Marquel Carter is now the "old man" of the CU secondary
As Spring Practice nears, it'stime to take a look at the players who need to step up their play in order tohelp the team as the Lions face a murderous 2013 schedule.
Let's start today with the Secondary.
The defensive backfield arguably is the one unit that will belosing the least due to graduation. Brian DeVeau is the onlycurrent senior who was a significant contributor to the secondary last year,although fellow senior
Steven Grassa wasinjured in 2012 and it would have been nice to have him return for a 5th year,(he's not).
(Another tough loss is MikeDiTomasso, who was officially listed as a DB, but really played as a OLBmost of the time. DiTomasso was just a junior, so I'm trying to get some infoon why he is not currently on the roster. DiTomasso had a good 2012 season,finishing as the team's 7th leading tackler).
The "old man" of the returning DB corps is safety Marquel Carter, who had a "step it up" 2012. He could get himself into All Ivy contention with even a small improvement this year. Carter is widely seen as an athlete with enormous potential and as a senior this coming season he has one last chance to prove it. Again, he was good in 2012, can he be great in 2013?
The only other returning rising senior DB is Jeremy Mingo, who got good playing time last year but didn't make a huge impact. He'll probably need to make a strong impression this spring to stay on top of the coaches' minds.
The leading rising junior is Augie Braddock, who had a good 2012 for a sophomore, but needs to do more to make a strong case for himself in the fall. He'll be in focus this spring.
The two other juniors are speedster Malcom Thaxton and Mike Skalitzky. Thaxton has intriguing potential and he did start four games in 2012, but he still seems to be a bit "on the bubble." Skalitzsky appears to be a special teams specialist.
The rising sophomores are led by 2012 Columbia Rookie of the Year Travis Reim, who ended up starting six games last year. He played very well overall, but the lack of respect Brown showed for him in the finale, (and the success the Bears had throwing against him along the sidelines), is a good reason why Reim still needs to step it up to hold on to his job this fall. Reim also looked good as a kickoff returner and I see no reason to yank him from that duty this year.
Matt Cahal and Darin Patmon looked pretty solid in their freshman seasons last year and they should get a chance to prove themselves this spring. But I'm still expecting big things from fellow sophomore Kevin McCarthy in the coming months,
That leaves Josh Foster, who didn't get the game experience his classmates did but I would not count him out.
In short, every player in the secondary needs to step it up this spring to advance their own personal cases and the team's fortunes in 2013. It feels like Carter and Reim are the only ones who can realistically expect to be starters again, and they both have significant improvements they need to make as well.
The rest of the pack needs to do what they can to advance their cases before the freshmen DB's break into the mix this August.
Tomorrow: the Linebackers
27 comments:
Its Mike Skalitzky, not Dan. Step it up this Spring Jakey.
Lets see, that's DeTommaso with 2 m's and 1 s, honestly Jake, how many names have you spelled incorrectly or gotten wrong?
Lets see, that's DeTommaso with 2 m's and 1 s, honestly Jake, how many names have you spelled incorrectly or gotten wrong?
Lets see, that's DeTommaso with 2 m's and 1 s, honestly Jake, how many names have you spelled incorrectly or gotten wrong?
latest FB Tuesday update:
http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9600&ATCLID=206738601
Very interesting, criticize jake for spelling Mike's name, yet you misspelled DiTommaso haha. Regardless, hope he's back, wherever he may be
Are we all playing with a full deck here? Jake provides to us and shares with us a valuable service ON A VOLUNTEER BASIS, and we're bitching about his misspelling names???
Dr.V
A pundit once said, "Never trust anyone who comments on grammar and spelling." It's especially valid now that Apple has introduced in its operating systems aggressive correction software that introduces so many obvious mistakes. I cringe at my own writing now.
On football, it will be interesting to see what McDonaugh and Trumbull will be able to do in spring practice to create an advantage going into the fall QB competition. I'm not counting them out quite yet.
Yes, the captains issue is a real concern for me. This is more like squad leaders at practice. The team needs captains who advocate and motivate on and off the field. Diluting the pool with 12-15 guys means the players' voices are less likely to be heard. I'd like to give the coaches a fair chance to explain why they've gone with this crowded captains plan but lord knows no one is likely to be allowed to ask them.
I dont know, maybe having more voices, from players that share a particular unit from a particular year, might be a good thing.The fact that they are captains might serve as motivation to themselves as well. Just saying...
Early on, Mangurian said he wants captains from each class. The likely reason is to improve communications both ways. I doubt it makes a huge difference in on-field play
. Real leaders emerge and assert themselves, whether they're given titles or not.
Early on, Mangurian said he wants captains from each class. The likely reason is to improve communications both ways. I doubt it makes a huge difference in on-field play
. Real leaders emerge and assert themselves, whether they're given titles or not.
Early on, Mangurian said he wants captains from each class. The likely reason is to improve communications both ways. I doubt it makes a huge difference in on-field play
. Real leaders emerge and assert themselves, whether they're given titles or not.
Early on, Mangurian said he wants captains from each class. The likely reason is to improve communications both ways. I doubt it makes a huge difference in on-field play
. Real leaders emerge and assert themselves, whether they're given titles or not.
Jake, sorry about the repeat messages. Balky Internet connection. Don't you love AT&T . . . er, Cingular?
Unless our DL steps it up, our DBs will have a long season. We need to mount the type of rush we mounted in the Cornell game. Also, our DBs need to be coached up on ball skills. All too often we were burned because they played the receiver instead of beginning to turn and look for the ball. As far as pass defense in the Brown game the Brown OL manhandled our DL and LBs.
While Jake provides invaluable information and even some interesting opinions voluntarily, he's not doing so gratis...unless I've sent money to him unnecessarily.
To clarify, this blog is free once again as of the end of 2012 and will remain so.
oldlion said it best, I think in order to help out the DBs, the D line has to get more push. The corners are not overly big or strong, and will have to rely on their speed and quickness, so hopefully the D Line of adebayo, padilla, washington and melka can help
Jake have you ever asked Mangurian a direct question,1 on 1 to his face?
Jake has sent inquiries to speak with Mangurian, however, he has been rebuffed. And Mangurian has been advised by the administration to stay away from Jake - Thanks Diane and Cronies! WHY you ask? Because they are both insecure IMO.
I'm not sure that is the truth #1 lion, actually talking to the man might make you accountable for what you say. Why do you answer for jake? All this conspiracy theory is good forthe blog business. Mangurian doesn't come off as insecure, just intolerant of people with motives that are not in alignment with his , as far as what's best for the team. #1lion are you jake?
Don't forget Chambliss when you talk about getting a push from the DL.
I'm not sure that is the truth #1 lion, actually talking to the man might make you accountable for what you say. Why do you answer for jake? All this conspiracy theory is good forthe blog business. Mangurian doesn't come off as insecure, just intolerant of people with motives that are not in alignment with his , as far as what's best for the team. #1lion are you jake?
No, not a fan of Jake's; just a classmate of his and a fan.
Childress, old lion.
Mea culpa, and my apologies to Mr. Childress.
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