The Running Men

Brackett takes off


For the last two seasons, QB Sean Brackett has led the Lions in rushing.

That's total yards and total rushing attempts.

That's not good.

It's not that Brackett isn't a talented and exciting runner.

It's not that he can't sometimes take over a game with his feet.

It's just that running QB's get hurt. They always do.

Even Mack Truck QB's like M.A. Olawale '10 got hurt.

And last year, Sean Brackett was hurt... badly.

For just about 90% of the 2011 campaign, Brackett's shoulder - his throwing shoulder - was hurt badly and Columbia suffered as a result.

The problem is, the Lion running back corps just hasn't been able to provide a serious weapon or alternative to Brackett as a running option.

This is an issue Head Coach Pete Mangurian noticed right away and, as I reported several months ago, he is trying to remedy by using an H-back formation this fall.

Putting a big, tight end-sized motion back into the mix should provide a better push on the ground whether the H-back ends up carrying the ball, serving as an extra blocker, or acting as a receiving target.

It's a total mystery to me who is being considered for that H-back slot, but Columbia does have the best pass-catching TE in the Ivies returning this season in junior Hamilton Garner. 

At first, working out of a formation with fewer pure WR's made Brackett a little uncomfortable, but he has come around. And with the added threat of Nick Gerst or someone like him coming out of the backfield as a receiver, it's possible the passing game will not suffer in the slightest.

But that still brings us to the RB position and who will fill it as the starters in 2012.

The 20-25 carry per game RB has become an endangered species in the Ivies, and Columbia hasn't really had one since Ayo Oluwole '05 in 2003. I would be surprised if any of our current backs average more than 12-15 carries this coming fall.

The best news is that the speedy Gerst seems very well recovered after undergoing innovative hamstring surgery last year. But his best feature now seems to be as a receiver coming out of the backfield, a job he did not just well, but VERY well in the spring game. He seems like the leading candidate to play the role of Wes Welker in a Welker-like scheme Mangurian has been working on for the offense. And having his younger brother Mike joining the team this fall as a freshman seems like good karma for the season ahead.

Marcorus Garrett is also coming off injuries from 2011, and he must prove he can be more consistent if he wants to emerge as the lead ground option.

I thought Griffin Lowry did a great job as an emergency starter last year and I'd like to see someone with his size stay in the mix.

Alec Fisher and converted LB-to-RB Ben Walker are basically unknown factors right now.

That brings us to the incoming freshmen:

Mike Gerst 5-11 195


Cameron Molina 5-10 185 lbs.


Mike Zunica 6-0 205 lbs.

 I recently wrote that I thought Molina from Northern Virginia could be the best of the lot. He's one of those super athletes who seems to have flown under the recruiting radar for awhile. But at this point, it's too early to seriously handicap what we have from this incoming class of rushers.

Mangurian and OC Jaime Elizondo don't strike me as the kind of guys who will favor trying to force it by "creating" a 25-carry back out of nowhere. I expect the running to be done by committee and with a wide array of running plays.

But something has to be done to improve on an attack that averaged just 2.9 yards per carry in 2011.