He's in, but will he play?

Christian Boujaoude


Sometimes we get so caught up in the "blue chip" recruiting wars that we forget that so many of the young men involved in this process.

One of them is Christian Boujaoude, a WR from Monmouth Regional HS in Eatontown, NJ. I have to say up front that I have no idea if Boujaoude is going to play football at Columbia; it appears he had the grades and the amazing resume, (more on that in a second), to get in without any help or attention from athletics.

On the same day he was chosen as Shore Sport Zone Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Boujaoude was accepted to Columbia. In addition to great grades, Boujaoude is a special kid for his work on behalf of stopping human trafficking across the globe. He launched RUAWARE.net and it's a site worth visiting.

His highlight video is here.

I am going to go ahead and put Boujaoude on our reported list of incoming players, both because he's such an outstanding young man and it appears at least one of our coaches is following him on Twitter... so there's a chance he's very much on their radar.

Boujaoude would be the first Monmouth Regional grad to come to Columbia football

1) Kyle Baskin WR/DB 6-4 210 lbs. Quakertown HS Quakertown, PA

2) Christian Boujaoude WR 5-11 165 lbs. Monmouth Regional HS Eatontown, NJ

3) Parker Coogan OL/DT 6-2 270 lbs. Kingwood HS Houston, TX

4) Matt Dame QB 6-2 185 lbs. Suncoast HS Riviera Beach, FL

5) Chris Everett WR 6-2 200 lbs. Whitney Young HS Chicago, IL

6) Danny De Lorenzi LB 6-3 230 lbs. Bergen Catholic HS, Oradell, NJ 

7) John Fischer OL 6-3 290 lbs. Sacred Heart-Griffin HS Springfield, IL

8) Alex Gibson RB 5-10 195 lbs. Central Bucks High School East Doylestown, PA

9) LinDon Harris DE 6-2 215 lbs. Sidwell Friends Washington, DC

10) Ben Hill TE/DE 6-3 230 lbs. Christian Brothers HS Memphis, TN

11) Tyler Houston DE/TE 6-3 245 lbs. Olentangy HS Lewis Center, OH

12) Hogan Irwin RB 5-10 180 lbs. Central Cathedral HS San Diego, CA

13) Ben McKeighan WR/DB 6-0 187 lbs. Scottsdale Prep/Cheshire Academy (PG year) Scottsdale, AZ

14) Max Mullaney LB 6-2 225 lbs. Colts Neck HS Colts Neck, NJ

15) Michael Murphy LB 5-11 194 lbs. Plant HS Tampa, FL

16) Van Neils RB 6-0 210 lbs. Mankato East HS Mankato, MN

17) Lamine Nouck-A-Nwal DE/OL  6-4 250 lbs. Central Bucks High School East Doylestown, PA

18) Will Ontiveros WR/DB 6-2 175 lbs. Assumption HS Davenport, IA

19) Hunter Petlansky QB 6-2 225 lbs. Modesto Central Catholic HS Modesto, CA 

20) Alex Robin DT 6-0 260 lbs. Vestavia Hills HS Vestavia Hills, AL 

21) Arman Samouk DT 6-2 270 lbs. Copley HS Copley, OH

22) Joseph Scowden OL 6-4 290 lbs. Montgomery Bell HS Nashville, TN

23) Tanner Thomas RB 5-10 183 lbs. Farragut HS Knoxville, TN 

24) Matt Tofano LB 6-2 217 lbs. Archibishop Mitty HS San Jose, CA

25) Jonathon Webster DB  6-0 180 lbs. Eastside Catholic HS Sammamish, WA

26) Taylor Weldon DE/TE 6-2 240 lbs. Soutland Academy Americus, GA

27) Jalen Williams LB 6-0 215 lbs. Hewitt-Trussville HS, Trussville, AL

Fordham Move

A big story you might have missed this weekend was the news that Fordham Head Coach Joe Moorhead has left to become the new Offensive Coordinator at Penn State.

Moorhead is very much the #1 person responsible for the Rams' ascent in football, and it's certainly fair to ask if Fordham will be able to maintain its strengths in his absence. 

As of now, Columbia is still scheduled to open the next two seasons against Fordham so the Lions will find out soon enough.