Out of Conference Outlook

St. Francis Head Coach Chris Villarrial leads the St. Francis Red Flash

All three of Columbia's out-of-conference opponents are in action this Saturday.

All three will be on the road.

All three are favored to win.

Week one opponent St. Francis is going to Bethlehem, PA to take on Lehigh and is now favored by 6 1/2 points over the Mountain Hawks.

Week two opponent Georgetown is a 3 1/2 point favorite over Davidson.

And week four opponent Central Connecticut is a hefty 12 1/2 point favorite over Fordham.

Of course, opening week betting lines can be way off. So we'll keep a close eye on these games and their actual results. 

Position Competition: Defense

Daniel DeLorenzi



Columbia's 2018 defense was just about as depleted by a rash of injuries as the offense was... and that's really saying something.

So the top story on the defensive side is also the effort to reintegrate players lost or hobbled during last year. At the top of that list are LB Justin Woodley, CB Will Allen, CB Ben McKeighan, and DL Alex Robin.

But healthy or not healthy, graduation losses at the safety position and the eternal issue of finding big and effective defensive tackles are still the top questions surrounding the D.


DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

Columbia is faced with a good degree of talent and depth at the defensive end position, but like just about every other Ivy team, the interior line/defensive tackles remain a real question mark.

The best news is 1st Team All Ivy and 2018 league sacks leader Daniel DeLorenzi returns for his senior year after that stellar junior campaign. After injuries hampered him during parts of 2016 and 2017, it was great to see what he could do playing an entire season relatively healthy. 

Junior Cooper Wilson is the other returning starter at DE after posting a solid sophomore year and exhibiting a healthy amount of speed at the position.

Another returning starter in a tantalizing hybrid role is Cameren Carter.  At midseason, the Lions started using Carter in the hybrid OLB/DE role Lawrence Taylor perfected for the N.Y. Giants and Carter made the most of it.

Max Mullaney got into the mix more last season and he returns for his senior season. Looking to break into the regular rotation this year after getting cups of coffee on the field last year are junior Andrew Nichols and sophomore Paul Akere.

The top returning DT is senior Arman Samouk, who has been carrying the load in the middle almost since the beginning of his freshman year. He did start getting some much needed help when fellow senior Alex Robin started to recover more from injuries that have snagged him his entire career. A healthy Robin for an entire year changes a lot of things for the better for Columbia.

Also getting a lot of playing time last year at DT was Ogana Oraedu, who is still really more built like a DE but it's possible the coaches had to use him in a slightly different role because of the almost emergency need. Oraedu still put up some good numbers and made a decent impact, especially with his game-icing sack at Georgetown.

The list of possible players with at least the basic physical frames to back up Samouk, Robin, and Oraedu at DT is short and pretty untested. It includes senior Taylor Weldon, sophomore Evan Loesel, and sophomore Drake Morey. 

There's certainly room for a freshman or two to make an impact on the DL, but it's not clear who those freshmen front runners might be.

Bottom Line: DeLorenzi, Cooper and Carter make for a fierce group of outside rushers. Samouk will be one starter at DT, with Oraedu and Robin likely to share most of the remaining DT slot. How well Columbia backs up all these players is a one of the bigger keys to 2019.


LINEBACKERS

The most consistently strong unit during the Bagnoli era has been the linebackers, thanks to some great recruiting and the work of LB coach Justin Stovall. Last year, the depth of this squad was evident as it continued to put up impressive numbers despite the loss of starting MLB Justin Woodley in week three and the somewhat limited action for Michael Murphy as he was still recovering a bit from his torn ACL near the end of 2017. Woodley is back for his junior season and Murphy is a senior captain, and both look primed for a big 2019.

The tough question here is who will replace one of Columbia's unsung heroes the last two seasons in the now-graduated OLB Sean White. White, fellow LB Cal Falkenhayn, and the also graduated safety Landon Baty were the last significant Pete Mangurian recruits to contribute to the team and they will all be missed. Falkenhayn was an especially key player last year when Woodley went down.

Based on his playing time and effectiveness from last year, sophomore Cam Dillon seems like he has the inside track to replacing White as a starter. That makes sense as many of us pegged Dillon as one of the top incoming freshmen last year.

A key backup is senior Jalen Williams, who once had the starting MLB job before Woodley won it. And don't forget that Cameren Carter contributes to this unit in his hybrid DE/LB role.

The rest of the picture is pretty murky at LB. Senior Carson Powell may play an increased role after three years of being an absolute demon on special teams. Freshman Scott Valentas seems like the most promising newcomer.

