John Witkowski was a master, and yet he won only three games for CU
Make sure you “friend” the Columbia football page on
Facebook so you can see a series of short videos from spring practice that are
posted today. This is another great development to increase a connection with
the fans.
I have to acknowledge that we did get some explanation from
Head Coach Pete Mangurian about the
weights of the players, especially the offensive linemen. It’s good that we’re
hearing something about this burning question and it’s even better than it
appears that the line will be significantly bigger than the current average O-line
weight of 253 lbs.
I hate to make it sound like team weight is my, or anyone
else’s, #1 concern. The real concern is overall team quality. As I have written
many times, the schedule for 2013 is BRUTAL. Columbia will have to be a better
team this year just to match last year’s 2012 record. There is much work to do
and little time for a slow learning curve.
It may not seem fair to say it, but much of the season rides on Brett Nottingham. The one area where
Columbia truly has an excess in talent and drive is at the wide receiver
position. Nottingham needs to tap into that talent and make the Lions on
offense the kind of team Cornell was in 2011. If he can do that, Columbia has a
top RB in Marcorus Garrett who would
make the Lions O even better than that ’11 Big Red attack. And the 2013
Columbia defense should be better than the Cornell D from two years ago too.
I’d like to see two or more CU receivers flirt with 1,000
yard seasons. Connor Nelligan, Isaiah Gross
and Chris Connors could all do it, but like I said, this WR corps is deep.
Don’t forget about Jake Wanamaker, Louis DiNovo and 2-3 of the promising incoming
freshmen.
Columbia went down this road before during the QB John Witkowski era. His main targets were Bill Reggio and Don Lewis. Lewis had a 1,000 yard year in 1982, But
the Lions had no defense to speak of back then and the team rarely won despite
the record numbers for Witkowski and company. There’s no denying the overall
program is much better now than 1981-83 and the team has enough talent to make
the most of what could be a superior passing attack.
But will it happen?
I know I feel like Columbia wasted a golden opportunity with
QB Sean Brackett at QB the last four
years. His great speed and arm seemed like they were a deadly combination and
he truly deserved better than just 10 wins in his career as a starter.
Now, the Lions look like they will have a top quality,
BCS-level QB available for their next 20 games. How many wins will he walk away with if he
indeed wins the starting job and stays healthy for the next two years?
4 comments:
In all fairness, Brackett was a great athlete who happened to play QB. He was not a great passer. All too often he missed open receivers. But in terms of natural ability he was far superior to Ragone as both a passer and a runner. Nottingham is a legitimate blue chip D1 big arm all the throws type guy. We just have to keep his pants clean.
What does Coach M mean in his recent tweet when he says that the players "Hit like they're wearing Crimson." Does he mean they look as good as Harvard, or that the defense is tackling as if they're playing Harvard? Seems like an odd thing to say -- any thoughts?
What he is saying is that our guys should hit in practice as if they were playing against Harvaard. He wants to beat Harvard in the worst way this year and avenge last year's humiliating defeat. Don't we all.
Motivations for incoming players come in all shapes and sizes. I would not anoint any new player a starting position without first seeing all incoming players including Brett. Particularly this important position. I've learned long ago that can be very dangerous. I've done my homework on our Freshman commit and the reasons for BN not winning the job at Stanford during the past year and am not willing to predict a starter until the Fall competition for all positions is complete. Suffice to say we have upgraded our chances for the next few years regardless. Can't wait to see the new weapons in full force this year.
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