Ty Lenhart
It's been more than 610 days since the 2019 season ended, but my sources tell me the Columbia coaches are still "all in" on returning senior QB Ty Lenhart.
Lenhart comes into the season with a 4-5 record as a starter. As a starter, these are his overall stats (again, just as a *starter)
Passing Attempts: 267
Completions: 161
Completion %: .602
Yards: 1,609
YPA: 6.02
YPC: 9.99
TD: 9
INT: 7
Rushing Attempts: 68
Yards: 165
YPC: 2.4
TD: 2
The W-L and passing stats would have been pretty impressive from a returning QB by Columbia standards in the pre-Al Bagnoli era, but some of them are a little worrisome at this point. Also, Lenhart is currently riding a two-game losing streak after poor performances overall against Brown and Cornell.
I like Lenhart's arm strength and his speed. He's also shown a willingness to sacrifice his body on several running plays during his career, and that's a key ingredient for assuming team leadership.
But I worry about Lenhart's ball security. Opponents now know to attack the ball in Lenhart's arms whenever he runs and that often produces fumbles. His fumbles alone seem to have cost Columbia the game against Brown in 2019. While his interception rate seems to have fallen over his last five starts, he still forces passes at times.
His nine starts make him one of the most experienced QB's returning this year in the Ivies, and experience should be more valuable this year than ever. But the coaches were at that "all in" stage with Lenhart even before the COVID lockdown and eventual loss of the 2020 season. So there's something they see in Lenhart beyond just experience.
As I've written before, Columbia has a number of seemingly talented QB's currently on the roster, including transfer Joe Green and the multi-faceted weapon Gabriel Hollingsworth. If Lenhart keeps the starting job going into this season, he'll probably have to prove that confidence from the coaches is worth it.
3 comments:
Looking forward to the season too. I do have similar reservations about Lenhart that Jake has.. Expect Ryan Young to carry us and take pressure from the QB position. Can't figure out why the DL continues to be relatively light, yet Coach Ferraro does wonders!
Ty Lenhart obviously needs to improve upon his statistics, but I understand why the coaching staff is "all in" on him because he did show flashes of brilliance two years ago and comes into the season with plenty of experience under center. I do believe Columbia can be very successful this season with Lenhart at quarterback. However, inasmuch as the quarterback position is unquestionably the most important one on any football team, it is exciting to see that Columbia has several newcomers who might just be the next standout quarterback in Columbia Football history. I mean someone like Sid Luckman Gene Rossides, Claude Benham, Archie Roberts, Tom Vassell and Sean Brackett to name a few.
Stan Waldbaum
As I wrote sometime ago, I don't think Lynhart is our guy: (1) too many mistakes [interceptions and fumbles]; and (2) too many very talented incomers, at least one of whom, if not more, can do a much better job.
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