Bottom Line: There's great starting talent here, but a few players need to step up in the backup roles. Williams could make the difference in that role.


DEFENSIVE BACKS

In the secondary, Columbia returns three excellent cornerbacks all with significant starting time. But only one safety with any starting experience.

Senior Ben McKeighan is the anchor of this unit, having been a starter since his sophomore year. He was in and out of the lineup last season and looks to finish strong with a healthy year.

Junior Will Allen missed much more of the season than McKeighan, and sophomore Fara'ad McCombs showed some real flashes of brilliance filling in, (including a stint where I spied him dancing on the field during stoppages of play during the Yale game... perhaps just to keep warm... but he had some MOVES!).

As of now, I just don't see any of those corners being moved to safety to fill the gaps left by the graduated All Ivy Honorable Mention Baty and 1st Team All Ivy Ryan Gilbert.

Junior Ben Mathiasmeier looks like a pretty good lock to start at one safety position after filling in for Baty as the starter in a couple of games last year.

After that, it's anybody's guess.

Senior Hunter Lunsford could be a good bet as he has the most on-the-field experience of the returning backup safeties. Sophomore Ryan Rhoden seems like another decent contender.

The freshmen are pretty much a mystery, so that means no one should be shocked if one of them snags significant time at safety this season.

Bottom Line: Safeties are an extremely important part of the game in Ivy football, so this is a question that needs to get answered confidently in camp.

Position Competition: Offense

Keeping Smith and Wainwright on the field at the same time is the key to the CU Offense


Columbia finally began summer training camp for real Saturday with the first on-the-field practice of the new season.

As Head Coach Al Bagnoli explained in this short interview, the Lions are on a tight schedule to get some of the basics hammered out before this coming Friday's scrimmage vs. Montclair State.

But fans are mostly focused on finding out all they can about how the starting lineups are shaping up for the regular season. Based on what we know, which is not all that much in some cases, here's a position-by-position look starting with the offense:

QUARTERBACKS

By all accounts, junior Josh Bean will be back as the starter at quarterback. Bean played well in his four starts last year, and you could argue he played extremely well considering he was a first-time starter. Obviously, the big questions for Bean are how well he's recovered from a concussion, (or concussions?), suffered last year and whether his abilities as a runner will be mostly shelved out of caution this year. But Bean proved he can throw short and deep passes last year and his 61% accuracy was impressive as well.

The question of what the depth chart will look like after Bean is a lot harder to answer. And after last year's multiple losses at QB to injury, it's a crucial question to answer.

Sophomore Ty Lenhart did generally well in his emergency role as the starter for the final three games of 2018. But remember he got a big assist from the now-graduated WR/QB Kyle Castner in a number of situations, especially in the win over Brown. Again, based on what we know, it's not a done-deal by any stretch that Lenhart comes into camp at the top backup.

Junior Dillon Davis was the top backup at the start of last season, and he started two games in Bean's absence until he was also injured. Davis has a strong arm, but he unfortunately confirmed reports of a tendency to throw interceptions in the unnecessarily close win over Georgetown and the drubbing CU suffered to Princeton.

Reports from practices late last season had a number of the players high on sophomore John Foreback. But the spring game didn't seem to boost his stock too much.

Senior Matt Dame did get into some game action at the end of the win over Yale last year. But that's it.

The only incoming freshman at the position is Caden Bell, whose HS videos prove he can certainly make all kinds of tough throws.

Bottom Line: Columbia seems to be going all-in with Bean, who at least has considerably more experience than he did at this time last year. The question is how the other QB's will be arranged to compliment Bean and help keep him injury free.

RUNNING BACKS

In the Ivy League, running back has become a position where almost no team has any significant depth. And that's certainly been the case for many years at Columbia. It's also rare to see a team use multiple backs to dictate an offense, thanks to the spread offense and some other factors. Yale did come pretty close to doing that in the Elis' 2017 championship season, but it feels like the most effective running in the Ivies over the past decade has come from running QB's.

That's what makes this Columbia squad so unique. The Lions are boasting a returning crop of backs that, injury recovery permitting, looks like the deepest and most talented group on the team. And if CU can compliment its also very deep and talented WR attack with a running game that doesn't allow defenses to focus too much on the pass, the Lions could be in business.

Sophomore Dante Miller was excellent as a freshman in 2018 before being lost to the season with a broken tibia against Dartmouth. Miller reports a full recovery to his hometown paper and it seems likely he will be #1 on the depth chart this year.

But fellow sophomore Ryan Young was excellent taking most of the carrieds after Miller and so many other RB's went down last season. He has a strong case to make to be the top back.

