Friday, December 21, 2012

BREAKING NEWS: Nottingham Chooses Columbia


Nottingham tees off against Colorado


Three sources have told me today that Stanford QB Brett Nottingham has decided to come to Columbia as a transfer.

This is probably not a 100% done deal, but only some small details are in the way.

Nottingham's Stanford bio says it all:  he was one of the most sought-after blue chip quarterback prospects coming out of high school two and a half years ago as this evaluation suggests.

At 6-4 and 212 pounds, he's considerably bigger than just about every other QB in the league.

As one reader noted earlier this week, Nottingham went to the same high school as Columbia basketball star  Brian Barbour, but I don't know if he played a role in this decision.

Remember, coaches are not allowed to recruit transfers in the NCAA.

I expect more news on this in the coming days, but this is a big "get' for the Lions and hopefully the sports program at Columbia in general.





36 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great news for Columbia and the league! But as Cornell can tell you now, and as Columbia remembers frmo the Witkowski days, it takes more than an All-World QB to win games.

Anonymous said...

This is outstanding news for the Lions. With a stable full of wide receivers returning for next season things just got a whole lot brighter with Nottingham coming to Columbia. Go Lions, and yes I hear the roar.

Anonymous said...

Anyone hae any clue as to how much eligibility he may have left? He didn't play his first year, although I have no idea whether he was redshirted or not, then played the next two, so the question is, does he have one or two years left?
-Dr.V

Jake said...

He will be a junior. He can play two seasons for us.

oldlion said...

Is he eligible right away? Did Barbour help? Bags and Reno must be having fits.

Jake said...

He can play right away.

RedTiger61 said...

According to ESPN recruiting site, he was the 12th ranked QB coming out of high school ...

also, according to The Bootleg on foxsports.com, Nottingham was red-shirted in 2010

see http://stanford.scout.com/2/1249663.html)

DOC said...

Be still my Lion heart...!!!!

Anonymous said...

Obviously an opportunity for a good thing. I would only caution that it's not necessarily easy to integrate a new player midstream; how will he adapt? How will he be accepted by other players etc.
-Dr.V

#1 Lion said...

This is GREAT news! Hopefully, this will help recruit another big TE and. WR that can stretch the field! Good job Coach Mangurian!

Anonymous said...

Tweet by KCR: in addition to the above info, he's coming to GS in the spring to take a course or 2

RedTiger61 said...

... this is great news, but the critical factor to improvement for this team is the development of the offensive line .... I expect the new Strength Coach is planning on putting 20 lbs of muscle on each kid before the season starts ... the we can run AND throw !!!!

oldlion said...

I like our corps of WRs. Connors, Gross and Nelligan are going to be a formidable trio. Bell and Hollis can also do some damage. We could use another big TE who can run and work the seams in the zone. Will Bags take this lying down? And what about Reno? And Murph? Expect an all out blitz to unhook this stud. Hopefully Campbell can be helpful here. I honestly think this can mean a championship caliber offense if our young OL can get better in a hurry.

#1 Lion said...

Okay, this is a HUGE opportunity for people outside of my overzealous peers on this site (I mean that in a positive way) to PROMOTE CU Football!!! When Nottingham arrives on campus, we need him on radio, TV and in print right away. With the way the JETS are playing we can promote him as the second best QB in NY!!! We need stuff like that for NY-ers (and potential football recruits)to start thinking about CU Football. Let's not let Diane's staff drop the ball here!

Anonymous said...

Performance precedes promotion.

-Dr.V

RedTiger61 said...

... I agree with Dr. V ... also, I don't think that promotion of the individual is Mangurian's style ... it's team and system .... it's to early to worry about "marketing" .... gp 5-0 or 4-1 in the first 5 games, and you can guarantee a big crowd for Homecoming ...

LionEsq said...

