Friday News

Scrimmage "News"

I attended today's scrimmage against Montclair State and, as advertised, it was mostly an exercise for the freshmen and the backups to show the coaches what they could do against the competition. Just about every key returning player was held out of the game. Even promising freshman RB Dante Miller did not play, even though he certainly looked 100% healthy.

But QB's Josh Bean and Dillon Davis did play and again, it appears Bean has the inside track to the full-time starting position.

Other than that, it's probably foolish to draw any conclusions about the scrimmage today.

Jacob Dolegala


CCSU Falls

Yes, Columbia's week one opponent CCSU was crushed by Ball State last night in Indiana, 42-6.

But the game was also not that informative as it appears Ball State is a pretty decent FBS team with a good QB who might get drafted to the NFL.

I did think CCSU's QB, 6"6 Jacob Dolegala looks as dangerous as advertised and he will definitely be a challenged for the Lions on 9/15.

On the down side for the Blue Devils, the placekicking seems rather shaky.


Tomorrow's Game

Week two opponent Georgetown visits week four opponent Marist tomorrow at 1pm in a game that should tell  us a lot more than the CCSU-Ball State game.

The game should be available to watch here. 

The game is being labeled as a "pick 'em" by the odds makers, and I'm going to pick Marist to win.

My Ivy League season preview will be published later tonight.

Game Night!

Thanks to the CU fans for reminding me today that our Week 1 opponent, Central Connecticut State, kicks off its season tonight at FBS Ball State.

The game starts at 7pm and you can watch it on ESPN+!

Ball State is an 18 1/2 point favorite.

I'm picking the BSU Cardinals to win and cover.

CCSU's game notes with starting lineups.

Happy scouting!

10 Questions (Final Chapter)

I want to wrap up my top 10 questions for Columbia Football in 2018 tonight because I hope to get my Ivy League preview and predictions out by the end of this week

3) Will the offensive line be excellent?

Creating a great offensive line has been the hardest of all the tasks the Bagnoli staff has had to undertake since coming on the scene at Columbia in 2015. Not only is it hard for any Ivy team to build strength and depth at the position, but the previous coaching regime had emphasized a disastrous lower weight regime which wasted whatever time and talent the Lions had at the time.

Columbia returns the most veteran O-line probably in its history this fall with four of five starters back and a fifth player with one start under his belt.

Yet those players gave up too many sacks last year and were a bit inconsistent in the run blocking. Perhaps the sacks can be excused somewhat because the Lions frequently threw the ball deep and QB Anders Hill need a lot more protection time.

But excuses aside, with Columbia breaking in new starters at QB and RB this year the offensive line needs to step it up. This has to be a breakthrough year for this crew.


2) Who's the New Corner?

Just how much of an impact did once-in-a-generation CB Cameron Roane make? Count me among those who say it was a massive impact and replacing him should get almost as much attention as the QB spot.

Throw in the fact that Columbia has a new secondary coach, as Andrae Murphy is replacing Jon Poppe, and there's a chance the stellar pass defense the Lions enjoyed in 2017 will drop off this fall.

Keeping up the high standards will have a lot to do with who gets the starting CB position and fills that hole left by the graduated Roane.


1) Will the New QB Deliver?

The obvious #1 question is: who will be the new Lions starting QB and will he be able to keep the team's winning ways going?

No one needs any crib notes to figure out why this is so important. But on top of the QB position being so pivotal for any football team, Columbia has its most talented receiver corps in the history of the program. That talent can't be allowed to die on the vine.

As of right now, it appears sophomore Josh Bean has the inside track to the job. His passing seems crisp and we know of his running abilities from last season.

I'll have more to say about Bean and the position in my full 2018 Columbia preview, but we all know that the stakes are at QB.

10 Questions (part 3)

Kyle Baskin returns


The news has been coming in too fast for me to keep posting more than one new update each weekday to my top 10 questions of the year for the Lions.

