Backfield Equalizers

Anders Hill


There's no secret why Columbia is working on a read option offense right now. An option offense, as former CU Head Coach Larry McElreavy puts it, acts as a "great equalizer" for a team that may be over-matched when it comes to a traditional offensive set.

Spring practice so far has been encouraging for a number of reasons, but the way the offense has been clicking better with QB Anders Hill running and gunning out of the more mobile set is maybe the best development.

But for the option to work, Hill needs a large number of talented blockers and runners behind him. And if Columbia doesn't have the most talented backfield out there, it can make up for a lot of that with the sheer volume of doing it all by committee.

With the shifting of Tyler Kwiatkowski to fullback from linebacker, and the two incoming RB's we know about currently, there are certainly enough bodies, (eight to be exact), to keep that committee well-staffed.

Cameron Molina remains the most proven commodity on the offense and he could still excel in this offense and might even do better as opposing defenses won't be able to key on him as much.

Some of the other backs who have impressed include sophomore Turner DeMuth, who was the #2 rusher on the team last year, and the always hard-charging sophomore Chris Schroer.

The junior Kwiatkowski's best asset seems to be his ability to come out of the backfield and catch passes, but fellow FB Leander Cutler seems to be much improved and stronger as a rising sophomore. Check out Cutler beating out LB Mark Cieslak in this video posted to the team's Instagram feed.

Of course, the key man in all of this is Hill. He not only has to confidently run this offense, but he also needs to avoid taking too many punishing hits game after game. Finding the best ways to do that will be an important job for Offensive Coordinator Mike Faragalli and the rest of the staff over the coming months.

Lion football was all on campus before 1923



Get the Lions on South Lawn!!

Yesterday I briefly mentioned the campaign to get the football team onto South Lawn on the main Columbia campus for a walk-through practice or two in the coming season.

I don't think relatively recent fans of the team can truly realize how much of an important statement this would make if the administration found a way to make this happen.

It's been almost 100 years since the varsity football team was visible on the Morningside Campus. Once Baker Field replaced the 116th Street campus center as Columbia's home football venue, the team went out of view and out of mind for too many students and faculty.

Now, imagine how much fun it would be to see the team doing a light practice on South Lawn the day before Homecoming this fall. Or how about just before the team leaves for the Ivy season opener at Princeton?

What football practice used to look like


Whatever the cost of preparing the field and getting it back into good condition afterward would gladly be covered by alumni like me who wouldn't miss seeing something like this for the world.

Let's make this effort more than just an Instagram thing. I'll do what I can in the coming months to keep the issue front and center.