Chris Jarmon Accepts Job with ESPN

We've been a little heavy with Chris Jarmon's goings-on lately, but man has he deserved it!  This past week, Chris accepted a job with ESPN, as a member of their Content/Production Associate Program.  Chris had an internship in a similar capacity this past summer and here are his thoughts on his first job:

I'll be starting out as a Production Assistant in ESPN's Content Associate Program at the Bristol, CT headquarters. This means I'll be working on various projects in the company's three main Production areas: Event, International, and Studio. My first assignment this summer is to help with ESPN's production of the 2012 EURO Cup in soccer. I really enjoyed my time there as an intern last summer, and I'm very excited for a new challenge.

Good luck Chris!

Blind Side Blog

Chris Jarmon '12 continues producing amazing work on his second blog, Blind Side Blog, about football's X's & O's with a particularly biased focused on line play!

Check out Chris' latest post about the Y-Stick concept and picking up blitzes and twists upfront:

When teams choose to use empty protection in the pass game, the offensive line is under more pressure than usual. Essentially, empty pro (also sometimes referred to as "big on big") is a pass protection concept that only involves the offensive line.

Most pass plays involve an extra blocker; teams either keep the running back or tight end in to pass protect (or have him at least chip a defender while leaving for a route), or motion in a slotted tight end to help out. There are plenty of creative ways to protect the quarterback on pass plays, but empty protection is by far the riskiest.

That's why it's nice to tie empty protection in with a good route combination that will come open early, especially if the defense blitzes. The Y-Stick concept is popular among Air Raid and Pro Style offenses alike, and it's a perfect match with empty pro. Let's take a look at why this is so effective:

Chris Jarmon Keeps Blogging!

Senior offensive guard Chris Jarmon is quasi-famous for his blog The D3 Experience where he wrote about playing small college athletics and his time at Grinnell, following his collegiate start at Colorado College.

Now Chris is at it again!  He's started a new blog, Blind Side Blog, where he'll analyze and dissect the game of football from a lineman's perspective.  For example, here's a part of his take on Monday night's BCS National Championship Game:

Everyone on the left side is still doing their job, but the right side is in DEFCON-1. The right tackle over-set his feet because he knew he had help to the inside, and he had to respect Hightower's outside rush speed. Now he's realizing his only help will come from the center, and the help won't make it in time. Jefferson has the bubble open, but it's well-covered and won't get enough yards for the first. He's looking for something deep to come open, but there isn't nearly enough time.

Pioneer Awards Announced!

This past Sunday night, the 2011 Grinnell Pioneer football team gathered together for one final time at the team banquet. Along with great desserts (provided by Missy Dostal) and some bad jokes, the 2011 Pioneer football awards were announced.

Dick Ullrich '33 Award (Most Valuable Offensive or Defensive Back): Robert Seer '12

Abe Rosenbloom '34 Award (Most Valuable Offensive or Defensive Lineman): Chris Jarmon '12

Steve Kriegel Award (for dedication, desire, and determination): Ryan Creps '12

Troy Barboza Award (Most Inspirational): Tom Brinkman '13

Offensive Backs/Receiver Player of the Year:  Robert Seer '12

Defensive Backs Player of the Year:  Drew Blumberg '13

Offensive Linemen of the Year:  Chris Jarmon '12 and Morgan Kinsinger '14

Defensive Lineman of the Year:  Tom Brinkman '13

Special Teams Most Valuable Player: Max Jacobson '14

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Isaac Chadri '15

Defensive Rookie of the Year: David Ternes '15

Following the most successful back-to-back campaigns since 1999-2000, the Scarlet & Black are poised to make another jump into the very top of the MWC in 2012.  We open on September 1st, 2012 versus Carleton College!

Go Pioneers!

Chris Jarmon Named All-Region!

Pioneer left guard Chris Jarmon ’12 has been named to the D3football.com All-West Region Team.
Jarmon, from Boulder, Colo. (Boulder), was a third-team selection.

He was earlier named to the All-Midwest Conference Team for the second time while anchoring an offensive line that passed for more than 3,000 yards, second-best in the league.

Jarmon was also recently named to the Academic All-District first team and selected as a candidate for the National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Award.

Seer, Jarmon, Taylor Named All-MWC!

