L.A. Lineman

 

6-4, 235-pound TE/DE Santiago Hernandez from the Harvard-Westlake School in  Los Angeles has committed to Columbia.

He had a number of D-III offers and a preferred walk-on offer at Boston College.

Hernandez will be the sixth Harvard-Westlake grad to come to Columbia. Current sophomore WR Chase Harleston is a fellow Harvard-Westlake grad. 

So our unofficial commit list is now up to 28 names:

1) Qwincy Amos DB 5"11 170 lbs. Warren HS San Antonio, TX

2) Terell Battle WR/DB 6"3 190 lbs. Mountain View HS, Lawrenceville, GA

3) Jalen Campbell DL/OL 6"4 295 lbs. Jackson-Reed HS Washington, DC

4) Jaylen Carter WR/DB 6"0 180 lbs. Taft School Watertown, CT

5) Christian Carti WR 6"1 190 lbs. Bergen Catholic HS Oradell, NJ

6) Colin Cook 6"3 185 lbs. Pope John Paul II Prep Hendersonville, TN

7) Braden Dougherty TE/DE 6"5 230 lbs. Dublin Coffman HS Dublin, OH

8) Titus Evans WR 6"1 170 lbs. Mansfield Timberview HS Arlington, TX

9) Ethan Fullerton WR/DB 5"11 170 lbs. Notre Dame HS Sherman Oaks, CA

10) Braylon Gardoni 6"0 180 lbs. Fort Bend Christian Academy Sugar Land, TX

11) AJ George LB/RB 6"2 190 lbs. Ottawa Hills HS Toledo, OH 

12) Chase Goodwin QB 6"2 200 lbs. Memorial HS Houston, TX

13) Quinn Herlihy DL/LB 6"3 238 lbs. Cheshire Academy/Shrewsbury HS Worchester, MA

14) Santiago Hernandez DE/TE 6"4 235 lbs. Harvard-Westlake School Los Angeles, CA

15) Jaden Hinton OL/DL 6"3 300 lbs. Ames HS South Easton, MA

16) Griffin Johnson RB 5"11 190 lbs. Marysville HS Marysville, OH

17) Sean Kimani OL 6"5 290 lbs. Duluth HS Duluth, GA

18) Bailey Kornegay-Douhadji DE 6"3 230 lbs. East Caweta HS Sharpsburg, GA

19) Keelan Kornegay-Douhadji DE 6"3 230 lbs. East Caweta HS Shapsburg, GA

20) Xander Menapace QB 6"4 208 lbs. Hamburg Area HS Hamburg, PA 

21) Malachi Mercer LB 6"1 225 lbs. Bergen Catholic Oradell, NJ

22) Hugo Merry P/K 6"3  210 lbs. Frederick HS Frederick, MD

23) Mikey Nabbout DE/TE 6"3 245 lbs. St. John's Prep Danvers, MA 

24) Charlie Newton WR/DB 6"3 195 lbs. Walter Payton Prep Chicago, IL

25) Ahmari Owens 6"5 305 lbs. Springfield Central HS Springfield, MA

26) Levi Robins DB 5"11 175 lbs. Saguaro HS Scottsdale, AZ

27) Will Rubalcava DB 6"0 170 lbs. Rick Reedy HS Frisco, TX

28) Nik Winzer OL/DL 6"6 285 lbs. Matawan Regional HS Matawan, NJ

Speedy Addition, and a Line Shift

5-11 170-pound WR/DB Ethan Fullerton from Notre Dame HS in Sherman Oaks, CA has committed to the Lions. 

Fullerton will be the third Notre Dame alum to come to Columbia Football. 

