• 72Aggie
    300
    Dartmouth is off to a 5-0 start and OC Kevin Daft is getting some good press:

    "Dartmouth (5-0) put on a clinic, as offensive coordinator Kevin Daft’s play-calling kept the UNH defense guessing for much of the game. The Big Green racked up 634 total offensive yards, the program’s most in at least 50 years. They also tied a program record with 32 first downs.

    Head coach Buddy Teevens was a little concerned that his offense got too conservative in last week’s win over Yale. He called Daft’s game plan Saturday outstanding.

    Fifth-year quarterback Derek Kyler agreed.

    'The play-calling was really good today. Coach Daft was in the lab all week. I thought it was a good selection,' Kyler said. 'I thought he was locked in. We were on the same page the whole time.' ”

    (You’ll get one free article…and then a subscription is required.)

    https://www.vnews.com/Dartmouth-College-Big-Green-Football-at-University-of-New-Hampshire-sports-42959462
  • AggieFinn
    418
    Good for Daft, great football mind.
  • movielover
    484
    He had to implement Gould's idea of running between the tackles all night. Ugh.
  • AggieFan81
    1
    Coach Daft is a solid coach. Great to hear this. One of his player
    Anthony Soto is having a lot of success as an OC at the DII leve. First at Notre Dame College in Ohio and now at Lenior-Rhyne University in NC. Go Ags!!
  • 88Aggie
    21
    Daft would have been a good choice for our OC after Plough left. Not sure Hawkins would ever replace his son, but if he did might be nice to bring Daft back.
  • Riveraggie
    209
    From his Dartmouth bio, a summary of the Aggies success under the prior regime:

    Daft spent five years on the staff at UC Davis, serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for his last four. In his final season, the Aggies averaged over 28 points and nearly 400 total yards — of which 238 came through the air. UC Davis also ranked 14th among FCS schools in fewest interceptions thrown (7) and 10th in fewest turnovers lost (13) under his guidance in 2016.

    The year prior, Daft’s offense was terrific at ball control as well, ranking second in the nation in time of possession and 12th in completion percentage (.645), not to mention fifth in red zone offense, scoring on over 90 percent of trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. His 2014 offense was also among the top 20 nationally in completion percentage (.644, 12th) and team passing efficiency (146.28, 19th). The top-two rushing totals at UC Davis of the past 14 years came during his watch as well.
  • Riveraggie
    209
    Two things

      why would Daft make an entirely lateral move?
      We’re averaging almost 35 points per game and are third in the country in first downs.
  • movielover
    484
    To get close to family and build on a UC pension?

    Your implication is sound - HC the next move?
  • DrMike
    649
    .I would imagine an Ivy pension is as generous as UC and it would be (like UC) driven by years of service.

    Daft is a Sochor guy - he might be liking no spring ball, just like his mentor. Teevens is 65 and maybe getting close to retirement - Daft would be a logical successor.
  • 72Aggie
    300
    There is a famous early U.S. Supreme Court case concerning the Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution as it applies to Dartmouth's charter.

    "Generations of Dartmouth students will have at least some familiarity with the 200-year-old case thanks to the oft-quoted words of Daniel Webster, Class of 1801, spoken during his argument on behalf of the College’s trustees: 'It is, sir, as I have said, a small college, and yet there are those who love it!' " https://250.dartmouth.edu/highlights/dartmouth-college-case-decided-us-supreme-court
    Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 518 (1819)

    A friend of mine who is a Dartmouth alum has quoted that line to me more than once.

    Hanover is a cold place in the winter, but it is a lovely part of the country. And, "New Hampshire has no income tax on wages and salaries. However, there is a 5% tax on interest and dividends. The state also has no sales tax."

    I recall hearing Socher say that he would love to see some football games with Ivy League schools. Cost was probably a deterrent to that hope.

    Finally, based on an early season match, Dartmouth has a better field hockey team than Davis.
  • Zander
    180
    Though I understand Daft is not entirely to blame for the offense under Gould, I don't think it should be forgotten that he was a key staff member, arguably THE key one after the HC himself, during the objectively worst stretch of UC Davis football history in decades. And where we were particularly plagued by utterly predictable and stale playcalling and bad clock management.

    It looks like he's rebounded and found a good gig at Dartmouth, and if that leads to an HC job there or a bigger OC job elsewhere that's great and he can continue to spread Aggie Pride and Sochor's legacy there. But building a winning culture at Davis means that our AD has to emphasize that performance matters when hiring and especially re-hiring people, so I'm hoping that Daft makes his way elsewhere for a few years. I don't feel bad saying this because it doesn't look like he'll be short on work anytime soon.
  • 88Aggie
    21
    I hear what you're saying. I heard that Gould recruited well but for some reason it just wasn't working. Dan seems to have changed the overall culture and that must have a lot to do with our success even more so than the offensive or defensive schemes. Gould preferred a run game and I am sure Daft had to create an offensive plan to that was skewed to run even though Daft was a QB and most likely would have liked to pass more. I doubt coming back to the same job at UCD is in the cards for Daft, but throw it out there as something that would be nice. Daft is a former UCD guy which I think is nice if you can get it. He might like working at his alma mater but I am sure he is looking for a head coach job as his next move. UCD could be considered a move up though since the Ivy's don't participate in the FCS championship. He could get more exposure with us than Dartmouth assuming we are playoff bound regularly going forward.
  • movielover
    484
    It doesn't work when high school coaches are correctly predicting play calling in the stands. He decided not to use our talented tight ends and Dalton Turay so we could play the Stanford offense.
  • Riveraggie
    209
    Dartmouth lost 19-0 to Columbia today.
    Funny coincidence that Dartmouth uses two quarterbacks, one a runner. But he’s a big guy.
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