Dr.V is right. Nottingham threw 16 passes in 8 games over two seasons, and dropped from backup to a senior down to third string. Calling on him to be a savior is too much pressure for a young guy, and pretty nasty to the two blue chip QBs already on the CU roster. And we don't know if he can be in school in time to participate fully in spring football. If he comes and contributes, I'll be happy. If he lives up to his high school promise, I'll be ecstatic. But I think it's best to be cautiously optimistic and let the kid grow into himself as a Lion - and not to write off the young QBs we already have. That said, this is a very good sign for loyal Lions!

Anonymous said...

I agree Please promote the team. Not an individual, not Coach M's style. Either ALL or none.

#1 Lion said...

You guys simply don't get it! Currently, there is NOTHING about this team to promote, except Nottingham. By highlighting him, you will highlight the team. With Nottinghame we are a 6-4 team, without him, we are 3-7 (if we are lucky). It's that simple!

LionEsq said...

#1, Nottingham has thrown 16 passes in 8 games over two college seasons,AWOL on mop up duty. He fell from being the backup to a senior down to third string. He could turn out to be a superb Ivy QB, but he hasn't proved anything yet - certainly not that he's worth three wins. Let let him accomplish something before you start building his throne.

#1 Lion said...

Everything you said is 100% true. However, by promoting Brett, we will bring far greater media exposure to the TEAM than we've previously had. If we don't, then it will be the same mediocre BS that gives Harvard and Yale greater exposure in our local/national papers (Times, Daily News and Post). That’s not an opinion, that’s a fact. We need something to break the status quo for goodness sakes! If you can’t somehow see the value in this, then you are blind. BTW, he even has a draft profile, which means greater minds than ours see long-term value in him:
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/pyrnotes.php?pyid=110922&draftyear=2015&genpos=QB
Believe me, I get the whole TEAM concept first, but if we have an opportunity to make a splash in the media and shake up the Ivy League, then let’s do so! Look at all of the air time Patrick Witt brought to Yale (pre-Rhodes fiasco), and Andrew Hatch from Harvard. We could use that right away, otherwise we’ll be in year two of the four year plan (that we still haven’t seen the whole design), and our Quarterback will be only eight pounds lighter than our current offensive guard. You do the math…

Anonymous said...

Well, last time we shook up the Ivy League, we hired an ex-Ivy League Champion Head Coach and former NFL coach. Look what that got us... 1 WIN (Cornell) and two misfit wins against a horrible Marist team and a Yale team that had three QBs on injured reserved; and we still almost lost that game - embarrassing! I'm glad that Nottingham may come to Columbia. I just hope that Mangurian doesn't screw things up, again!

I see some alums (and fans) on this site keep asking us to be patient. Patient for what? Coach Mangurian is supposed to be a "professional" coach. The fact is that he was out-coached in several games last year; most notably PENN, when he left two TOs in his back pocket. The same goes for Fordham and Dartmouth. Was Harvard THAT much better than us? No! We just had too many “kids” on the field where “men” play. Hopefully, he can look in the mirror and change a few things. That is my X-Mas wish!

Anonymous said...

Dear Anonymous above me,
If you want to complain, check your facts. Coach M had 1 timeout left at the end of the Penn game. There was a timeout called at 7:31 in the 4th and at 1:00 in the 4th. Both were when Columbia was on defense. Check it below. http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewContent.dbml?CONTENT_ID=243383&DB_OEM_ID=9600#GAME.DRV

RedTiger61 said...

... asking for patience really doesn't matter ... the reality is that 2 years ago we were 1-9 .... maybe we should have more than one win, but we didn't ... since then, we have a new coach, a new system, a new practice schedule, a body-fat focus .... in short, lots of changes .... the reality is that it will take time ... I want to win right away like many of you, I don't like waiting 1-2 more years ... I can see what his is doing ... I (or you) might do it difently, but I (you) didn't get hired for the job ... Nottingham may or may not be the starter next year we should be a better team than we were this year .... number of projected, who knows .... this game is played by kids .... it is the Ivy League, anything can happen .... did anyone believe that Penn had enough talent to win the Ivy League ... based on the talent going into this year, Harvard was head and shoulders better than everyone else ... we "could" win the Ivy League next year .... it's a long-shot ... we could have a winning season ... hard but possible if we improve the O-line and have a decent QB ... we can talk and wish all we want ... but it still takes time ...