So our unofficial commit list is now up to 27 names:

1) Qwincy Amos DB 5"11 170 lbs. Warren HS San Antonio, TX

2) Terell Battle WR/DB 6"3 190 lbs. Mountain View HS, Lawrenceville, GA

3) Jalen Campbell DL/OL 6"4 295 lbs. Jackson-Reed HS Washington, DC

4) Jaylen Carter WR/DB 6"0 180 lbs. Taft School Watertown, CT

5) Christian Carti WR 6"1 190 lbs. Bergen Catholic HS Oradell, NJ

6) Colin Cook 6"3 185 lbs. Pope John Paul II Prep Hendersonville, TN

7) Braden Dougherty TE/DE 6"5 230 lbs. Dublin Coffman HS Dublin, OH

8) Titus Evans WR 6"1 170 lbs. Mansfield Timberview HS Arlington, TX

9) Ethan Fullerton WR/DB 5"11 170 lbs. Notre Dame HS Sherman Oaks, CA

10) Braylon Gardoni 6"0 180 lbs. Fort Bend Christian Academy Sugar Land, TX

11) AJ George LB/RB 6"2 190 lbs. Ottawa Hills HS Toledo, OH 

12) Chase Goodwin QB 6"2 200 lbs. Memorial HS Houston, TX

13) Quinn Herlihy DL/LB 6"3 238 lbs. Cheshire Academy/Shrewsbury HS Worchester, MAha

14) Jaden Hinton OL/DL 6"3 300 lbs. Ames HS South Easton, MA

15) Griffin Johnson RB 5"11 190 lbs. Marysville HS Marysville, OH

16) Sean Kimani OL 6"5 290 lbs. Duluth HS Duluth, GA

17) Baily Kornegay-Douhadji DE 6"3 230 lbs. East Caweta HS Sharpsburg, GA

18) Keelan Kornegay DE 6"3 230 lbs. East Caweta HS Shapsburg, GA

19) Xander Menapeace QB 6"4 208 lbs. Hamburg Area HS Hamburg, PA 

20) Malachi Mercer LB 6"1 225 lbs. Bergen Catholic Oradell, NJ

21) Hugo Merry P/K 6"3  210 lbs. Frederick HS Frederick, MD

22) Mikey Nabbout DE/TE 6"3 245 lbs. St. John's Prep Danvers, MA 

23) Chase Newton WR/DB 6"3 195 lbs. Walter Payton Prep Chicago, IL

24) Ahmari Owens 6"5 305 lbs. Springfield Central HS Springfield, MA

25) Levi Robins DB 5"11 175 lbs. Saguaro HS Scottsdale, AZ

26) Will Rubalcava DB 6"0 170 lbs. Rick Reedy HS Frisco, TX

27) Nik Winzer OL/DL 6"6 285 lbs. Matawan Regional HS Matawan, NJ

PAINTON SWITCH?

I'm hearing reports the TE Luke Painton has exited the transfer portal and will return to CU this fall as a... LEFT TACKLE. Apparently, he has put on the added weight needed and is ready to go. 

This would seem to be what may be a number of special moves the coaching staff is implementing to shore up a Lion offensive line that is taking a very tough series of graduation losses all at once. 

As one of my former classmates noted, Penn TE Joe Valerio made the same position switch for the Quakers and ended up playing All Pro level football in the NFL as an O-lineman. 

So, we shall see. 

Schedule Switch?

It's now February 15th, and usually the upcoming fall Ivy football schedules are released by this time or even much earlier.

Not this year. 

I'm guessing, but I think the reason may be that some Ivy venues may be changing in order to make up for home games lost due to the 2020 COVID season cancellation. 

For Columbia, if the home venues aren't switched for 2023 the Lions will end up having to play Princeton, Cornell, Yale, and Dartmouth three times on the road over their last four meetings. 

I don't think the home venues for every Ivy game will be flipped, but I do think there's a chance at least one will and that may be the reason for the delayed schedule releases. 

Also for the Lions, there's another issue. Lafayette is listing Columbia as a home game for the Leopards on 9/16, which would be the season opener for CU. Advance schedules released over the years have the Columbia-Wagner game on 9/30 as a home game for the Seahawks on Staten Island. So that means that unless Columbia gets one of its four road Ivy games flipped to a home game, the Lions will only have four home games in 2023. 

I can't believe that will stand. I don't believe the Athletics Department will try to pass off the four games at home and one on Staten Island as "five games in NYC" or something like that. 

Beyond Columbia, all the other Ivy teams that lost home contests against their Ivy rivals because of the COVID cancellations should get some kind of relief. But I understand that making these changes can sometimes be very hard logistically. 

How Columbia Saved its Season

 The night of October 18, 2022 was a multi-year low point for Columbia Football. 

