Wednesday, May 28, 2014

BREAKING: Washington, Hilinski and others off Roster


Chad Washington


Gone Baby Gone

The football roster has been updated and there are some major names no longer with the team.

The top loss is DL Chad Washington, who still had a strong 2013 season despite his legal issues last summer. It's possible he's left this time because of some kind of continuing issues related to that, but there is nothing confirmed on that end.

Another very hard pill to swallow is the loss of QB Kelly Hillinski. 

Other roster deletions are:

DL Charles Melka

LB Parker Tobia

OL Eric Kulinski

OL Rick Wolff

... and we already knew about the losses of:

WR Isaiah Gross

LB Mark Cieslak

TE Connor Spears

WR Jake Wanamaker

That makes 10 players so far who were on the roster for 2013 who are gone now. That's a big number compared to recent Columbia history and yet another disturbing trend we are now witnessing under the Pete Mangurian regime.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not so surprising about KH. Inside info says he thought he was the best QB on the roster and let it be known to all teammates that they stunk without him at QB. Threatened to transfer mid-season 13. No big loss.
Does this mean that we can recruit more kids for this year?
One + to all this is that some of these guys saw that the new kids were destined to get plenty of playing time.
Not sure about Washington's motive,
but the new 3/4 D will need to be tweeked.

Big Dawg said...

Disconcerting info. I'm curious how this compares to typical shrinkage at this time of year.

Also, I wonder if grades played a role?

Anonymous said...

Well, it would not be a surprise if Hilinski transferred because his ego was bruised. He definitely had FBS options coming out of HS and his skills set seemed polished enough for that level. As said previously, he never really had a chance to succeed with CU with such a horrible OL and lack of coaching and mentoring. I was under the impression he chose Columbia for the academics anyway. Barring injuries to other QBs on the roster, there wasn't a place for him in '14 with Hill likely to push for #3. It seemed obvious last season McDonagh was the better #2 option.

oldlion said...

Somebody needs to get to the bottom of this. Melka is legacy. That one really puzzles me.

oldlion said...

Somebody needs to get to the bottom of this. Melka is legacy. That one really puzzles me.

RLB said...

refreshing to see the cautions posted about some losses. No doubt the reasons vary.

Anonymous said...

Big Dawg,
I certainly hope not.
Hard to stay committed if the prospect of playing time is limited. Wonder if the "exit interview" had anything to do with the defections?

Anonymous said...

oldlion, are you thinking of Nick Melka? Younger brother Charles played 1 season I believe. A solid player but not yet defined as a legacy.

All of these significant losses do seem to point to player discontent. Shuffling in a huge freshman class is not enough to offset that.

Anonymous said...

Al,
I'm betting on Hill to be # 2 by game 5. Looks a lot like x T Tech QB now OK QB B. Mayfield.

Anonymous said...

I have no doubt Hill is an excellent prospect but McDonagh has the benefit of experience and from all appearances, a solid work ethic. Unless Hill comes in and wows everyone with his command of the offense, I see Pete giving Trevor his due as backup to Nottingham. I would also expect McDonagh to do well in competing for the starting job as a senior the following season.

Anonymous said...

Al,
Hill can throw the 45 yd. completion,
not sure if we had any last year.
If the other two can not do that in the first 5 games, you may see Hill in on 3rd and long.
Check your CA contacts to get the story on KH transfer? Second shoe to drop soon.

Chick said...

A legacy is the son (or daughter) of an alum. Also, someone confused legacy with "legend."

Bottom line still is the responsibility of the U and its coaches to put a winning team on the field. Maybe Pete is confused and thinks we have only a freshman team, not a varsity.

With all due respect to Jake's recent merciful and modest minimum goals for improvement this next season, a slightly less disastrous performance than 2013 is not acceptable. Nothing less than a clear step up from last year's life-support season is acceptable.
Otherwise, goodbye Pete, goodbye Dianne and, with his latest contract expiring in 2016, goodbye Lee.

And if Boretti is do good, make him the AD.




Chick said...

That's "so good" and may he do good. CU doesn't like to search farther than the subway stop on the corner, so why not Boretti for AD?

Anonymous said...

I don't have any CA contacts. Though, I hope Kelly lands on his feet in a situation that helps him grow as a player. The kid was a legit prospect for both Notre Dame and Oklahoma so someone is going to take a chance on him as a transfer.

As long as Nottingham is upright he will get over 90% of the snaps.

Anonymous said...

Al,
Reserve those transfer thoughts until you hear "the rest of the story". But not from me,
I also hope that he lands on his feet,
but right now he has other problems to
wrestle with.

Anonymous said...

KH seems pretty chipper on his twitter page.

Anonymous said...

Does he say why he left and where he intends to go?
Jake is probably waiting for the official news release before putting out any unsubstantiated info.

Anonymous said...

All indications publicly show he is happy at CU but more happy to be back in CA after year 1 (the school not the FB program)

Anonymous said...

Al,
Wait awhile before you start looking for him on any big program rosters.
I thought you were a CA resident.

Anonymous said...

There are several million people in CA. We don't all talk to each other. I don't have my antennae tilted to pick up news on a plastic surgeon's kid. Though a simple web search on KH leads to his twitter.

I wish him well, hope he is on track in his world. He's real potential for a program in need of a gifted pocket passer.

WOF said...

I have an Uncle who's son played for his HS (Notre Dame) a few years earlier.

The year he committed to us my Uncle told me he was OK and that his younger brother was the stud. Uncle did not think he would be a premier Ivy player ...

Anonymous said...

WOF,
Your uncle should be on the CU scout staff. As I have said here before, film, stats and test grades don't always tell the true story of a prospect's personality and potential. That is why I believe we need local "spotters" to help the coaching staff find the good kids overlooked by the big programs.

WOF said...

He would love to do that for us! Where does he sign up? :)

Anonymous said...

Coaching staff should produce "Prospect Sheet" for preliminary review of kids that think the IL is beyond their reach. No staff can see every kid that may be a good Ivy player. Most of the responders here can tell a player when they see one.
All the staff has to do is contact the HS coach. This would open numerous
doors across the country. Not likely for us to compete against big programs for 4 and 5 star kids.