A lot of talk on the Columbia Football Twitter feed today
is surrounding rising junior Chad
Washington’s question about what color uniform fans would like the Lions to
use when they are redesigned over the offseason, (my guess would be they are
already redesigned, considering there are just 143 days to go before the season
starts. I think the program is just waiting to make the “big reveal”).
For as long as I can remember, lots of CU fans have favored
black or navy blue uniforms, but I doubt we’ll ever make a color change. I
would focus on expecting a new design.
While we await the arrival of Brett Nottingham to the team,
I thought it might be helpful to list my top 5 Columbia QB’s of the last 40
years with a short scouting report-style assessment to go along with each
player
5) M.A. Olawale ‘10
A very talented power runner and strong-armed passer. Re-ignited
a Lions team that had lost 13 straight games before he came into the middle of
the 2008 game against Dartmouth and almost won it on his own. Started out the
2009 season strong, but went down to injury midseason. Did come back in week 9
in the middle of the Cornell game and led a comeback win in Ithaca. Coaches let
him down on several occasions, especially by not giving him any playing time in
2007, when starter Craig Hormann desperately needed the relief.
4)
Craig Hormann ‘08
Way above average passer without much mobility. Had a
stellar 2006 season to lead the Lions to a rare .500 record. Tore his ACL
before the 2007 season, making him even less mobile. Had a decent senior season
in ’07 with some standout games, but Columbia just didn’t have enough of a
running attack to balance his game.
3) Mike Cavanaugh ‘96
Way above average runner, and decent passer who was lethal
when he put those skills together in 1995. In ’94, he was half of a shuttle QB’ing
system with Jamie Schwalbe ’95 that created a Lion offensive juggernaut. Went
down with an injury in week 7 of ’95 and never played again.
2) Sean Brackett ‘13
Had the total package. Great
running ability and strong arm. Didn’t throw too many picks, but often went
into droughts with his completion percentage. His 2010 season was his best,
including a 5 TD pass performance against Princeton. Got beaten up way too
often by defenders.
1 1) John Witkowski ‘84
Single-handedly made Columbia football watchable during a
very lean era for the program. Had a super-quick release that kept him out of
pass rush trouble. Arm strength was massive. Shattered dozens of Ivy records
and still holds all the key marks in the Columbia stat book. But the Lions
defense and coaching staff was so bad, he won fewer than five total games in
his three seasons as a starter. Went on
to get a cup of coffee in the NFL.
Honorable Mentions: Bruce
Mayhew ’91 (had an All-Ivy year in 1990), Jamie Schwalbe ’95 (was often unstoppable in that 1994 season), Jeff Otis ’05 (fantastic 2003 season)
11 comments:
.... your 40 year limit left an important Columbia QB off the list ... Marty Domres was the best pure passer in Columbia history ... Nationally ranked his senior year ... just think if he was eligible to play 4 years and 10 games a season like today's QB's ...
Having seen them all, my opinion is that John Witkowski was the best passer, Mike Cavanaugh was the best runner, and Marty Domres was the best quarterback overall.
Go back another ten years and you have quarterback Tom Vassell who brought home our only Ivy League championship. Before Tommy you have of course, Mitch Price, Claude Benham, and of course, Rossides and Luckman.
No mention of Archie Roberts??
We are missing a first team all Ivy QB from around 20 years ago,whose name escapes me.
Witty was awesome to watch play and he was a totally great guy who never forgot a name or a face.
Also, I love the Columbia Blue and white, hope we always use that as our primary colors.
The All Ivy QB from about 20 years ago was Mayhew.
Jake, on uniform colors, the light blue and white will have to be retained as our primary colors, but adding a bit of black or dark blue wouldn't hurt.
Oldlion, I think you're referring to Don Jackson. He certainly deserves to be on the list. Domres, by the way, went 9th in the NFL draft's first round after OJSimpson and Mean Joe Greene, as the second QB taken. Calvin Hill was a first rounder that year, too. Probably the only time the Ancient Eight will have two first round picks.
Jake — I thought Chad's question to the Twitterverse was specifically regarding a third uniform, presumably to complement the obvious light blue and white options.
Don Jackson had a terrific junior year. That team knew how to,win close games. He didn't have a great arm, and he wasn't much of a runner, but he knew how to play QB. We were picked to win it all his senior year but had some key injuries.
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