Anonymous said...

Just discovered this tweet from
David Lombardi:

"Update from source close to situation: former Stanford QB Brett Nottingham hasn't made transfer decision, but Columbia showing much interest."

So, this isn't a done deal. Fingers crossed.

Anonymous said...

RedTigers61- All excellent points. Question: What would Coach Murphy have done with the talent we had on last year's team? Lots of talent was on the sidelines (or in the stands). Agreed that things take time, but as my grandfather used to say, you shouldn't run when your shoe laces are tied. Coach M's shoe laces were tied. Unfortunately, he didn't realize it (or chose to ignore it).

I think that some of us expected more last year; a lot more. There were certain transparencies that somehow lots of alums/fans saw, yet the Staff either chose to ignore, or they did it their own way. Most notably was the Offensive Line. If this is a case where the Staff is breaking them down to build them up, then that was (is) their prerogative. The unfortunate thing is that were embarrassed all year long; except against Cornell. Playing 18 year old freshmen on the O-Line and as DBs was a hard pill to swallow as well; especially the way Brackett was on the run and the DBs were not properly taught how to tackle and wrap up (I attended every home game and two away games so I can say that first hand).

If this is Coach M’s plan, then so be it, but year two, three, and four should yield better results.

oldlion said...

If Nottingham winds up at another Ivy school then I will blame it on loose lips sinking ships. The "flash" may have hurt us, and may have gotten Bags and Reno in gear.

Anonymous said...

One time out, two time outs... Bottom line, out coached. Thanks for your input coach/one of Diane's minions...

Anonymous said...

Bags has Ragone back for next year and there is no need for Nottingham to go to a school that already has an all-ivy calibar QB. He would want to go someplace that has good WR's and he could start in year 1.

oldlion said...

Bags would bench Ragone in a nano second if he had somebody who was better.

LionEsq said...

Coaches who don't show loyalty to their players lose the loyalty of their players.

Anonymous said...

If Nottingham chooses not to attend Columbia, then we never really had him in the first place. This blog has been nothing but supportive of his decision to potentially attend Columbia.

We don't even know what kind of student Brett is? In fact, similar to what other recruits do, sometimes these recruits use one school against another for admissions. For example, if Brett receives admissions from Columbia, but really wanted to go to Brown, but Brown originally said that he didn't have the grades to get in, then he can leverage the Columbia admission against Brown (and the other Ivies). Oldlion, don't blame something that you know nothing about on conjecture. You're better than that. There could be several reasons why he may/may not attend Columbia. Play the blame card elsewhere...

Anonymous said...

Agreed, the fact that ANY TOs were left oin the Penn game when we were on the cusp of scoring (and winning the game) speaks volumes. I hope that Coach M can improve next year.

oldlion said...

Fair criticism. But sometimes the less said about potential recruits the better. And our biggest need next year isn't necessarily at the skill positions. We need to get a lot stronger on the OL, as Pete has himself said. I don't think that the small OL was some sort of experiment. I think he decided that he was going to play the best guys he had, while recognizing that we were going to have our hands full this past season. I hope that saying so doesn't make me one of "Dianne's minions", because I frankly am not a huge fan of the AD.

Anonymous said...

"Another option for Nottingham is to transfer to the Ivy League as the Columbia Lions have expressed a strong interest in him. The quarterback obviously has some academic chops making it into the academically prestigious Stanford, so transitioning to the Ivy League would not be that big of a challenge for him.

"If he chose Columbia, an FCS-level football program, he would be able to play immediately and would slide into the vacated quarterback spot left by the graduation of senior Sean Brackett. While the Lions finished just 3-7 last season and struggled offensively, they do return their leading rusher and receiver which could help Nottingham’s transition to be more successful."

http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-football/2012/12/27/college-football-rumors-brett-nottingham-mulls-transfer-options-after-stanford/

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