The Proving Grounds
Just three months from today, Columbia's football training camp will begin at the Baker Athletic Complex.
It's a significant date, because the incoming 34 new players appear to have the best chance of becoming starters compared to any other incoming new group in a long time.
The positions that seem most up for grabs are OL, RB, WR, and DB. I think it's almost guaranteed that one or two freshmen will crack the two-deep at just about every one of those slots.
But one position where there seems to be no chance of freshman involvement is kicker/punter.
Unless there's a kicker in the 2-3 incoming freshmen we still haven't heard about, there is no such player in the class of 2016.
That would usually be an issue of concern, but the Lions have a whopping 5 K/P's on the roster, (and QB Andrew Weiss can punt in a pinch too).
Paul Delaney seems to have the punting job all sewn up, while I still think Luke Eddy has the best leg as a placekicker Columbia has had in a long time.
But I expect to see some fierce competition for the kicking job this summer, and hopefully that will bring out the best in this very deep unit.
Special teams generally hurt the Lions the last few seasons, and that needs to change. Improving an offense and a defense is a lot harder than fixing special teams... generally. It's a quick way to give Columbia a new edge.
2 comments:
Any chance Coach M takes the team "out-of-town" for preseason camp .... like in the old days ????
Not in a million years... the coaches are pretty happy with the way the new field turf has made it so much easier to train and practice on the home field.
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