The Lions had just been mauled 41-16 at home by Yale on national TV. Neither the offense nor the defense had performed consistently. The season, and the program seemed lost. 

But what happened over the next three weeks, against three very different opponents, changed both the final results for the 2022 and the program's outlook for the future. 

It started with an improbable 21-20 win over Harvard at Harvard Stadium, the first Lion win over Crimson on the road since 1995. While the offense performed well in the clutch during that game, it was the Columbia defense and special teams that was most impressive. 

You can read the full summary of the game here, but the emotional highs and lows of that game clearly lit a fire back under the Lions that lasted for the rest of the season. 

It was also a crucial coming out game for some younger Lions, especially linebackers Jack Smiechowski and Anthony Roussos.

The following week, it was the offense that reigned supreme as the defense had its hands full with Brown's very potent offense. 

The 31-24 win in overtime was the best performance of the year for QB Caden Bell, who punctuated it with a winning TD pass in the face of a pass rusher that he knew would clobber him as soon as he let the ball go. Bell earned the right to come back in 2023 as the starter that day. 

The last game of the season was a needed 45-22 blowout win over Cornell. Sadly, the offensive line that totally dominated that game will be mostly gone due to graduation this coming season. 

Columbia's other three wins in 2022, all against non-conference teams, were blowouts that made us feel good as fans but did not come close to what the Lions did during this three-game season ending streak. 

Since the season ended 12 weeks ago, we've learned of three more good developments:

1) Al Bagnoli is coming back as head coach for next year

2) Caden Bell will return next year for his "COVID 5th Year" option

3) A pretty strong incoming freshman class has been "signed."

It would appear the biggest challenge will obviously be replacing all the graduation losses on the offensive line. That's a very tall order, but stranger things have happened. 

Lion in Need

Former CU footballer Mike Bradley '70 suffered a tragedy at his home in Massachusetts late last month. 

One of his teammates alerted me that:

"About 10 days ago, Mike woke up at 3 AM to a 2-alarm fire in his 200 year-old 2-story barn. 

The fire required a total of seven local fire departments to put out the blaze. 

In addition to the loss of the structure, Mike and Rebecca lost livestock and machinery in the fire.

Luckily, their house did not sustain any damage even though it was only 40-feet away from the blaze.  

This  is the GoFundMe page to send them some much-needed help. 

Tennessee Take

 

6-3, 185-pound WR Colin Cook from Pope John Paul II Prep in Hendersonville, Tennessee has committed to the Lions.

He also had an offer from Navy. Cook will be the second Pope JP II grad to come to Columbia Football, following Jake Motz '22.

Columbia made it's offer to Cook way back in March of 2022. 

He made a number of all-star teams after hauling in 67 catches for 897 yards and 11 TD's in 2022. 

So our unofficial commit list is back up to 26 names:

1) Qwincy Amos DB 5"11 170 lbs. Warren HS San Antonio, TX

2) Terell Battle WR/DB 6"3 190 lbs. Mountain View HS, Lawrenceville, GA

3) Jalen Campbell DL/OL 6"4 295 lbs. Jackson-Reed HS Washington, DC

4) Jaylen Carter WR/DB 6"0 180 lbs. Taft School Watertown, CT

5) Christian Carti WR 6"1 190 lbs. Bergen Catholic HS Oradell, NJ

6) Colin Cook 6"3 185 lbs. Pope John Paul II Prep Hendersonville, TN

7) Braden Dougherty TE/DE 6"5 230 lbs. Dublin Coffman HS Dublin, OH

8) Titus Evans WR 6"1 170 lbs. Mansfield Timberview HS Arlington, TX

9) Braylon Gardoni 6"0 180 lbs. Fort Bend Christian Academy Sugar Land, TX

10) AJ George LB/RB 6"2 190 lbs. Ottawa Hills HS Toledo, OH 

11) Chase Goodwin QB 6"2 200 lbs. Memorial HS Houston, TX

12) Quinn Herlihy DL/LB 6"3 238 lbs. Cheshire Academy/Shrewsbury HS Worchester, MA