But before we get to today's added question, we have the following quick updates:

-New weights and new player profile pictures are now available on the Columbia Football roster page.  I usually spend too much time every year focusing on one or two of the weight changes. I won't do that this year, but have at it.

-A surprise return to the roster is TE Kyle Baskin. Baskin was an exciting recruit who got on the field in his very first game as a freshman in 2016, but was banged up on a play and eventually left the team with injury issues. He's apparently healthy enough to return and could be a factor.

-But fellow TE Cameron Lipton-Martinez is off the roster and apparently off the team.


Now back to the Top 10 Questions:

4) Will Columbia have a real RB threat all season?

I don't know why this has happened, but in each of Head Coach Al Bagnoli's previous three seasons at CU the player who turned out to be the team's top runner didn't real make a major impact until late in the season.

With a new QB at the helm this year, it just doesn't seem like the Lions can afford to wait that long in 2018.

Junior Tanner Thomas certainly topped the depth chart coming into camp and he showed some nice flashes in 2017... especially in the win over Princeton.

But there's more talent backing him up than perhaps any Columbia fan is really used to seeing. Freshman Dante Miller has opened a lot of eyes, and there are still speedy veterans like sophomore Marquavious Moore around.

But again, the value of having a legitimate 100-yard per game back threat on this team is very high. The flip side is that no serious running threat will make whoever becomes Columbia's starting QB much more under the gun play after play.

If the Lions can answer "yes" to this burning RB question, 2018 could be a very special year.

10 Questions (part 2), but first...

I have to post a couple of news updates before I continue with the top 10 questions list.


First, the news has now been confirmed that Yale captain and defensive standout Kyle Mullen is off the team and out of school at this time. The reason given was "personal reasons." This development will affect the Ivy football race, but it's far from a season-killer for the Elis.

Second, I've known about this good news for several months but just haven't gotten around to posting about it. So, now the Valley News up by Dartmouth beats me to it with an article about former Columbia Head Coach Larry McElreavy snagging an assistant coaching job with Joe Moglia at Coastal Carolina.

This completes McElreavy's very long quest to get back into college coaching, and it's satisfying to see his redemption come to fruition. As many of you know, I have long advocated for McElreavy to get this chance. I hope this leads to a true full-time and paid position.

Now back to the second half of Columbia's top 10 questions for this season:

Mike Hinton


5) Will the Defensive Line Step Up?

A pleasant surprise for Head Coach Al Bagnoli in his first season at Columbia was how dominant the Lion defensive line turned out to be.

But since 2015, Columbia sack totals have eroded each year. But as Columbia's win totals kept going up each of those years, who really cared?

It's time to care.

With the graduations of Lord Hyeamang and Connor Heeb, the Lion defensive line needs to step it up just to keep pace with last year's numbers.Senior co-captain Mike Hinton, and Juniors Arman Samouk and Daniel DiLorenzi will likely be the biggest cogs in the effort. Sophomore Cooper Wilson has excellent speed off the edge and needs to build on a good freshman season. Fellow sophomore Andrew Nichols is a major talent who needs to see the field this year.

The list goes on, but with real strength in the linebacking and secondary corps, the D-line could help give Columbia a truly dominant defense.

TOMORROW: Question #4

10 Questions (part one)

Columbia conducted its first full pad practice of training camp today, and hopefully that's helped to answer some questions the coaching staff must still have about the team coming into the season.

As fans, we're obviously not as in the loop as the coaches and players. But from our perspective, here are what have to be the top 10 ten questions coming into 2018 in ascending order, (Part One 10-6):


10) How Will the Lions Handle Higher Expectations?

For the first time in forever, Columbia is expected to finish in the top half of the league after surprising most pundits with the Lions 2nd place performance in 2017.

Whether that means Columbia will have to adjust their own mental preparations or face opponents more mentally prepared to face them is the question.

The good news is that unlike the last time the Lions were coming off an 8-2 season, they aren't having to face a new year without an all-time great player. After the 1996 campaign, Columbia graduated Marcellus Wiley, and the team didn't have any winning season until 2017.