Also returning is senior Lynnard Rose, who was playing a much-increased role in the offense in 2018 before his injury. And the coaches were very high on junior Alexander Filacouris before, you guessed it, he also went down to injury in the season opener.

Junior Marquavious Moore still has the skills and speed to make a possible move up the depth chart, and senior Tanner Thomas, a one-time starter, can't be completely overlooked.

Another X-factor at the position is junior Broderick Taylor, who impressed everyone the last two training camps, but also tore ACL's in each of his two preseasons.

Only one freshman joins the RB ranks this year in Jayden Rolle.

Bottom Line: It feels like Miller and Young have the best shot at being the #1 and #2 backs, with Miller specializing in going outside and Young doing the inside running. I also expect Rose to be used heavily as a pass-catching threat out of the backfield. But this is a much harder position to guess the depth chart than QB, so keep your eyes open for some exciting developments here during and after camp.

TIGHT ENDS

Columbia will likely use its tight ends much more often this season, even employing more two-tight end sets to confuse defenses.

Senior Rory Schlageter has been doing most of the work at the position the last two seasons but sophomore Casey Mariucci played a crucial role last year as a deep threat, especially in the win over Yale.

There was a decent amount of excitement over sophomore Jackson Heath in camp last year before he went down to injury.

The big freshman addition to the corps is Luke Painton, who appears to be one of the most promising incoming players.

Bottom Line: This is a position Columbia really needs to get more out of in 2019, and I expect the top three guys as of now will be Schlageter, Mariucci, and Heath. But this really feels like a part of the team that will look different than what we expect by mid season.

WIDE RECEIVERS

The biggest of all the many injury losses last year was senior Josh Wainwright, who is not only back this season but is a team captain. Wainwright broke the Columbia single season receiving yardage record in 2017 and played a scorching first half of football against CCSU in week one before his season-ending knee injury.

Fellow senior Ronald Smith found a way to stay in the starting lineup most of the season despite a number of injuries. But he was healthy enough to make key impacts in a number of games, including the wins over CCSU, Georgetown, Brown, and Cornell.

How much does having a healthy Smith and Wainwright in the lineup at the same time change things for Columbia? Consider that because of various injuries to the both of them, Smith and Wainwright have really only started eight games together over the past three seasons. But in those eight games, the Lions are 7-1 and the two receivers have racked up a combined total of 90 receptions, 1,431 yards, and 15 TD catches. Just how good 2019 could be if Smith and Wainwright start and complete all 10 games is in the "sky's the limit" category.

But Columbia also returns a very strong bevvy of other receivers. Guessing where the rest of them fall on the depth chart is one of the tougher games to play this training camp.

One player you might forget, but shouldn't, is senior Kaleb Pitts who filled in admirably for both Wainwright and Smith last season and made crucial receptions against Penn and Cornell in particular.

Senior Christian Everett is back after missing much of 2018 to injury as well, along with speedy junior Emerson Kabus and sophomore Mozes Mooney. Kabus played in 2018, but was also injured enough to be unable to match his decent freshmen numbers. Mooney got onto the field and made one catch, but it was during the final drive of the game in the close loss to Penn, so he figures to be in the mix this year.

We all remember sophomore Mike Roussos' heroics as a returner last season, but don't be surprised if he makes a strong campaign to be the #3 WR in camp.

Senior Dairon Acohido made some key grabs last year and he returns as well. Sophomore Ernest Robertson may also get a chance to play more than just the one game he got into last year.

Two freshman come into camp with the "highly-touted" label. One is Cameron Burt and the other is Jack Ertz. Last year's highly-touted WR Trajen Johnson is no longer on the roster.

Bottom Line: Columbia is a championship contender if Wainwright and Smith stay healthy all year, but that means that a third receiver will likely find himself wide open on obvious passing downs. That's an enviable position to be in for whoever wins that slot on the roster and we should expect a furious fight to grab it in camp and beyond.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Columbia did a much better job protecting the QB last season, cutting down on sacks allowed by a dramatic amount. Some of that was the OL's work, the rest of it was the fact that CU's QBs didn't hold onto the ball as much as Anders Hill '18 did in his 18 career starts. It should be noted that the many QB injuries the Lions suffered in 2018 were mostly the result of them getting hurt on running plays.

But for Columbia to take the next step, this experienced unit must do a better job of run blocking. It certainly made the difference in the loss against Penn especially. With the talent and depth the Lions enjoy at RB, this could be the key to the season.

