This change, in fact, moved Bates from first in the NESCAC in rushing yards in 2017 to last in the league in rushing yards in 2018. This is quite a dramatic change – and serves to show that in order to throw the ball you have to be able to run it, too. Lopez saw some action as a freshman in 2017 and did not disappoint, posting a season total of 98 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on just 13 carries, while catching 15 passes for a team-high 288 yards and 3 touchdowns as well. Last year Lopez saw action in just 2 games while battling injury and not getting a ton of touches. The junior is finally healthy this year and is ready to lead a strong and experienced backfield coming off a down year on the ground. If Lopez can have a breakout year then it will give Coach Patterson an entirely new tool to work with on offense in just his second year with the team.
Defensive MVP: DB Jon Lindgren ’20
Last year I wrote all about how Lindgren got snubbed from the 2017 All-Conference teams despite leading the league (by a large margin) in pass break ups and being top-10 in tackles. Well he followed that up with another outstanding year in which he led the league in solo and total tackles and finally received the All-NESCAC recognition that he deserved (we can talk about how he should have been first team instead of second team another time). The senior captain has improved every year and will lead a relatively experienced Bobcat defense in its second season under Coach Hall. Last year the defense had several games in which they played very well in the first half but spent too much time on the field and were overwhelmed by fatigue late in the second half. With that experience under their belt and some help from the offense, this unit is poised to have a much-improved year. That certainly won’t happen without Lindgren leading the way.
Biggest Game: November 2nd, 5:30pm vs. Bowdoin
When you go winless one year, it’s hard to argue that your biggest game the following season isn’t against the team that only won one game the prior year. It’s also no secret that the CBB games are particularly important to the Maine schools, so Bowdoin checks both of these boxes. Throw in the fact that it’s their only night game of the season and it’s at home late in the year and this one is definitely a winner. Bates had a few close games last year and even led at halftime on several occasions, but if they can’t beat the team that finished one place ahead of them a year ago then it’ll be very difficult to get out of the cellar in 2019.
Best Tweet:
This is a quality tweet because it shows not only that the Bates football coaching staff knows what GIFs are, but that they know how to use them correctly. It’s always exciting to land a prized recruit, particularly one from a historically successful football state like New Hampshire.
Everything Else:
Coach Hall and the rest of the coaching staff got their feet wet in NESCAC football last year during their first season in Lewiston. An 0-9 season is not what they were hoping for but hey, there’s nowhere to go but up right? They now have a their first official recruiting class on campus and they’re familiar with the ins and outs of the 9-game NESCAC season. Fortunately they return lots of key personnel on both sides of the ball, as well. Brendan Costa ’21 returns under center behind an offensive line that has quite a bit of experience under its belt. In fact, the starting five offensive linemen have played in a combined 62 games in their careers, so experience is certainly not an issue. Costa has a number of receivers to throw to, including sophomores Jackson Hayes ’22, Christian Olivieri ’22, and Derek Marino ’22, juniors Isaiah Saunders ’21, Parker Smith ’21, and potentially any of the exciting freshmen that Coach Hall brought to Lewiston in his first recruiting class. They even have a sneaky red zone threat in RB Christian Sanfilippo ’21 to work with as well.
On the other side of the ball the Bobcats return one of the best safeties in the league in Jon Lindgren ’20, but they also return Devin Clyburn ’21 and Connor Hunt ’21 in the secondary as well. At linebacker they bring back 5th year senior Pete Daley ’20, Zach Doyon ’20, David Campbell ’21, Mike Bulman ’21, and Liam Greene ’21, while Ramon Ruiz ’21 headlines a mostly-returning defensive line as well. It’s clear that there is a plethora of age and experience in this lineup. These guys have almost all been through two or three full seasons of college football, so they know the grind. The coaching staff is settled in and they have a battle-tested lineup so all the pieces are in place for a turnaround from last year. There are definitely opponents on their schedule that they can beat and they showed flashes of what they were capable of last season, but we’ll have to wait and see if they can put it together for 60 minutes to get back in the win column.