9) Punting Pivot

Columbia has been blessed with consistently excellent punting for years. It's been so good that three of CU's recent graduated senior punters were snatched up by SEC teams for graduate eligibility seasons.

With Parker Thome the latest to go that route, it's time for another punter to try to keep that streak going. The most likely candidate is sophomore Drew Schmid, who came to Columbia last year as its most highly regarded punting recruit in school history. 

Can he keep up the excellence?

It's hard to gauge just how much Columbia's excellent punting has helped the team since 2015, but the guess here is it's a lot. Any drop off in that level well be noticeable.


8) Returners up to It?

Sophomore Will Allen was a revelation last season as a kickoff returner, but if he gets more playing time in the secondary will he be able to carry the load and maintain return speed?

Josh Wainwright is certainly dangerous as the lead punt returner, but it seemed like he was on a tight leash on returns as his importance to the team at WR is just too important to risk.

Will this season see some new faces at the return positions given these questions?


7) Linebacker Starters

Many of us were not surprised when Columbia's completely new set of starting linebackers performed well above expectations last season. That's because the talent and depth level at that position were well known.

But that talent has kept growing and it's possible that we may see a new starter based on talent alone. Sophomore Justin Woodley seems poised to challenge for a starting spot after his explosive freshman season as a situational player last year.

Defense wins championships and linebackers anchor the defense.

Having overflowing talent here is a good problem to have.


6) Will Oren Bounce Back?

PK Oren Milstein did not have a bad season in 2017. But there's no denying he was not as stellar as he was in his 2016 campaign.

Columbia didn't lose any games due to Milstein's slight drop in accuracy last year, but the Lions may need him to be close to perfect to seal games this season.

An Open Letter to Robin Harris

Before I begin my direct and public message to Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris, let's look at the results of the Ivy League Football media poll just released this afternoon:


2018 IVY LEAGUE FOOTBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL

Place	Team (First Place Votes)	Total Points
1.	Yale (11)	129
2.	Princeton (3)	104
3.	Harvard (1)	99
4.	COLUMBIA (1)	76
	Penn (1)	76
6.	Dartmouth	65
7.	Cornell	37
8.	Brown	26

The Columbia Athletic Department's write-up has some solid info about how long it's been since the Lions finished this high in the poll and how the team did in the year's leading up to those higher poll finishes.

I'll have my full preview and predictions for the league next week. But my three quick takes on the poll are:

1) I agree with choosing Yale to win the title. At this point, it's the strongest argument.

2) I think the biggest mistake in the poll is placing Dartmouth all the way at 6th place. Like Columbia, the Big Green are really only dealing with the starting QB as the biggest question mark. But also like Columbia, Dartmouth has some very good reasons to be optimistic about answering that need quite well.

3) I get all the excitement about Princeton's returning "Mr. Everything" John Lovett. But too bad Lovett doesn't play defense, because defense is where Princeton crashed hard last year. Some defensive players are coming back from injury, but the Tigers were the best Ivy offense I've ever seen last season and they still finished 2-5 in the league. I wouldn't be shocked if PU came in 2nd or even won the title. But I would be a bit surprised. The bottom line is that Princeton's defense needs too much improvement over last season to pencil them in at 2nd.

Now to my letter, which is predicated on today's release of the coaches round table video by the Ivy League:

Dear Director Harris:

Let's face it, you have a hard job. I say that because while your direct job is managing and accentuating the Ivy League athletics experience, your real job is placating and pleasing the Ivy League university presidents. And those two things can often be very much at odds. 

Believe me, I get the extent of that problem. As a TV news producer for 25 years, I've had to juggle the difficult reality of needing to attract viewers but never forgetting that my primary employers are pressured by advertisers who often have much different interests than those viewers. 

You have a similar problem in having to juggle the very common differences that arise between what Ivy League sports fans want and what the Ivy League university presidents have on their agenda. 