Three Grinnell College players have been named to the 2011 All-Midwest Conference Football Team.
Earning second-team honors were wide receiver Robert Seer ’12, left guard Chris Jarmon ’12 and defensive end Brian Taylor ’13 .

Seer (left), a three-time All-MWC selection, established Grinnell career records for touchdown receptions (46), receptions (232) and receiving yards (3,262) while tying the school mark for receptions in a season (84). In 2011, he ranked second in the conference in receptions and scoring (108 points) and was fourth in receiving yards (1,152). For his career, he ranks in the top five in the MWC in four categories.

Jarmon (center) is an All-MWC selection for the second time in his career. He anchored an offensive line that passed for more than 3,000 yards in 2011, second-best in the league. Jarmon was recently named to the Academic All-District first team and was selected as a candidate for the National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Award.

Taylor (right) ranked fifth in the conference in sacks with seven, and was sixth in tackles for loss with 11.5. He was also among the top 20 in tackles with 68. Taylor had 3.5 sacks in a game against Lawrence University, just a half-sack shy of the Grinnell school record.

See the official MWC release here.

Jarmon and Blumberg Named Academic All-District!

Grinnell College safety Drew Blumberg ’13 and left guard Chris Jarmon ’12 have been named to the District 8 NCAA Division III Academic All-District football first team.

The award is presented by Capital One and the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). By being named to the first team, Jarmon and Blumberg are eligible for Academic All-America honors.

Jarmon is an English major from Boulder, Colo. (Boulder) with a 3.68 GPA, while Blumberg is a biological chemistry major from Bishop, Calif. (Bishop Union) boasting a 3.75 GPA.

See the official Capital One release here.

Grinnell Loses on Road, Seer Breaks Two More Records!

Some days just aren't your days.  This Saturday was one of those for the Grinnell Pioneers.  Facing the 2nd best team in the conference on the road, certainly proved a tough task, but everything that could go wrong did, and the Scarlet & Black fell 48-16.

Robert Seer '12 hauls in one of his school record catches

Senior wide receiver Rob Seer '12 continued his assault on the Grinnell record books, vaulting into the top place all-time in receptions (223) and receiving yards (3,144) to go with the career receiving TDs (42) record he overtook two weeks ago.  It's now without doubt, that he is the most prolific wide receiver in Pioneer football history!  Congrats Rob!

Kelsey Davis ’12 and Colton Feller ’14 both had 12 tackles to lead the defense, while Brian Taylor ’13 added 10 tackles with 2.5 sacks and a safety.

Brian Taylor '13

Max Jacobson '14 blocked yet another PAT attempt, making it the fourth PAT or FG attempt he's prevented from going through the uprights this season tying the Grinnell single-season mark.

Grinnell falls to 5-4 overall (4-4 in MWC) and plays host to Carroll University (6-3, 5-3 MWC) this Saturday for the season finale and Senior Day at Rosenbloom Field!  Hope to see you there!

Players of the Week:
Offense - Morgan Kinsinger '14, Chris Jarmon '12, Quinn Rosenthal '14
Defense- David Ternes '15
Special Teams- Seth Gustafson '14
Practice - Harnak Mann '14

See the official game story here.

2011 Senior Profiles: Chris Jarmon

Each week this season we will highlight a member of our 2011 senior class, up next is senior offensive guard, Chris Jarmon!

Name: Chris Jarmon
Hometown: Boulder, CO

High School: Boulder High
Major: English

Why did you choose to attend Grinnell?
I was in the second semester of my Freshman year at Colorado College when the Board of Trustees decided to drop our football program. It was a painful time. I knew that I wanted to continue playing football, so I visited several schools to consider transferring. The guys on the team at Grinnell were absolutely amazing and I knew I wanted to be a part of this family. I still miss my teammates from Colorado College, but transferring here was the best decision I've ever made.

What is your favorite Pioneer football moment?
Beating Monmouth last year, 17-15. I had come from losing programs in high school and at Colorado College, and this game was the first time where I was on a team that said, "We're not putting up with losing anymore." I'm incredibly proud of helping to start a winning tradition here.

Plans after graduation?
I've worked at NFL Films and ESPN the past few summers, so I'm definitely looking to get into sports media after I graduate.

Favorite Professional Sports Team:
If they're from Denver, I love them.

