Hobart College seniors
CJ Calero and
Kyle Spano were inducted into the National Football Foundation's Hampshire Honor Society. The society recognizes college football players from all divisions of play who have completed their playing careers and maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or higher.
This year, the Society's 16th, 1,559 players from 313 schools qualified for membership. Since the program's inception, the initiative has honored 14,640 student-athletes.
Since 2008, 66 Hobart football seniors have been inducted into the Hampshire Honor Society.
Calero is an economics and international relations double major. He is a Melly Scholar and received the 2021 Arnold Memorial Scholar-Athlete Award. As a senior, he earned a spot on the Liberty League All-Academic Team.
A linebacker, Calero appeared in 13 games during his Hobart career, including 11 this past fall. He missed his entire first-year season due to injury. Recovered, he made his Statesmen debut in 2019, recording seven tackles in a 33-7 win over Brockport. Unfortunately, he suffered another season-ending injury a week later and the pandemic forced the cancelation of the 2020 season. Calero made the most of his senior season, recording 62 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
Calero was named the Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week for his role in Hobart's 10-9 win over RPI. The Engineers came into the game undefeated and ranked 23rd in the nation, but were limited to just 145 yards, more than 200 yards under their season average. Calero recorded six tackles and blocked an RPI extra point attempt that would have tied the game at 10 with 3:39 remaining in the game.
Spano is a sociology major. He is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and a three-time Liberty League All-Academic pick. He was a recipient of the Arnold Memorial Scholar-Athlete Award in 2020.
In three seasons, Spano appeared in 18 games. The defensive lineman recorded 42 tackles, 7.5 for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He posted all five of his sacks as a sophomore and notched a career-high 19 tackles as a senior.
Spano made a career-high six tackles against Brockport in his Hobart debut in 2018. He logged five tackles in his final appearance for the Statesmen, a 21-3 win at Westminster (Pa.) in the 2021 ECAC Asa. S. Bushnell Bowl.
In three seasons, Calero, Spano and their classmates led Hobart to a 23-8 record on the gridiron, going 9-2 in both 2019 and 2021. In addition to the ECAC Bowl, the Statesmen also won the 2019 New York Bowl at Cortland 30-10.
