Filmer Alex Odom Receives Fulbright Scholarship

Alex Odom '16 with Coach Roberts and Coach Blalock

Much of the reward of coaching at Grinnell College is the opportunity to meet amazing young people, the next generation of change-makers.  Fortunately for me, that is not simply limited to the football or track athletes I coach, but rather that includes almost every student I come in contact with.  Over the years we've been very fortunate to have great support and help for the football team, and one of those was Alex Odom, class of 2016.  Alex was a filmer for us her sophomore and senior years, missing as a junior while she studied abroad as part of the Grinnell in London program.  Shortly before graduation, Alex learned she would be returning to London, and Queen Mary University, as part of her Fulbright Scholarship.  Alex will be studying history for a year in London, before returning to the states to pursue her PhD in history at the University of North Carolina.  As I said, I'm fortunate enough to get to know our next generation of change-makers.  I can't wait to see the things Alex will do with her PhD, and the impact she'll have.  Read more about Alex below.

Congrats Alex!

Morrissette Recognized as Abe Rosenbloom Award Winner

Senior linebacker Barrett Morrissette was recognized as the 2015-2016 Abe Rosenbloom Award winner.  Barrett was announced as the winner at our postseason football banquet, but was also recognized at the Honor G ceremony during graduation weekend.

Barrett played running back for us for two years before switching to linebacker his junior year.  We had a need on our defense, and he filled it.  He played very well on the defensive side of the ball the past two seasons and was rewarded with a first-team all-conference selection and all-american recognition from the Collegiate Sports Network.  As pleased as I was to see him honored in such a way, I was even more pleased to see what type of leader Barrett became, and what type of student he turned himself into.  The best is yet to come for Barrett Morrissette!!

Congrats man, and good luck!!

Graham Fisher Named Theophilus '51 Award Winner

Tim Hollibaugh, Graham Fisher, Jacob Bernholtz, and Jeff Pedersen at the GOAL Ceremony

Pioneer punter/kicker and pitcher/first baseman Graham Fisher was named the David Theophilus '51 Award winner at the Honor G Ceremony this past Saturday.  Fisher graduated from Grinnell as arguably the best punter/kicker we've ever had, and he is certainly the most decorated.  He was named our special teams MVP three times, all-conference three times, Dick Ullrich Most Outstanding Back for 2015, and 2nd team all-region by D3Football.com.  He has received similar accolades for baseball as well: all-conference three times, South Division Pitcher of the year, and 2nd team all-region by D3Baseball.com

Congrats on the fine career Graham. Best of luck to you Fish!!

Ed Hardman Wins George B. Critchett '25 Service Award

Senior Ed Hardman won the George B. Critchett '25 Service Award for the men's teams.  Ed earned  twelve total varsity letters in his time, four each for football, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field.  Here are my brief remarks from the ceremony:

Ed is one of the more surprising athletes I’ve ever worked with.  From the first time I met him as a skinny sprinter from Chicago and he indicated that he also wanted to play football, to his willingness to shift from a 100-meter specialist into a 400 meter runner, to his “bulking up” to play linebacker, and finally to the mentorship role he played with our younger sprinters on both the men’s and women’s teams this year, Ed has been full of surprises.  If you know him well though, one thing that is not surprising is that he’s returning home to work as a teacher at a brand new Kipp School in Chicago.  They don’t know it yet, but those children have just won the lottery.  They could not be more fortunate than to have Ed Hardman as a teacher, mentor, and role model. It’s been a pleasure Ed, every step along the way, congratulations and best of luck!

Ed was also featured in the senior edition of the Scarlet & Black newspaper.  There is no online link, but you can read it below: 

Celebration Honoring Greg Wallace

The Grinnell College athletic community gathered this evening to honor Greg Wallace as he leaves the department and begins his new role working in our Office of Admission.  Wallace has been an integral member of our department since 1988, at various times serving as the head coach of baseball, football, and men's golf, as well as both the assistant director of athletics and the director of athletics.  He saw great success in all of his roles on campus, and his integrity and leadership will be missed.

Kind words in honor of Greg came from Dean of the College Mike Latham.  Former director of athletics Dee Fairchild, and recently appointed director Andy Hamilton were less kind!  They pulled no punches in roasting Wallace, to the delight of the crowd.

It will be tough to see Greg moving into his new role, but as the head football coach I am fortunate that my previous boss was my former head coach, and my new boss will be my former offensive coordinator!  The future looks bright!

Slager Honored as Les Duke First Year Athlete of the Year

First-year linebacker Ryan Slager was honored as one of the recipients of the Les Duke First Year Athlete of the Year awards at last night's GOAL ceremony.  A long time athlete and coach at Grinnell, as well as a member of our Hall of Fame, Les Duke was an all-conference football player and track athlete during Grinnell's time in the Missouri Valley Conference.  Each year we recognize four individuals with first-year athlete awards: male team sport, male individual sport, female team sport, and female individual sport.  Slager was the first football player recognized since Sam Poulos in 2012.

Asked to start at inside linebacker from day one, Ryan rose to the occasion.  Posting 18 tackles in his first game against Beloit, Slager filled a need for the defense immediately.  He followed that up with 11 tackles against Macalester, 13 against Lawrence, 13 against Cornell, 17 against Illinois College, and 19 against Knox.  He recorded15 tackles in the season finale, and finished the year with 134 total tackles, good for second in all of division 3!

Congratulations on the fine rookie season Ryan!

Welcome to the Maroons

Just announced yesterday, the University of Chicago will be joining us in the Midwest Conference as an affiliate member, meaning they'll be joining for football.  We're very excited to welcome the Maroons back to the MWC, as they were a member of the conference from 1976-1987.

For my part, I first broke into the coaching ranks as the wide receivers coach at the U. of Chicago for the 2002 season.  It looks like we'll get the Maroons on our schedule in 2019, and we'll head to the midway for the first time in 2020.  Can't wait!!

Four Named to National Football Foundation's Hampshire Society

Four Pioneers were recently named to the National Football Foundation's Hampshire Society.  Jacob Beecher, Ed Hardman, Sam Poulos, and Greg Ruzich joined an elite group of senior football players from across the country that were recognized for their outstanding academic record.  Two Pioneers earned the honor in 2015, and six in 2014.

 Jacob Beecher was able to balance a Biological Chemistry major and participation in two varsity sports, and still maintain one of the highest GPA's on the team (along with Greg Ruzich, he was a co-winner of our first annual outstanding student-athlete award).  Besides all that, Beecher was able to graduate a semester early, and has already been admitted to the Kansas City School of Medicine and Biosciences.

Ed Hardman has experienced similar success as a two-sport athlete.  Ed battled injuries his first two seasons, but earned a starting position on the defense as both a junior and senior.  Hardman also excelled on the track, owning all-time top 10 times in the 60 (#2 all-time), 200, and 4x200 indoors and the 200 outdoors.  Ed has already accepted a position with Teach for America, and will be working at a KIPP school in Chicago.

Sam Poulos finished his career as the first four-year starting quarterback since All-American Troy Dougherty graduated in 2000.  Sam is already in France, playing professionally for the Thonon Black Panthers.

Greg Ruzich has also excelled as a Biological Chemistry major.  Greg will ultimately attend medical school, but he plans to work as a medical scribe in a Chicago-area hospital before applying.

Huge congratulations to these four, and to all our graduating class of 2016!  I'll update the rest of the class as their post-graduation plans are finalized.