Position Competition: Defense

Daniel DeLorenzi



Columbia's 2018 defense was just about as depleted by a rash of injuries as the offense was... and that's really saying something.

So the top story on the defensive side is also the effort to reintegrate players lost or hobbled during last year. At the top of that list are LB Justin Woodley, CB Will Allen, CB Ben McKeighan, and DL Alex Robin.

But healthy or not healthy, graduation losses at the safety position and the eternal issue of finding big and effective defensive tackles are still the top questions surrounding the D.


DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

Columbia is faced with a good degree of talent and depth at the defensive end position, but like just about every other Ivy team, the interior line/defensive tackles remain a real question mark.

The best news is 1st Team All Ivy and 2018 league sacks leader Daniel DeLorenzi returns for his senior year after that stellar junior campaign. After injuries hampered him during parts of 2016 and 2017, it was great to see what he could do playing an entire season relatively healthy. 

Junior Cooper Wilson is the other returning starter at DE after posting a solid sophomore year and exhibiting a healthy amount of speed at the position.

Another returning starter in a tantalizing hybrid role is Cameren Carter.  At midseason, the Lions started using Carter in the hybrid OLB/DE role Lawrence Taylor perfected for the N.Y. Giants and Carter made the most of it.

Max Mullaney got into the mix more last season and he returns for his senior season. Looking to break into the regular rotation this year after getting cups of coffee on the field last year are junior Andrew Nichols and sophomore Paul Akere.

The top returning DT is senior Arman Samouk, who has been carrying the load in the middle almost since the beginning of his freshman year. He did start getting some much needed help when fellow senior Alex Robin started to recover more from injuries that have snagged him his entire career. A healthy Robin for an entire year changes a lot of things for the better for Columbia.

Also getting a lot of playing time last year at DT was Ogana Oraedu, who is still really more built like a DE but it's possible the coaches had to use him in a slightly different role because of the almost emergency need. Oraedu still put up some good numbers and made a decent impact, especially with his game-icing sack at Georgetown.

The list of possible players with at least the basic physical frames to back up Samouk, Robin, and Oraedu at DT is short and pretty untested. It includes senior Taylor Weldon, sophomore Evan Loesel, and sophomore Drake Morey. 

There's certainly room for a freshman or two to make an impact on the DL, but it's not clear who those freshmen front runners might be.

Bottom Line: DeLorenzi, Cooper and Carter make for a fierce group of outside rushers. Samouk will be one starter at DT, with Oraedu and Robin likely to share most of the remaining DT slot. How well Columbia backs up all these players is a one of the bigger keys to 2019.


LINEBACKERS

The most consistently strong unit during the Bagnoli era has been the linebackers, thanks to some great recruiting and the work of LB coach Justin Stovall. Last year, the depth of this squad was evident as it continued to put up impressive numbers despite the loss of starting MLB Justin Woodley in week three and the somewhat limited action for Michael Murphy as he was still recovering a bit from his torn ACL near the end of 2017. Woodley is back for his junior season and Murphy is a senior captain, and both look primed for a big 2019.

The tough question here is who will replace one of Columbia's unsung heroes the last two seasons in the now-graduated OLB Sean White. White, fellow LB Cal Falkenhayn, and the also graduated safety Landon Baty were the last significant Pete Mangurian recruits to contribute to the team and they will all be missed. Falkenhayn was an especially key player last year when Woodley went down.

Based on his playing time and effectiveness from last year, sophomore Cam Dillon seems like he has the inside track to replacing White as a starter. That makes sense as many of us pegged Dillon as one of the top incoming freshmen last year.

A key backup is senior Jalen Williams, who once had the starting MLB job before Woodley won it. And don't forget that Cameren Carter contributes to this unit in his hybrid DE/LB role.

The rest of the picture is pretty murky at LB. Senior Carson Powell may play an increased role after three years of being an absolute demon on special teams. Freshman Scott Valentas seems like the most promising newcomer.

Bottom Line: There's great starting talent here, but a few players need to step up in the backup roles. Williams could make the difference in that role.


DEFENSIVE BACKS

In the secondary, Columbia returns three excellent cornerbacks all with significant starting time. But only one safety with any starting experience.

Senior Ben McKeighan is the anchor of this unit, having been a starter since his sophomore year. He was in and out of the lineup last season and looks to finish strong with a healthy year.

Junior Will Allen missed much more of the season than McKeighan, and sophomore Fara'ad McCombs showed some real flashes of brilliance filling in, (including a stint where I spied him dancing on the field during stoppages of play during the Yale game... perhaps just to keep warm... but he had some MOVES!).

As of now, I just don't see any of those corners being moved to safety to fill the gaps left by the graduated All Ivy Honorable Mention Baty and 1st Team All Ivy Ryan Gilbert.

Junior Ben Mathiasmeier looks like a pretty good lock to start at one safety position after filling in for Baty as the starter in a couple of games last year.

After that, it's anybody's guess.

Senior Hunter Lunsford could be a good bet as he has the most on-the-field experience of the returning backup safeties. Sophomore Ryan Rhoden seems like another decent contender.

The freshmen are pretty much a mystery, so that means no one should be shocked if one of them snags significant time at safety this season.

Bottom Line: Safeties are an extremely important part of the game in Ivy football, so this is a question that needs to get answered confidently in camp.