Woodley's Warriors

Jack Smiechowski

Columbia’s linebacking corps is another position group where graduation has taken a toll. Losing Anthony Roussos & CJ Brown is not easy, but it’s also rare to have two returning linebackers with All-Ivy ability.

They are senior Jack Smiechowski & junior Charlie Newton.

I’ll take a closer look at them, several other guys in the mix, and the man overseeing this position, Linebackers Coach Justin Woodley, who appears to be a genius coach in the making.

To hear the mini-podcast, click here.

Players mentioned in this podcast:

Jack Smiechowski

Charlie Newton

Christian Gonzalez

AJ George

Patrick Sodl

Malachi Mercer

Liam Donagher

James Fealy

Drew Burmeister

Brendan Fournier

New Podcast! On the Run

 

Griffin Johnson

My latest mini-podcast (they will get longer as we get closer and into the 2025 season) is a short preview of the position group I think is the biggest question mark for the Lions right now. 

Columbia’s running attack goes into 2025 needing to adjust to the graduation loss of Joey Giorgi ‘25, who finished his career as the number 2 all-time leading rusher in program history.

I’ll take a look at who’s coming back in this position group and the newcomers. 

You can check out the podcast by clicking here. 

Players mentioned in this podcast:

Griffin Johnson

Malcom Terry

Lucas Bullock

Jahmir Pitcher

Michael Walters

Brandon Hsing

Podcast Episode 8: It's Getting Offensive!

 

Noah Jordan

Columbia will boast a very talented and veteran offensive line in 2025, led by All Ivy honoree Noah Jordan at Right Tackle.

I look at the other key returning veterans and speak about each of the incoming seven freshman OL’s (plus one Long Snapper) in today’s podcast that you can hear by clicking here. 

Players mentioned in this podcast:

Noah Jordan

Mark Chapman

Ryan Carr

James Lill

Ewan Clarke 

Jace Eveland

Nick Purdy

Stone Theis

Dylan Clifton

Dawson Thompson

Simon Vander Wel

Henry Estes  

Thomas Browne

It's Official! Freshmen Class Added to the Roster

 

The official news release announcing the incoming freshmen football class is out, and it almost 100% as expected.

Only one of our previously committed freshmen (LB Dylan Sandles) will not be joining us, and there is just one new name: DB M.D. Awe from Reedy HS in the Dallas area,

I’ll talk a bit more about Awe and a lot more in the latest podcast you can hear by clicking here. 

And I’ll be updating my running LionFeeders database of all the documented players who have come to Columbia during the course of the week.

Players mentioned in this podcast:

M.D. Awe

Jeremiah Douglas

Owen Thomas

Jack Smiechowski

Chuck Newton

Christian Gonzalez

Patrick Sodl

AJ George

Drew Burmeister

Brendan Fournier

Enjoy!

Podcast Episode 6: Primary Secondary Concerns

 

Carter McCray

Let’s take a look at the returning defensive back situation for the Lions, along with the next batch of (expected) incoming freshman.

Click here to hear the latest podcast.

Players mentioned in this Podcast:

Carter McCray, rising sophomore DB

Jeremiah Douglas , rising sophomore DB

Galvin Goss, incoming freshmen DB (1st from valley hs in al)

Henry Estes, incoming freshman DT/OL (1st)

Jace Eveland, incoming freshman OL (1st)

Brendan Fournier, incoming freshman RB/LB (1st)

Podcast Episode 5: TV Dominance!

We’ve come a long way from the days when Columbia was the only Ivy team excluded from getting any nationally televised games in the Ivy TV contract. This season, the Lions will be featured in THREE Friday night games on ESPNU.

I dig into that and look at the schedule overall, with a bit of news on the current roster to share as well, in this short podcast.