Favorite Division I team:
Colorado Buffaloes

Favorite Song/Book/Movie/Food:
"Way Back Texas" by Pat Green/The Holy Bible/Rudy/The 14" Buffalo Wing sub at Deli Zone

Favorite Course at Grinnell:
Coaching Methods with Coach Professor Hollibaugh 

Interesting facts about you:
My blog about playing football at Grinnell has been featured in Sports Illustrated's "Campus Clicks" section three times.

Chris Jarmon Named as Candidate for NFF Scholar-Athlete!

Chris Jarmon '12

Selected as one of the best and brightest on the gridiron, Grinnell College left guard Chris Jarmon ’12 (Boulder, Colo./Boulder HS) has been named a candidate for The National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Award.

Candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.

Jarmon is one of 127 candidates representing all levels of NCAA football, and one of only 30 from NCAA Division III.

Read the official MWC release here and see the official NFF release here.

Chris Jarmon '12 Is Back To Blogging!

Grinnell College's own, Chris Jarmon, has been running his blog site, The D3 Experience, since he started his college football career at Colorado College.  Since transferring to Grinnell, he's continued to provide insightful, humorous, and fresh material.  His latest post, published last night, talks a bit about his summer internship at ESPN and about the start of his senior season...

I said goodbye to the wonderful employees and fellow interns at ESPN on August 5th, and the following Monday I started driving back to Iowa for camp. I was overjoyed to see my teammates again, since they are what makes the game of football truly fun.

Read the full post here.

The D3 Experience!

Check out Pioneer offensive lineman, Chris Jarmon's latest entry in his blog, The D3 Experience.

While it was certainly fun spending winter break not studying, exploring my meathead side at 24-Hour Fitness and dreaming about waffle crisp, I missed my friends and my teammates here at Grinnell. It’s good to be back in the swing of things, hanging out with people and simply enjoying the time between my various other collegiate commitments. The spring semester has always been one of my favorite times in college, because you spend more time bonding with your teammates off the field. I’m enjoying this offseason as much as I can, because the time I spend with my team is starting to run out.

The D3 Experience!

Junior offensive lineman, Chris Jarmon, writes a very popular blog entitled The D3 Experience that he started when he was at Colorado College.  Obviously, Chris' loyalties have turned in favor of the Scarlet & Black and we couldn't be happier to have him as a leader and a player for us.  Not to mention as a fellow blogger he's a pretty entertaining and informative writer.  Enjoy Chris' latest post and please check out all his previous work on his site.

The D3 Experience

Media Day

Before our scrimmage on Saturday afternoon the local media came out to interview and take some candid pictures of the players, some of which resembled some of the classic poses like this:

It was a beautiful day and we got some great and memorable pictures!

Junior linbacker Ryan Creps

Junior running back Nick Hinojosa following the lead block of junior guard Chris Jarmon

                                          

And the best looking coaching staff in the country!

Bradley & Boehm Named All-MWC

Junior linebacker Marquis Bradley (Wichita, KS/Independent) and senior defensive back and return specialist Ryan Boehm (Iowa City, IA/City High) were both named to the All-Midwest Conference Second Team on Wednesday. The Pioneers also had three players recognized as All-MWC Honorable Mention: Sophomore receiver Robert Seer (Saukville, WI/Port Washington), sophomore offensive lineman Chris Jarmon (Boulder, CO/Boulder) and junior safety Marc Heronemus (Topeka, KS/Topeka).

Congrats to all five players! The honor is certainly well received in each case!

To read the Grinnell release please go here.

Road Trip!

We are leaving within the hour for our second overnight trip this fall, this time to Jacksonville, Illinois, home of the Illinois College Blueboys. After a four-plus hour bus ride, we'll get some dinner at the Olive Garden, go to the hotel where we'll meet briefly and then get a good night's sleep before tomorrow's game. It should be a good contest, and another challenge for us as defensively we face a pretty good aerial attack and will start our freshman quarterback for the second straight game.

For those of you who don't regularly check the links on the right side of this page, please check out Chris Jarmon's personal blog about being a Division III football player. He started the blog when he was a player at Colorado College and has continued writing about his experiences since transferring to Grinnell this year. He's a great writer and offers up a great perspective on the game at this level.