Game-Changers on the Field: Examining the Impact of Dartmouth’s Elite Football Stars

College football has its share of legends, and every school has names that are remembered fondly. Among the Ivy League, you don’t always hear about Dartmouth football first, but there have been a few stints where players fought hard and earned their place in history. Today, we can honor three Dartmouth heroes who helped establish periods of Dartmouth football excellence: Reggie Williams, Jay Fiedler, and Dennis Durkin.

Reggie Williams was an absolute legend at Dartmouth. He played from 1973 through 1975 as a linebacker, and he racked up accolades the whole time. He was on the All-Ivy First Team three different times. Two years in a row he was selected for the All-New England and American Football Coaches Association All-American teams.

He was a shoe-in to join the Dartmouth Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame, and with so many achievements, it’s no surprise that he also had an excellent career in the NFL. He was selected by the Bengals in the third round of the draft. During his tenure, he went to two separate Super Bowls. He also set Cincinnati franchise records with 16 interceptions and 23 fumble recoveries over the course of his career.

Jay Fiedler is good company for Reggie Williams in a discussion of all-time Dartmouth greats. This quarterback graduated in 1994. During his time at Dartmouth, he was named the Ivy League Player of the Year in 1992 and set multiple passing records for the school.

After graduating, he moved to the NFL and had to fill some of the biggest shoes in history, replacing Dan Marino with the Dolphins. Fiedler played for Miami for 5 seasons and amassed more than 11,000 yards and 66 touchdowns. He eventually left Miami with a 36-23 record.

Rounding out a trio of legends is Dennis Durkin. It’s not often that kickers make their way into discussion like this, but Durkin earned it in spades. IN 1992, he went 13 for 13 kicking field goals. That was enough to earn him a spot on the First Team All-Ivy and the First Team AP All-American. No one denies that his incredible skills in the position helped Dartmouth dominate the Ivy League during his career.

After college, Durkin did not go into the NFL. Instead, he got an MBA from Harvard and found incredible success as a businessman. Working for Microsoft and then Activision Blizzard, he helped carve the way for the entertainment divisions of those companies and helped build what is now a multi-billion-dollar industry.

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