That issue has become unfortunately clear in recent weeks as the annual Ivy League football coaches media day teleconference was canceled in favor of the coaches' round table video the league released today. That video made a compelling case for the league's unique recruiting allure and commitment to safety and that's about it.

Today's video looked very much like the kind of material any given Ivy university president would want to have at his or her disposal to quell the complaints of a few athletics-wary alumni or board members. It clearly was made for them, and I understand why based on who your employers are.  

But to actual Ivy League football fans, not only was all of it old news, but it was a poor substitute for the kind of information fans want to know. There was no discussion of any players and stars. There was no discussion of which teams are the top contenders. There was no discussion of what every coach is excited or worried about as the season is about to begin. 

You're a very smart woman and I know that you know leaving out that kind of content is poison for a college sports conference trying to generate more fan interest and excitement. I can only conclude that you felt the Ivy presidents are so averse to more football fan-friendly material, that you felt that sacrificing the fans' demands was a smarter career move all around. 

I certainly hope that isn't the case, because all the safety and post-graduate alumni job network realities in the world will not keep Ivy League football and Ivy athletics alive for very long without good old fashioned fan support and engagement. I and many alumni and fans have long feared that eliminating football and athletics in general is still an agenda of some Ivy presidents. Today's video actually did nothing to quell those fears. 

The good news is that we have seen you implement some more fan-friendly initiatives in the other sports, with the postseason Ivy basketball tournaments being the best example. Again, you are clearly smart enough to know what fans want. 

But just as I criticized you five years ago for downplaying the obvious desire among fans, players, and the coaches to have our Ivy football champs play in the FCS playoffs, I think you've fallen victim to a situation where placating the still very obvious anti-football bias in the Ivies is a priority for you and the league presidents. 

Here's the better news: now that you've produced this dry video meant for a smaller, non-fan audience, you can still provide the fans with the content we're looking for. I know it's the training camp period and the coaches' time is limited. But having them sit down for 5-10 minutes to answer some basic questions about this coming season is still possible. The coaches don't even need to do this at the same time, as separate interviews work just fine. Please look into making this happen. 

Bottom line, as much as the fans would appreciate this, it's the players who really deserve this attention. These young men sacrifice a lot and take on much more responsibility than most of their fellow students could possibly imagine. Don't the best players deserve as much personal recognition as possible? I get that such recognition can sometimes be misconstrued as "hero worship" by some misguided Ivy League academic leaders. Yale's former President Richard Levin was notorious for harboring that misbegotten sentiment. But Levin has retired, and so too should the idea that recognizing students and the competitive athletic nature of football is some how detrimental to the Ivy League academic and cultural experience. 

I hope this letter will give you some impetus to right this wrong and implement the easy fix I've recommended above. As always, you can count on the dedicated alumni and fans to support you in this effort. 

Best regards, 

Jake Novak
Columbia '92

Busy Weekend

McLeod Buckham-White

It was a busy weekend for Columbia Football, and not just because training camp began with real practices on Saturday.

First off, we got a new commitment for the 2019 freshman class.

5-10 171-pound DB McLeod Buckham-White from Lovett HS in Atlanta is joining the Lions. He also had an offer from Davidson.

Buckham-White will be the first Lovett grad to come to Columbia.

 That brings our reported list of commitments to 12:

1. Caden Bell QB 6-0 185 lbs. Junipero Serra HS San Juan Capistrano, CA

2. Bryan Bell-Anderson DB 5"10 170 lbs. Dr. Phillips HS Orlando, FL 

3. McLeod Buckham-White DB 5"10 171 lbs. Lovett HS Atlanta, GA

4. Cameron Coleman LB 6"1 217 lbs. Rye Country Day School Rye, NY

5. Dominic Dodson DB 5"11 185 lbs. Central Catholic HS Pittsburgh, PA

6. Alex Felkins K 6"4 170 lbs. Holland Hall HS Tulsa, OK 

7. Ryan Hamilton DB/RB 5"11 195 lbs. Coffman HS Dublin, OH 

8. Will Hamilton OL 6"2 270 lbs. North Gwinnett HS Suwanee, GA 

9. Tavehon Mcgarry LB/RB 6-0 220 lbs. Bishop Dwenger HS Fort Wayne, IN

10. Mitch Moyer DE 6-4, 255 lbs. Archmere Academy Claymont, DE

11. Luke Painton TE 6-7 225 lbs. Berks Catholic HS, Reading, PA  

12. Scott Valentas DB 6-3, 198 lbs.  Kapaun Mount Carmel Catholic HS Wichita, KS

Second, we got some updates from camp about some position and jersey number changes. I took the news that incoming frosh John Harris is moving from RB to LB as a sign our current crop of RB's is looking good enough that Harris' talents were clearly better off used elsewhere.

We'll learn a lot more in 11 days at the preseason scrimmage against Montclair State.

Back on Campus

Welcome back!


Be sure to follow the official Columbia Football Twitter feed, as the amount of important and fun content is kicking into high gear.

That includes info on the August 31st scrimmage against Montclair State, pics of the players moving back onto campus today, and also a super cool hype video to kick off training camp season.

Three Key Dates

As we count down the 33 days until Columbia's season opener against Central Connecticut State, here are some dates to remember during that point:

Saturday August 18th

Columbia opens training camp this coming Saturday.


Thursday August 30th

Week one opponent CCSU begins its season with a road game against Ball State. Don't expect to learn too much about CCSU because Ball State is an FBS team and this is basically a cupcake out of conference game for David Letterman's Alma Mater.


Saturday September 1st

Columbia's week two and week four opponents, Georgetown and Marist, meet up for their season openers at Marist. This should be a very educational game for Columbia's advance scouts.

Ringing Our Bell

For those Columbia fans who want evidence that the Lions program is getting more respect these days, we have Phil Steele's Preseason All-Ivy list that puts a total of nine Lions collectively on its 1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams.

For those Columbia fans who are constantly looking for evidence that the Lions program isn't getting enough respect, they can note that only four players made the 1st team.

For those Columbia fans who want to see where the media contributors will rank the Lions in the annual preseason poll... there may not be any satisfaction at all. That's because the poll, usually out by this time each August, appears to be on hold this year along with the annual coaches pre-training camp conference call with the media.

And that's a pity.


Caden Makes the Call


As we suspected for about two weeks, the "West Coast sharpshooter" that one CU coach tweeted was coming to Columbia turned out to be Junipero Serra QB Caden Bell.

Bell is 6-0, 185-pounds and seems to be developing his skills just at the right time.

The shakier news is that this coming season will be his first as a starter, albeit at the very high level of competition in California's Trinity Conference.

Those of us dying to see what Bell has to offer in this new role don't have long to wait. JSerra's true season opener is just a week from tonight against Corona del Mar, one of the top ranked teams in Orange County. But JSerra does have a scrimmage tonight against out-of-conference opponent Norco HS.

UPDATE: Here are a few of Bell's highlights from Friday night's scrimmage.

Sorry for my error earlier, but Bell will be the first JSerra of San Juan Capistrano grad to come to Columbia Football.

Current freshman DB Chris Park, and P/K Greg Guttas '13 attended the Junipero Serra HS in San Mateo, CA.

Bell chose Columbia over offers from San Jose State, Yale, Brown, and Holy Cross.

Bell’s JSerra already has a starting QB in the Ivies, or at least presumably, as Penn QB Nick Robinson is expected to start for the Quakers this fall.