Center Parker Coogan is the senior leader of this unit and one of the most admired players on the team. Senior Joseph Scowden started seven games last year, as did junior Josh Kaminski. 

Senior Isaac Werkman started all 10 games last year, but is reportedly out for the season with an injury.

The other key players to note who had significant playing time at OL in 2018 are junior John Rowe, junior Hank White, senior Drew Schoeberl, and sophomore Stew Newblatt, who even got playing time as a freshman in last year's season opener.

Of the newcomers, sophomore transfer Jack Doherty from the University of Richmond could be an impact player.

Bottom Line: Coogan and Scowden look like they have two of the five starting slots nailed down. But the rest of this unit should be ensconced in a major competition for the top spots all camp long.

Another Lion in the NFL

The Baltimore Ravens have just signed P/K Cameron Nizialek '17.

Nizialek went to Georgia as a grad transfer and got to play in the national championship game against Alabama.

IVY MEDIA DAY

It was great day for national exposure for Columbia and the other seven Ivy teams on Thursday. But if you were looking for real info on starting players, etc. you didn't get it.

One thing people should know is that senior WR Josh Wainwright didn't cancel his appearance at the event for any playing-related issue; he just had a scheduling conflict with his summer semester class.

Picks & Polls

This week, the official Ivy League preseason football poll, (the poll is of writers who cover the league, not the coaches), was released with Columbia coming in at 6th.

We also got the list of pre-season All Ivy picks from the Phil Steele website, with 10 Lions making either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd team.

Here's my take on these two developments:

-Count me among the many who believe Columbia will finish better than 6th this season, and I'll discuss the reasons why in about three weeks or so when my full 2019 season preview is out.

-But the fact that Columbia was picked so far down isn't the big story here. What really stands out from this poll is that there's a real split among the voters about who will win the league this year, and it's not just the usual split over two teams. It's clear a decent number of voters think any one of four or even five teams could win it all this year, and I can't remember any time when the poll has been this split. Columbia got a 1st place vote as well, (NOT from me, I no longer participate in the poll), so it's not like this team isn't on the general radar.

To me, this is really a very healthy sign for what should be a very good season of Ivy ball. The fact that two dominant teams emerged last season, (Princeton and Dartmouth), while the other would-be contenders, (Columbia and Yale), were ravaged with injuries was a lucky break for the league that could have suffered with just Princeton dominating everyone every week. Dartmouth challenged the Tigers about as well as possible without beating them in New Jersey and that made the season exciting enough. What a healthier Yale team could have done to Princeton and what a healthier Columbia squad could have done to Princeton and Dartmouth we'll never know.

-All that said, I don't see how anyone can make a really informed pick in this league before the coaches' pre-season news conference. We often learn of key additions, injuries, and other changes during those news conferences that change everything.

-And all THAT said, I'm still sticking with my Dartmouth pick to win the league until I see some compelling evidence to convince me otherwise. If you don't agree, look at the returning roster and the Big Green's 2018 stats and then get back to me. I do not remember looking at a team coming into any season looking as formidable as Dartmouth does now.

-All the pre-season All Ivy picks are nice, but the Phil Steele folks mistakenly left off Dartmouth's DL Jackson Perry because it's clear they didn't know he was coming back for a 5th year. (Hmm... did the voters who chose other teams for first not know that too?) He's a contender for the defensive Bushnell Cup, so that's a big omission. I just look as the list as a nice acknowledgement for everyone mentioned and leave it at that.

Camp Confidential

One play.

In many ways, the 2018 Columbia Football season final judgment came down to one play.

One miraculous play.

The difference between what many of us would have considered a disappointing 2018 season, and one that proved the football program is continuing to transform for the better, was one crazy kickoff return for a touchdown that gave the Lions a 24-21 win over Cornell and clinched a winning 6-4 season record.

It shouldn't have come down to that. Columbia shouldn't have been so severely bitten by the injury bug that it needed an extremely rare special teams miracle to secure a winning season.

But after losing the top offensive player on the team, the top three QB's on the depth chart, the top two RB's on the depth chart, the most talented LB, a starting CB, etc., etc., etc., the team showed that the one thing that wasn't injured in 2018 was its heart.

Now, the anticipation to see what this gutsy team can do with its injured players back on the field in 2019 is the clearest and most dominant story line going into this new season.

Columbia Football preseason training camp doesn't start for another 18 days, but the three key goals and questions that need to be answered are clear enough.

QB QUESTIONS: Not so much of a mystery anymore

The mystery level surrounding the CU QB situation was Agatha Christie or higher at this time last year as the Lions were set to start a new signal caller who had never started a game at the collegiate level.

