Not all Ivy League Media days are created equal.
Well, usually the league's remote news conference, (it went all remote well before the COVID era), is just chock full of cliches, rehashed material, and boredom.
But during Columbia's turn at bat at today's preseason conference, Columbia fans in the know heard exactly the substantial information that we wanted to hear.
That would be the comments Head Coach Al Bagnoli made about junior QB Joe Green, last year's Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Bagnoli started by telling us the story we all know well about how Green did not have the luxury of spring practice or preseason workouts in 2021, but still managed to win the starting job in training camp and have such a stellar season.
Then, Bagnoli said what many of us were waiting to hear: that now that Green has had more time the offense will feature more of what he can do and open up its attack.
That was music to many fans' ears, after it appeared that Green was held back too much from throwing as much as he could have. Green's miniscule interception total (just three for the whole season) and general passing accuracy had many of us wondering about what might have been.
Just as melodious to our ears was Bagnoli's praise for the wide receivers and other weapons Green has to work with this fall. That was as close as we'll probably get to Bagnoli telling us that guys like juniors Marcus Libman and Wills Meyer, and sophomore Bryson Canty are going to be a formiddable set of weapons at WR.
The QB position is so vital, and Columbia got a good one in Green last year and managed to squeeze a 7-3 season out of him despite keeping him somewhat under wraps.
Last year, Green took a key leadership role on this team. This year, he should be one of the leaders in this league.
12 comments:
A cliche, of course, but the sky is definitely the limit for Columbia quarterback Joe Green. However, while Columbia fans know that they have a very talented starting quarterback in jOe Green, there is a serious question as to who will be his back-ups. Meanwhile, the 2022-23 Columbia Baseball Roster has been posted on the Columbia Athletics Website, and to no one's surprise, Coach Boretti has added some remarkable talent to an already strong Ivy League Championship Team.
Green is an excellent passer but has one minor flaw which I assume the coaches worked on in the off season. His swing passes were often short armed and wound up in the ground. Otherwise he is the best pure passer in the IL.
I can't argue with Coach Bagnoli's lifelong success.....Especially here at CU, making us not only respectable but also moving us to the top...Not to be picky but the only shortfall is a failure to demand that Fabish open it up.... We all know what I mean by that...Looks like Al has taken measures to insure a break out season on the offense... No wonder he is a Hall of Fame coach!
I actually thought Fabish, whom I've been tough on this forum in the past, DID open up the offense finally last season. It's just that all the coaches, especially our now former QB coach, didn't take enough of the wraps off of Green last year. One GOOD thing about losing Gabriel Hollingsworth as the running QB is that I think we will see less of the momentum-messing changes to him after Green makes a big throw or two. I'm not opposed to using a running QB/Wildcat set when were inside the 5 like we've done every year since 2015... but I think I'd like to see it a little less from now on because Green is so reliable and accurate a passer that the defense would still have to defend the run and the pass in situations like that if he stays in.
My opinion is that running back Ryan Young is the most underrated player in the Ivy League and there is no need to use a QB/Wildcat in the red zone when you have on the field an unstoppable 230 pound running back with his strength and agility. Regarding the wide receiver group, the Lions are really loaded with talent with not only experienced players like Libman, Canty, Meyer, Robertson and Ernst, but some very talented players from the West Coast who did not see much action last year. Also, our two freshman wide receivers, Eden Stagg from Louisiana and Kelly from Texas, are likely impact players. And, finally, we do have significant talent at tight end.
The offense will be fine; my concern is how the defense will shape up—do we have a lock down CB who can cover the excellent WRs we will see; do we have a LB who can cover the TEs crossing in front of the DBs; and do we have a run stopping DT/NT who can stop the run in first down?
Well said Old Lion! D is key....
If Fabish weren’t good at his job Al wouldn’t keep him. What makes Al so great is that he knows how to put together a strong staff. I think Fabish is a very good coach whose teams are well prepared and play sound offensive football with a minimum of sloppy mistakes. As far as opening up the offense, let’s get real—Green was a complete unknown and basically a true freshman with no spring ball who hadn’t played a football game in two years. What the coaches did to get him to lead us to a 7-3 record was masterful.
Another commit—Jaden Hinton, 6’3”, 310 DL. Another Thor?
The Old Lion has raised some legitimate questions regarding the vitality of the Columbia defense in the coming year. After all, we lost some very good defenders from last year's team that recorded an excellent 7-3 record including a highlight reel 17-0 victory over Dartmouth in Hanover. Yes, Columbia's offense is likely to post some big numbers, but the defense has to also do its job for the Lions to compete successfully for the 2022 Ivy League Title. In that regard, it should be noted that a great defense starts with strong group of players up front. Remarkably the 2022 roster lists more than twenty (20) players as defensive linemen including several returning starters and key reserves. My recollection is that the Lions had several outstanding defensive linemen last year including the very tough and talented 275 pound Mitch Moyer, 260 pound Ben Corniello, 235 Reid Sprechman and the tall defensive end Tom Thibault, Add in, amongst others, the two very big and powerful offensive linemen from last season, John Martin who is 6'3" 385 and Patrick Passalaqua who is 6'2" 280 and the defensive line shapes up as possibly the biggest defensive line in Columbia history. The last named guy already holds the Columbia record in the shot put and John Martin was a very fine high school football player in the great State of Louisiana.
Mitch Moyer is underrated; He played a great game in the Dartmouth victory; as I recall he moved outside and sealed the edge, basically taking away Nick Howard as a threat. I look for him to have an excellent senior season. I would like to see a little more depth at LB and in the secondary, but the big question for me is how we will adjust to the retirement of the very excellent Paul Ferrara as DC.
By opening up the offense I think that I mean scrap the 5 yard throws... Look to throw the ball vertically more with a big time QB...Yes Fabish did open up the offense SOMEWHAT more than previous years BUT where are the trick plays? the wheel routes? tight ends over the middle? Too conservative for my liking..
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