Embarrassment of Riches?

Parker Coogan and friend


Longtime Columbia fans have lots of rough memories of the many lean years for the program.

Lots of times, the Lion offensive line played a major role in those bad memories.

We've seen years where there was literally one, just ONE, returning O-line player with any game experience.

We've seen years where the line was deliberately gutted by coaches emphasizing weight loss over everything else.

We've seen years where QB's considered taking out extra insurance because of what they knew they would face on every passing play.

And now we have the 2018 season.

It seems almost impossible, but thanks to two returning 5th year seniors and good luck, the Lions are returning not one, not two, not three, but FOUR of their 2017 regular O-line starters for the fall. A fifth returning player saw significant playing time and one emergency start as well.

The returning regular starters are 2017 Honorable Mention All Ivy and 5th year senior Markham Paukune, 5th year senior Charlie Flores, senior Tyler Schonewolf, and junior Parker Coogan.  

Junior Joseph Scowden, who started the Cornell game and played in six other contests in 2017, also returns.

I know Head Coach Al Bagnoli has been doing this job for decades, but I'd love to ask him if he ever had four returning starters on the O-line plus a fifth guy with a start under his belt for a new season.

But wait! That's not all!

Returning junior John Fischer is back with four games played last year.

Junior Drew Schoeberl played in two games

Juniors Isaac Werkman and Lamine Nouck-A-Nwal played in one game each, as did sophomore Seth DeVary.

And don't forget the incredibly skilled long snapper Patrick Eby, who comes back for his senior campaign.

The only loss is the great Bewley Wales, who started every game of the Bagnoli era and was a major team leader. But he must feel good about the foundation he helped create and what he leaves behind.

What does this all mean?

At the very least, it's a sign that Columbia really can't settle for anything but a good year from its offensive line. And by that I don't mean a good year by "Columbia standards," or just a workable line. I'm talking about a season where the Lion front five gives the team a discernible edge in just about every game.

The new starting QB, whoever he will be, needs to know his line will protect him and let him carry out the game plan. The running game has to click sometime before week 8 or 9 as has been the case for the last three seasons.

The best news is that for a Columbia team that is truly stacked at positions like Wide Receiver and Linebacker, it's actually fair to say that the Offensive Line may be just as good as those other units.