Columbia picked up two more commits over the New Year's weekend.
The first was a big eye-opener as 3-star, 6-2, 185 pound WR Trajen Johnson joined the pride. Johnson will be the first Pulaski Academy, (in Little Rock, Arkansas), grad to come to Columbia Football.
The list of accolades for Johnson is long, as is the list of schools who offered him a spot. They include Harvard, Yale, Penn, Dartmouth, Cornell, Army, and Navy.
For those of you wondering about the extraordinary depth the coaching staff is building at the WR position, remember what happened to the Lion offensive production during those games when rising junior WR Ronald Smith was out with an injury this past season. My guess is that in the spread offense, the coaches want at least two game-breaking WR's on the field at all times.
A very interesting part of his commitment statement on his Twitter feed was the line where Johnson said the Columbia coaches would be open to him playing basketball for Lions too. That would be a stretch we haven't seen in many decades, but, (thanks to a reader for reminding me), George Starke '71 starred for CU's football and basketball teams before his long NFL career and the great Archie Roberts '65 definitely gave it a go for a while at hoops, football, and baseball.
The second commit was from 6-2 170 pound DB Ryan Rhoden from St. Thomas Aquinas HS in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
He's another one of those taller DB's our coaches really love.
Rhoden will be the eighth St. Thomas Aquinas grad to come to Columbia Football, and the first since Brandon Colomba '05 and Chris Napoli '05.
Rhoden was briefly committed to Princeton, but changed his mind several weeks ago. He also had offers from Army and Lafayette among others.
That brings our list on reported commits for 2018 to 26:
1) Inho Choi DB 6-1 175 lbs. Holy Names HS Windsor, Ontario/Deerfield Academy
2) Cam Dillon LB 6-2 219 lbs. Findlay HS Findlay, OH
3) Michael Fluegel RB/CB 6-1 180 lbs. Clarkston HS Clarkston, MI
4) John Foreback QB 6-1 215 lbs. Morristown-Hamblen West HS Morristown, TN
5) Devin Hart LB 6-1 212 lbs. McEachem HS Powder Springs, GA
6) Jackson Heath TE 6-5 220 lbs. Blue Valley Northwest HS Overland Park, KS
7) Marquis Hubbard S/LB 5-11 190 lbs. Kinkaid HS Houston, TX
8) Trajen Johnson WR 6-2 185 lbs. Pulaski Academy Little Rock, AR
9) Dante Landolfi LB 6-2 220 lbs. Upper Arlington HS Columbus, OH
10) Parket Lefton LS 6-1 240 lbs. King's Ridge Christian HS Alpharetta, GA
11) Ty Lenhart QB 6-3 203 lbs. DeMatha HS, Hyattsville, MD
12) Fara'Ad McCombs DB 6-0 178 lbs. St. Joseph's HS Montvale, NJ
13) Mozes Mooney WR 6-1 175 lbs. Bishop's School La Jolla, CA
14) Drake Morey DL 6-5 250 lbs. Ashland HS Ashland, OR
15) Jake Motz OL 6-5 293 lbs. Pope John Paul II HS Hendersonville, TN
16) Stewart Newblatt OL/DL 6-4 255 lbs. Clarkston HS Clarkston, MI
17) Chris Park WR 5-11 175 lbs. Junipero Serra HS San Mateo, CA
18) Keaton Prevette LS 6-0, 225 lbs. Charlotte Country Day Charlotte, NC
19) Brandon Radice TE 6-4, 205 lbs. Ridge HS Basking Ridge, NJ
20) Ryan Rhoden DB 6-2 170 lbs. St. Thomas Aquinas HS, Fort Lauderdale, FL
21) Mikey Roussos WR 6-1 180 lbs. River Ridge HS New Port Richey, FL
22) Joshua Smythe-Macaulay LB 6-3 193 lbs. Bowie HS, Austin, TX
23) Mitchell Sturgill DB 6-1, 185 lbs Bellevue HS Bellevue, WA
24) Watson Tansil LB 6-3, 215 lbs. Franklin Road Academy Nashville, TN
21) Mikey Roussos WR 6-1 180 lbs. River Ridge HS New Port Richey, FL
22) Joshua Smythe-Macaulay LB 6-3 193 lbs. Bowie HS, Austin, TX
23) Mitchell Sturgill DB 6-1, 185 lbs Bellevue HS Bellevue, WA
24) Watson Tansil LB 6-3, 215 lbs. Franklin Road Academy Nashville, TN
25) Xavier Thibault DE 6-5 241 lbs. Williston Northampton School Easthampton, MA
26) Ryan Young RB 5-10 200 lbs. Wheaton Warrenville South HS Wheaton, IL
26) Ryan Young RB 5-10 200 lbs. Wheaton Warrenville South HS Wheaton, IL
11 comments:
Jake and others, how do we now compare this class to the last two classes. Good point about having two deep threats on the field at all times. Great way to wear out opposing DBs.
George Starke, Class of '71 led the Lions in pass receptions as a tight end and then went on to a long career in the NFL as the "Head Hog" on the great Washington Redskins teams of the '70s. He also starred on the Columbia championship basketball teams of the McMillan/Dotson era.
I'd say the class is shaping up better every day. I think some of the real gems in the class may have been told to keep their commitments quiet until the holidays. We are building incredible depth at WR, LB, and DB. The key to winning next year will be how we do at QB and on the O-line. I am not pessimistic about improving over last year despite the very high bar to meet.
With just a few more slots to fill, it looks as if Bagnoli and his staff have once again recruited a terrific class that will enter Columbia this coming Fall. After more than a half-century of football ineptitude (with several seasons being the exceptions), Columbia football now finds itself becoming a perennial Ivy League Championship contender. Amazing, and wonderful!
Jake, I have a vague recollection that basketball great Heyward Dotson tried to walk onto the football team and that the late, great Jack Rohan personally walked him off the practice field. Dotson would have been a great wider receiver.
Have there been any reports re the grade levels of recruiting classes yet?
If not, when might they start coming out?
Bean & Forebeck tandum?
Would Bagnoli start a sophomore and freshman combo?
We all see Bean can run and once in a while throw.
Looking at Forebeck highlights...not as much sheer arm strength as Hill, but seems to be able to hit receivers on long patterns and slants very well....which seems to match the deep deep receiving corps we have.
I mean...wow...Wainwright, Smith, Everett, Pitts...Johnson....
Is this QB tandem a possibility?
Chen, I think you're jumping the gun, too many variables to even speculate, although based on experience Bean may have the edge and he can pass better than you think. It will be a fun mystery to see how it turns out. Also you left out the other frosh receivers who could turn out to be just as good as Johnson!
Santos seems to be an excellent QB coach. If in fact he turned down the OC job at Brown then he probably has a pretty good idea of what he has at QB. We should not overlook guys like Matt Dame and Dillon Davis, who had great high school careers and D1 offers.
Alawicius
I know....just looking to spark debate....what else is there to do in the cold winter months?
One thing I see missing in the recruiting class so far is big OL types....only see one. We seem loaded at receivers, RB seems ok...promising QB prospects.....but where are the hogs?!
Reloading our Defense seems to be a speciality of Bagnoli, so I am less concerned there.
Jon Poppe has tweeted about another OT who has committed.
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