That brings our reported list of commitments to 11:

1. Caden Bell QB 6-0 185 lbs. Junipero Serra HS San Juan Capistrano, CA

2. Bryan Bell-Anderson DB 5"10 170 lbs. Dr. Phillips HS Orlando, FL

3. Cameron Coleman LB 6"1 217 lbs. Rye Country Day School Rye, NY

4. Dominic Dodson DB 5"11 185 lbs. Central Catholic HS Pittsburgh, PA

5. Alex Felkins K 6"4 170 lbs. Holland Hall HS Tulsa, OK 

6. Ryan Hamilton DB/RB 5"11 195 lbs. Coffman HS Dublin, OH 

7. Will Hamilton OL 6"2 270 lbs. North Gwinnett HS Suwanee, GA 

8. Tavehon Mcgarry LB/RB 6-0 220 lbs. Bishop Dwenger HS Fort Wayne, IN

9. Mitch Moyer DE 6-4, 255 lbs. Archmere Academy Claymont, DE

10. Luke Painton TE 6-7 225 lbs. Berks Catholic HS, Reading, PA  

11. Scott Valentas DB 6-3, 198 lbs.  Kapaun Mount Carmel Catholic HS Wichita, KS

Special Delivery

Will Allen is a threat to score on every return


Columbia's special teams had a stellar year in 2017 in just about every measurable way.

The Lions had the best punter in the league. The best kickoff returner. A dangerous punt returner. A still very-solid placekicker. And generally the best coverage teams around.

Almost all of those elements return for 2018, with the graduated 1st Team All Ivy Punter Parker Thome as a notable exception, (though Thome will keep punting this fall as a grad transfer at Vanderbilt).

Replacing Thome presumably will be sophomore Drew Schmid, who was probably the best rated punting recruit in the history of Columbia Football when he committed. Schmid certainly has the talent to continue Columbia's recent hot streak of top punters.

A man on the spot is junior Oren Milstein. Milstein was not as sharp in 2017 as he was in his 2016 freshman year, but he still delivered in the clutch when it counted the most. He hit key FG's like the game winner against Wagner, two pressure kicks in tough circumstances at Cornell, and was almost automatic on PATs. Army All-American kicker and 2019 commit Alex Felkins doesn't join the team until next year, so this is still Milstein's job 100%.

Sophomore Will Allen was one of the most effective kickoff returners in many years for CU. His 24.7 yards per return number led the Ivies, and he almost broke several returns for scores.

WR Josh Wainwright was always a threat at punt returner last season, and should get more chances to frighten opponents this fall.

But don't forget the other part of the Columbia special teams story: All the blocked kicks. The Lions got their paws on one punt, and a large number of PATs and FGs last season, including three blocks in the final game against Brown alone, (one of them a punt block recovered for a TD).

The bottom line is if Schmid lives up to expectations and Milstein gets back to freshman season form, this could easily be the best special teams unit in the Ivy League... again.

Local Hitter

Cam Coleman

6-1 217-pound LB Cam Coleman from nearby Rye Country Day School has committed to Columbia.

Coleman is clearly a hitter with real speed and another football player who competes as a wrestler on his high school team.

Coleman will be just the second RCDS grad to come to Columbia, after the very talented Stephen McKoy '04.

Coleman also had offers from Brown and Cornell.

That brings our reported list of commitments to ten:

1. Bryan Bell-Anderson DB 5"10 170 lbs. Dr. Phillips HS Orlando, FL

2. Cameron Coleman LB 6"1 217 lbs. Rye Country Day School Rye, NY

3. Dominic Dodson DB 5"11 185 lbs. Central Catholic HS Pittsburgh, PA

4. Alex Felkins K 6"4 170 lbs. Holland Hall HS Tulsa, OK 

5. Ryan Hamilton DB/RB 5"11 195 lbs. Coffman HS Dublin, OH 

6. Will Hamilton OL 6"2 270 lbs. North Gwinnett HS Suwanee, GA 

7. Tavehon Mcgarry LB/RB 6-0 220 lbs. Bishop Dwenger HS Fort Wayne, IN

8. Mitch Moyer DE 6-4, 255 lbs. Archmere Academy Claymont, DE

9. Luke Painton TE 6-7 225 lbs. Berks Catholic HS, Reading, PA  

10. Scott Valentas DB 6-3, 198 lbs.  Kapaun Mount Carmel Catholic HS Wichita, KS

Prime Secondary

Coach Bagnoli and Landon Baty


Columbia's pass defense in 2017 was truly the best in the Ivy League.

