Revisiting Receivers

COUNTDOWN TO SPRING GAME: 52 DAYS TO GO


Looking Far and Wide…

Columbia fans can’t complain about the sheer numbers when it comes to wide receivers. A nice total of 11 veteran receivers are currently on the roster and five incoming freshmen have playing experience as receivers as well.

That’s 16 players in all. They will now be vying for playing time from a head coach in Pete Mangurian whose key player during his only other stint as a head coach was a 6’6” WR who almost singlehandedly won games week after week.

That player was Joe Splendorio, and what Mangurian wouldn’t give to have someone like that on his side again!

The fact is the Lions need at least one of them to step it up this spring to create new confidence in the overall passing game.

To be fair, TE Hamilton Garner is most likely to be QB Sean Brackett’s leading receiver in 2012. His size, experience and talent broke out nicely in the 2011 season and Brackett and the new coaching staff are unlikely to abandon that.

Junior Louis DiNovo had an almost breakout season last year, and he needs to keep his upward trajectory going in spring practice.

But three players that I think really have a shot to jump into the starting lineup and identify themselves are legitimate weapons are Connor Nelligan, Augie Braddock, and Dan Slivka.

All three got some playing time as freshmen last season. The 6’3” Nelligan showed himself to be a speedster that the coaches wanted to use on obvious long passing and “Hail Mary” plays.
Nelligan’s heads up play against Albany earned him a TD after the Great Danes intercepted and then fumbled a Hail Mary pass at the end of the 1st half.

Braddock got most of his work as a punt returner, but has good speed. Slivka slipped in with the varsity almost unnoticed, but finished the season with a handful of receptions. He also has good size as he stands 6’3” as well.

I can’t remember any time in Columbia history when the team had not one, but two 6’3” receivers returning, and in this case they both have a great shot of being impact starters.

On the not-so-bright side, the receivers are still waiting for a new coach to replace Aaron Smith. Smith was exceedingly popular with the veterans and with just about a month left to go until spring practice begins, time’s a wastin’.

New Rules

The NCAA did indeed decide to move kickoffs up to the 35 yard line and touchbacks will now
come out to the 25. Of course the point of all of this is to cut down on the number of actual kickoff returns because of the very high rate of injuries that occur.

There’s no denying kickoffs are more dangerous than plays from scrimmage, but I hate to see such a fundamental aspect of the game slowly get erased. And this comes so soon after the 2007 decision to
move kickoffs BACK to the 30 in order to make kickoffs more exciting!

It would be hard to find a team that suffered more than Columbia from that rule change. The loss of Alex Gross '11 for the rest of the season on the opening kickoff of the 2009 game at Lafayette was devastating. In my opinion, the Lions would have gone 6-4 rather than 4-6 that season had Gross stayed healthy throughout.

As far as excitement goes, it’s been seven years since Columbia got a TD on a kickoff return. Prosper Nwokocha '06 delivered that score in a 23-17 win over Fordham in 2005 and it was truly the turning point of that game.

On the flip side, Cornell abused the Lions for a game-opening kickoff return for a TD in the Big Red’s 34-14 win over the Lions in 2007.

That’s the last time there’s been a kickoff return for a TD in any Columbia game.



                            

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