13) Jaden Hinton OL/DL 6"3 300 lbs. Ames HS South Easton, MA

14) Griffin Johnson RB 5"11 190 lbs. Marysville HS Marysville, OH

15) Sean Kimani OL 6"5 290 lbs. Duluth HS Duluth, GA

16) Baily Kornegay-Douhadji DE 6"3 230 lbs. East Caweta HS Sharpsburg, GA

17) Keelan Kornegay DE 6"3 230 lbs. East Caweta HS Shapsburg, GA

18) Xander Menapeace QB 6"4 208 lbs. Hamburg Area HS Hamburg, PA 

19) Malachi Mercer LB 6"1 225 lbs. Bergen Catholic Oradell, NJ

20) Hugo Merry P/K 6"3  210 lbs. Frederick HS Frederick, MD

21) Mikey Nabbout DE/TE 6"3 245 lbs. St. John's Prep Danvers, MA 

22) Chase Newton WR/DB 6"3 195 lbs. Walter Payton Prep Chicago, IL

23) Ahmari Owens 6"5 305 lbs. Springfield Central HS Springfield, MA

24) Levi Robins DB 5"11 175 lbs. Saguaro HS Scottsdale, AZ

25) Will Rubalcava DB 6"0 170 lbs. Rick Reedy HS Frisco, TX

26) Nik Winzer OL/DL 6"6 285 lbs. Matawan Regional HS Matawan, NJ

Big Get

 

6-4, 208-pound QB Xander Menapeace from Hamburg Area HS in Pennsylvania has committed to the Lions. 

Xander will be the first Hamburg grad to come to Columbia Football.

He also had offers from U. Albany, Monmouth, and others.

Xander has great height and a strong arm, as you can see in his video linked above. 

More on Xander here.

So our unofficial commit list is back up to 25 names:

1) Qwincy Amos DB 5"11 170 lbs. Warren HS San Antonio, TX

2) Terell Battle WR/DB 6"3 190 lbs. Mountain View HS, Lawrenceville, GA

3) Jalen Campbell DL/OL 6"4 295 lbs. Jackson-Reed HS Washington, DC

4) Jaylen Carter WR/DB 6"0 180 lbs. Taft School Watertown, CT

5) Christian Carti WR 6"1 190 lbs. Bergen Catholic HS Oradell, NJ

6) Braden Dougherty TE/DE 6"5 230 lbs. Dublin Coffman HS Dublin, OH

7) Titus Evans WR 6"1 170 lbs. Mansfield Timberview HS Arlington, TX

8) Braylon Gardoni 6"0 180 lbs. Fort Bend Christian Academy Sugar Land, TX

9) AJ George LB/RB 6"2 190 lbs. Ottawa Hills HS Toledo, OH 

10) Chase Goodwin QB 6"2 200 lbs. Memorial HS Houston, TX

11) Quinn Herlihy DL/LB 6"3 238 lbs. Cheshire Academy/Shrewsbury HS Worchester, MA

12) Jaden Hinton OL/DL 6"3 300 lbs. Ames HS South Easton, MA

13) Griffin Johnson RB 5"11 190 lbs. Marysville HS Marysville, OH

14) Sean Kimani OL 6"5 290 lbs. Duluth HS Duluth, GA

15) Baily Kornegay-Douhadji DE 6"3 230 lbs. East Caweta HS Sharpsburg, GA

16) Keelan Kornegay DE 6"3 230 lbs. East Caweta HS Shapsburg, GA

17) Xander Menapeace QB 6"4 208 lbs. Hamburg Area HS Hamburg, PA 

18) Malachi Mercer LB 6"1 225 lbs. Bergen Catholic Oradell, NJ

19) Hugo Merry P/K 6"3  210 lbs. Frederick HS Frederick, MD

20) Mikey Nabbout DE/TE 6"3 245 lbs. St. John's Prep Danvers, MA 

21) Chase Newton WR/DB 6"3 195 lbs. Walter Payton Prep Chicago, IL

22) Ahmari Owens 6"5 305 lbs. Springfield Central HS Springfield, MA

23) Levi Robins DB 5"11 175 lbs. Saguaro HS Scottsdale, AZ

24) Will Rubalcava DB 6"0 170 lbs. Rick Reedy HS Frisco, TX

25) Nik Winzer OL/DL 6"6 285 lbs. Matawan Regional HS Matawan, NJ