That QB was Josh Bean who ended up only starting four games in 2018 because of injuries he sustained in weeks one and six. Because Bean didn't even play half a season, there's still some mystery surrounding him and his abilities. But that mystery grade is now down to the easier-to-solve Encyclopedia Brown level.

Unlike last year, we now know that Bean can make all the throws. We now know that he can run well, (but he'll have to protect his head better). We now know that he has a good rhythm with the talented receiving corps that returns for this season.

Is Josh Bean an All Ivy level QB? That we don't know yet, just like we don't know if Bean will do a better job protecting himself this season. But compared to 12 months ago, there is a lot of new light on the QB subject. The goal is to make sure Bean can learn to lead the team relying more on throwing and less on running in the middle of the field.


WOUNDED LIONS: Full Recoveries?

It shouldn't take long in training camp to determine if key injured Lions from 2018 like WR Josh Wainwright and LB Justin Woodley are at or close to 100%. All reports in the off season that I've heard say they are looking good, but it'll take scrimmage time to know for sure.

It's important to remember that Columbia actually came into 2018 pretty nicked up from a training camp that left Head Coach Al Bagnoli worried about manpower even before the season opener against CCSU left the Lions without Wainwright and promising RB Alexander Filacouris for the rest of the season.

Whatever the coaching staff needs to do to protect the recovering Lions and prevent new injuries in this training camp has to be a major priority.


THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS: Safeties and DT's

Graduation hit every unit of the team, but not really very hard except for two possible areas.

Losing Landon Baty and All Ivy Ryan Gilbert at safety may be an issue... or maybe not considering the development of S Ben Mathiasmeier and  the fact that the overall secondary is blessed with three very talented CB's returning in Will Allen, Ben McKeighan and Fara'ad McCombs. 

The interior defensive line is more of a challenge, as it seems to be for every Ivy team. Returning seniors Arman Samouk and Alex Robin need injury-free strong seasons. But the Lions also need some new names to step up in the middle. It's going to be very important to fill that hole with some viable options this summer.

More Commits, More Rational Exuberance

With three more commits joining next fall's incoming freshman class just in the last couple of days, the class of 2024 is looking pretty good already. And I don't just mean quantity. The following three commits are top quality as well...

Stephen Brooks

Perhaps the most in-demand commit announcing this week is 6-4 225 pound TE/DL Stephen Brooks  from the Dexter Southfield School in the Boston suburb of Brookline, MA.

Brooks had many offers, including from Brown, Cornell. UMass, Air Force, Fordham, and Lehigh.

Brooks will be the first Dexter Southfield grad to come to Columbia Football.

Gabriel Hollingsworth


Next is 6-3 207 pound QB Gabriel Hollingsworth from Reagan HS in Pfafftown, North Carolina.

Hollingsworth had offers from Yale and Southern Mississippi.

He'll be the first Reagan HS grad to come to Columbia Football.

Ben Corniello

Finally, we have  6-2 250 pound DE/OL Ben Corniello from Hand HS in Madison, CT.

Corniello will be the second Hand HS grad to come to Columbia Football, following Mike Mundt '95.

Corniello's path to Columbia may have been paved by his head coach. That would be Dave Mastroianni '02, who played for CU Football after graduating from Foran HS in Milford, CT. Mastroianni has been an inspiration to many players after he was diagnosed with cancer way back when he played for Columbia and has been fighting it ever since.

That brings our list of commits for 2020 to eleven:

1. Braeden Bellmer OL 6-4 260 lbs. Puyallup HS Puyallup, WA 

2. Stephen Brooks TE/DL 6-4 225 lbs. Dexter Southfield School Brookline, MA

3. Jackson Coker WR 5-11 170 lbs. Westlake HS Austin, TX 

4. Ben Corniello DE/OL 6-2 250 lbs. Hand HS Madison, CT 



5. Gabriel Hollingsworth QB 6-3 207 lbs. Reagan HS Pfafftown, NC

6. Kristopher Jenner QB 6-5 225 lbs. The McDonogh School Owings Mills, MD 



7. Clarence Krebs OL 6-5 275 lbs. Servite HS Anaheim, CA

8. Carter McFadden FS/WR 5-10 165 lbs. Montgomery HS Skillman, NJ 

9. Patrick Passalacqua OL 6-2 265 lbs. Old Tappan HS Old Tappan, NJ

10. Anthony Roussos LB 6-0 210 lbs. River Ridge HS New Port Richey, FL

11. Cooper Thomas LB 6-2 215 lbs. St. Thomas HS (Houston, TX)