Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Poppe Wins Coach of the Year, McDonald Passed over



By now you've heard the news that Head Coach Jon Poppe and his staff were named "Coaching Staff of the Year" at the Bushnell Cup ceremonies at the Rainbow Room Monday.

This is of course a well-deserved honor for a number of reasons. I thought the resiliency this staff instilled in the players was their best achievement. Now they will have to distinguish themselves as builders via their own recruits and staying power. 

I was sorry that DB Hayden McDonald did not take the Bushnell home for Defensive Player of the Year. But considering the way the Lions played team defense all season, it was perhaps an uphill battle for any one player to get that much recognition. I would not be surprised to see McDonald in the NFL in the coming years, however. 

Some tighter scheduling for me has made it a little harder for me to update my key moments in the 2024 season series lately, but I WILL resume that work soon. I'm also hoping to get some real interviews going again thanks to some improved access to this new regime. 

For now, I'd like to thank the fans and readers of the blog who have been picking up the slack for me on documenting the players who have committed to the program as the incoming 2025 freshman class. I'll be doing my usual due diligence on each of them and posting that here over the coming weeks and months as well. 


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fwiw: Columbia moves up to #2 in FCS is fewest allowed ppg. Not to pick nits, but HM is a safety

Anonymous said...

SNUBBED!!

Anonymous said...

This years defense is the best I have seen since the 73 team!

Anonymous said...

Seems to me that the Ivy League is reluctant to give the award to a Columbia player. 6 from Dartmouth wasn't even the best DL on the Dartmouth team. Reminds me of when Scott Valentas got robbed of the award too. Congrats to the coaching staff, that was well deserved for the way they battled through out the year with injuries. Hope to see the coaches stay for a couple more years to build a dominant program. I am sure many of them have several offers on the table.

Anonymous said...

That is an astute remark, Valantas was robbed, one of the best lbs I have seen at this University. The fact that 0 and 52 were better players on the same dline is ludicrous!

Anonymous said...

When was the last time a team has one a share of an Ivey league tittle with the worst scoring offense in league?

Anonymous said...

is Raleigh Erwin coming back for his 5th year?!?!?!?

Anonymous said...

Jake, Do you know what seniors are coming back?

Anonymous said...

JT??

Anonymous said...

Who knows and who cares? We also went through three QB’s. Just an unheralded effort by all those on the team and coaching staff. Certainly with a couple breaks and the stars aligned. One year and one co-champ not enough, so none of our Columbia Lion coaches are going anywhere this year

Anonymous said...

I hope so, the program needs guys like him. Heard he was the “silent workhorse” of this years defensive unit

Anonymous said...

Q&A with Jake…
https://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/lionheart-q-a-with-jake-novak-columbia-football-s-biggest-fan

Anonymous said...

There is a real bias against Columbia—outrageous that the best player on the best defense did not not. Make it—Dartmouth collapsed on defense against Cornell (39 points scored against their D, and Yale, with 43 points scored against their D). We were totally jobbed—who votes for this thing anyway? Tim Murphy? PS, if JT had stayed healthy he would have also been a finalist.