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.