I’ve got a few updates and other notes on this podcast as we await the beginning of training camp this coming week.

Here are some written notes to use for reference as you listen:

-106 players on the roster

Forgot to mention Nik Winzer enough in the OL discussion

“Air Texas”

QB from Houston

2 WR from Dallas area (Evans and Crow)

WR from SE of San Antonio (Kelly)

WR Gardoni from Missouri City (Houston area)

Let’s call the OL the “Eastern Seaboard”

Noah Jordan from Maryland

Mark Chapman from CT

James Lill from CT

Ryan Carr from Philly suburbs

Ewan Clarke from Alexandria, VA

Winzer from Matewan, NJ

Sclafani Family

When I recorded this podcast last month about the outstanding incoming class of 2030 freshmen, (arriving on campus in 2026), I was not sure if one of those stellar commits, Mike Sclafani, was the son or another relative of a Lion player by the same name who graduated in 1994.

NEW Jon Poppe Inteview Now Available!

Head Coach Jon Poppe was as forthcoming as ever in this 22 minute interview he did with me just this week (taped on Wednesday 8/13).

Check out his thoughts about this coming season, the veteran and incoming players, and the new landscape of Ivy Football in the era of NIL, the transfer portal, and much, much more!

If you’re joining us on the Roar Lions 2025 section of my Substack, please consider subscribing for free or even getting a premium paid subscription for under $7 a month.

Enjoy!

NEW Poppe Interview Available Friday!

 

I'll be posting my gband new (taped on Wednesday 8/13) interview with Head Coach Jon Poppe on my Substack tomorrow in time for the weekend. 

The interview will be FREE to all, but please feel free to either become a free or paid subscriber! 

I think everyone is going to like what Coach Poppe has to say in his usual candid way. In short, I've never heard an Ivy football coach be as forthcoming as Poppe is every time. 

Media Day Wrapup & More

 

Sam Musungu

The Ivy League Football Media Day has just wrapped up and it was just about the same as the many previous years, with one big exception: this time some actual breaking news came out.

Cornell’s Head Coach Dan Swanstrom announced that All-Everything WR Sam Musungu is recovering from torn ACL surgery and will be out for this season.

I’ll talk about that, more from Media Day, and some big news about a few former Lions in the NFL and the Big 10 on this free podcast.

Media Day Questions

 

Bruce Wood from Big Green Alert often write about how sad it is that Ivy League Media Day is no longer an in-person affair. 

But it’s now been a really long time since that was the reality and there is at least an opportunity now to publicly share what questions I would ask if I could ask them in person, or even online at Monday’s Media Day.

I go though my top queries for each coach and Ivy Director Robin Harris in this podcast.

This podcast is free to all. Anyone can choose to become a paid subscriber to get access to some exclusive content, but please consider at least becoming a free subscriber when the podcast link above gives you that option.

A Look Back: Jon Poppe Interview (LINK FIXED!)

 

About a month after the 2024 championship season, I had a great one-hour interview with Head Coach Jon Poppe.

I wanted to share that full interview now for free to everyone as we prepare for the next interview with Coach Poppe on Ivy League Media Day this coming Monday.

Obviously, this interview is slightly dated now because we’ve been through spring practice and finalized the incoming freshmen class. BUT, it’s worth getting these thoughts on 2024 codified in our minds as we get ready for the 2025 kickoff in just 6 weeks.

Enjoy!

As Predicted...

The Ivy League Football Media Poll (which does not include me or some other longtime experts on the Ivies) came out yesterday and the results were exactly as I predicted:

Columbia’s 4th place spot was at the higher end of the 4th-6th window I asked everyone to expect. This represents some begrudging respect for Head Coach Jon Poppe, his staff, and some of the returning player and stands as a sharp contrast to last year’s poll results that put the Lions dead last.

I’ll talk about this and NEXT WEEK’S coach interviews/media day in this short podcast.

New Podcast! Poll Preparation!

 

The Ivy League Football preseason poll is coming out on August 4th (this coming Monday).

Are you ready to see the results?

Are you really ready? 

I delve into that in the latest Roar Lions Podcast here. 

Enjoy!

Patriot Games, 2025

 

***NOTE: The audio for this Podcast has been fixed and re-recorded***

In the final year before some BIG changes occur for the Patriot League, the conference's 2025 football media poll has been released. 

Thanks to the great Dartmouth football chronicler Bruce Wood at Big Green Alert for flagging that news for all of us. 

Remember, all of Columbia's out of conference opponents this year are Patriot League members. 

I have a quick analysis of that poll, and a little more in this short podcast free to all subscribers and non-subscribers alike. 

UPDATE: In my discussion of the Phil Steele preseason All Ivy Team, I forgot to mention that junior WR Titus Evans is also named to the 2nd at along with fellow WR Jordan Kelly.

How is Jon Poppe Doing it???

 

Jon Poppe

The title question of this post is something so many of us are asking each other regularly these days. The discussion usually begins after we learn of yet another very impressive recruit committing to Columbia Football.

It seems ridiculously early to start discussing next year's crop of incoming freshmen, the high quality of so many of the 2026 commits compels me to do so in this podcast I'm making available for paid subscribers to my Substack only. 

Enjoy. 

Roar Lions Podcast, New Episode! "Short, but Special"

 

Hugo Merry

No, Lion PK Hugo Merry is not short (he’s 6-2) but there isn’t too much to talk about when it comes to Special Teams personnel as we stand about a month away from training camp.

I’ll break down in this mini-podcast some of the key news for this unit, which actually doesn’t have an incoming freshman joining the kicking corps.

Players mentioned in this podcast:

Hugo Merry

Tommy Sleeman

Sam Pearman

Hutch Crow