While Cornell came out slightly better on the stat sheet, the fact is the Big Red had the worst run defense in the league and teams rarely needed to test their secondary. Cornell gave up 130 fewer yards in the air than the Lions, but that was on 54 fewer pass attempts.

Columbia had the most interceptions as a team with 13, allowed opponents just a 51% completion percentage, and just 6.3 yards per attempt.

The good news is that three of Columbia's four 2017 starters are back for 2018.

The bad news is one of them is not Cameron Roane.

Roane was truly the best shutdown corner in modern Columbia history, and now the question is just how good will the rest of the unit be without him.

Also gone is Denzel Hill, who made an impact at CB when he was healthy in his final season.

Getting back to the good news, 2nd Team All Ivy and team captain Landon Baty is back for a 5th year at safety. His breakout season last year included a lot of stellar stats, but his enthusiasm on the field and in the locker room is worth almost as much.

Fellow safety and senior Ryan Gilbert also had a breakout year in 2017, and was named as the team's most improved player.

Also back is junior CB Ben McKeighan, who performed extremely well last year in his first season as a starter considering he was targeted constantly by teams looking to avoid throwing anywhere near Roane.

So that brings us to one of the hottest questions facing the Lions right now: Who will replace Roane as the other starter at CB?

Will Allen might make the move to CB, but he seems more suited to the safety position at 5-9.

Junior Justin Hill is another candidate, but he has seen limited duty at the position. Sophomore Blake Wooden is also a likely contender.

But don't be surprised if one of the highly talented freshmen corners gets the nod. Derric Lee, who made my list of the top 10 incoming freshmen at #7, could be the one.

There are a lot more known quantities at safety. Sophomore Ben Mathiasmeier is just too talented to stay off the field and senior Jacob Young keeps making an impact wherever he's asked by the coaching staff.

But the pressure will be on this group with the loss of Roane and the departure of secondary Coach Jonathan Poppe to Harvard. New DB Coach Andrae Murphy will have to show he can herd this talent and keep the Lions atop the league in pass defense.

Indiana LB

TJ McGarry


I promise to get back to my unit-by-unit assessment of the 2018 Lions going into training camp, but I keep getting interrupted by the pre-high school football season commitments.

The "Sideline Swami" of Northeastern Indiana is reporting the latest CU commit is 6-0 220-pound LB/RB Tavehon "TJ" McGarry from Bishop Dwenger HS in Fort Wayne.

When I first saw McGarry's tape two months ago, I thought he had a great motor and bead on the ball. He's likely not getting offers from Notre Dame and Northwestern simply because he's a bit short for the LB position.

McGarry will be the first Bishop Dwenger grad to come to Columbia Football.

But Fort Wayne brought us two of the best players of the Norries Wilson era: OL Mike Brune '09 from Concordia Luthern HS and K/P Jon Rocholl '09 from R. Nelson Snider HS.

That brings our list of reportedly committed players for 2019 to nine:


1. Bryan Bell-Anderson DB 5"10 170 lbs. Dr. Phillips HS Orlando, FL

2. Dominic Dodson DB 5"11 185 lbs. Central Catholic HS Pittsburgh, PA

3. Alex Felkins K 6"4 170 lbs. Holland Hall HS Tulsa, OK 

4. Ryan Hamilton DB/RB 5"11 195 lbs. Coffman HS Dublin, OH 

5. Will Hamilton OL 6"2 270 lbs. North Gwinnett HS Suwanee, GA 

6. Tavehon Mcgarry LB/RB 6-0 220 lbs. Bishop Dwenger HS Fort Wayne, IN

7. Mitch Moyer DE 6-4, 255 lbs. Archmere Academy Claymont, DE

8. Luke Painton TE 6-7 225 lbs. Berks Catholic HS, Reading, PA  

9. Scott Valentas DB 6-3, 198 lbs.  Kapaun Mount Carmel Catholic HS Wichita, KS