51 DAYS UNTIL THE SPRING GAME!!!
The Lions need more than just one WR to step up and move up to the next level this fall.
But this is familiar territory for Columbia, which has really been struggling to shore up its receiving corps since Austin Knowlin '10 graduated.
Knowlin was originally one of Norries Wilson's recruits for UConn, but he had the grades to move along with him to Columbia when Wilson got the head coaching job here during the recruiting process.
Knowlin was Columbia's last great wide receiver, and the best one of the last 25 years. His dominance of the record books tells you all you need to know about that.
I don't think the Lions absolutely need a Knowlin-quality receiver to succeed this fall, but they will need to create a series of viable new targets for QB Sean Brackett.
The 2009 Columbia receiving corps could be a decent blueprint to follow. That was Knowlin's senior year and he was a devastating weapons even though his stats, (fewer than 600 yards receiving), were
deceivingly low.
But the key additions that year were juniors Andrew Kennedy '11 and Mike Stephens, along with another senior in Taylor Joseph '10 who fulfilled his freshman year promise after somewhat quiet sophomore and junior seasons.
Kennedy was the biggest addition. He had played a decent amount his first two years, but he really broke out in '09. He continued on that trajectory to have an even better year in 2010.
Rising junior Hamilton Garner may not be as talented as Kennedy was, but he could end up meaning just as much if not more to the Lions offense in his final two seasons.
Yesterday, I looked at the WR's and I still think Louis DiNovo, Connor Nelligan and Dan Slivka have the best chances to start this fall. But the really good news is that none of them needs to be as good or productive as Knowlin to make the Lion offense go further and faster in 2012.
Consider the stats from 2009, a season when the Lion offense was pretty good despite a rash of terrible injuries. Knowlin had 587 yards receiving, Joseph 343, Kennedy 316 and Stephens 310.
I know it's not easy, but is it impossible to conceive that a typical pass-heavy Pete Mangurian offense can't generate three or four players to put up similar stats? Garner is already a 300+ yard receiving TE,and how much of a stretch would it be to see DiNovo, Nelligan or Slivka crack the 500 yard mark?
I'm going to keep the focus on receiving for awhile because Mangurian's track record really shows a favoritism for passing and not just because he had a super-sized all star like Joe Splendorio when he
was at Cornell.
With all the questions we have at RB and on the OL, I think the issues we have in the passing game seem minor in comparison.
And as one reader has already mentioned, there's a chance Mangurian will abandon the spread and put Brackett under center this fall. I can only hope that happens as I was not a fan of the spread, especially in "and goal" situations where we just gave ourselves five more yards to move every time.
The fact remains that we just don't have the horses to use a "ground and pound" offense right now. I expect to see a lot of passing beginning with the spring game just 51 days from now.
The Baker Boys?
Speaking of that, spring practice figures to be a very brutal testing ground for the returning veterans as Mangurian is obsessed with fielding the toughest team possible even if that means thinning the
ranks considerably.
Will it be as tough as Bear Bryant's infamous "Junction Boys" summer of 1954?
No.
Ivy League rules and the Geneva Convention won't allow that.
But it could be something of the Ivy equivalent. I hate to say it, but it will probabaly be wise to check the roster page on a daily basis to see who the survivors are.
For those who do stick it out, the immediate reward will be knowing that Mangurian will basically revert to almost no-contact practices when the season starts.
But that will only be after what will be another brutal training camp in August...
8 comments:
Even when Marty Domres was 4th in the nation for passing yardage in 1968 (playing only 9 games), Columbia finished the season with a 2-7 record. That season, Columbia had the most potent passing offense in the league. His primary recievers (Wazevich, Werner and Carey) caught between them 110+ receptions. The primary reason for the lack of wins was the lack of a running game.
I don't have a problem with a "pass-happy" attack, especially considering the fact that we have an very experienced/good QB and (potentially) a pretty good crew of recievers. Despite that, if we want to be competitive this season, we need to run the ball effectively on 3rd and short, AND play solid defense. This past season, we could not do either.
Coach M has lots of work to do this Spring and Summer. I am hopeful, and can't wait for the 2012 season to start !!!
Domes was not a running threat. Brackett when healthy is a terrific runner. What I want to see is a defense which can get off the field. We will score enough points to win. Where we fell short was in our inability to stop other teams from converting on third down. In my opinion we did not have the DL and LB strength to pressure the passer, and we were a poor tackling team on the run game.
The word on the street is that practices during the year will begin in the early early morning and conclude in the late late morning. Can anyone confirm the schedule?
While DiNovo, Nelligan and Slivka played last year, with both a new offense and new position coach, will the coaching staff be looking for other skills than these young men possess. Will more blocking ability or speed be more important? Do others possess these skills more than the three mentioned? Will having two tight ends (ala NE Patriots) be deployed (we know we have two very good TE), thus decreasing the number of receivers?
Until we see what the offense will be, except for the offensive line and quarterback, we are all speculating. It is fun, but likely far from the eventual reality.
How about running the wildcat and splitting out Brackett and see if we can get him the ball in space? Prince, Goings and the incoming QBs may have run/pass capabilities that can open up the offense even more.
I like the idea of early morning practices, but what about class schedules?
I have a hard time imagining that anybody can demand the same level of physical and mental toughness that was required to play defense for Coach Ferrari 4-6 years ago.
It is good to get rid of the weak and the poison who get in the way and hold the team back but you don't want everybody on your team banged up going into week 1. But hey, I guess that coaches should know how to balance this and that is why they get paid the big bucks.
Read the story on Coach Toal at Don Bosco in The New Yorker a few months ago if you want to read about tough practices. It probably scared Fordham off.
I think Mangurian also said contact during the season will be very light, so he'll beat them up in camp, get them in shape, then let them stay fresh during season. I am good with that.
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