Titus Evans
There are too many examples to list showing how Al Bagnoli's arrival and eight years running the Columbia Football program has changed things inside and out.
But perhaps the clearest example is overall talent depth, and nowhere on this team is the talent deeper than at the wide receiver position.
Think about Columbia wide receivers for a moment. One of the best WR's pre-Bagnoli was recent Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Austin Knowlin '10. Knowlin graduated after the 2009 season and it was seven years before another receiver close to or better than Knowling joined the team in Josh Wainwright '20.
But the very next season of Ivy play after Wainwright's graduation brought us an eventual 1st Team All Ivy Bryson Canty, and two other top-flight receivers like Marcus Libman and J.J. Jenkins.
Now, the first two weeks of training camp are proving the talent is still coming. Two Texas native freshmen, Titus Evans and Braylon Gardoni have been turning heads already even though they face a landscape with not only Canty, Libman, and Jenkins dominating the field but also a talented veteran like Wills Meyer and a promising sophomore Edan Stagg also in their way.
That established seven-year wait for comparable talent that we had between Knowlin and Wainwright has been reduced to zero years. Pretty good.
Looking at some of the other positions, there are some other encouraging examples. The way that Joey Giorgi emerged last year to replace Dante Miller at RB. At QB, the Lions have two QB's who can honestly claim to have led Columbia to separate winning seasons. At DL, Daniel DeLorenzi has been replaced by Justin Townsend.
I don't know how many of the established starters will see much time in Saturday's scrimmage at Wien Stadium, but I bet we do get a good look at guys like Evans and Gardoni.
The days when Lions fans could write a season off if a top player graduated or got injured seem to be over.
Thank you Al!
2 comments:
The great thing about depth at WR is that you almost certainly have to substitute out after the receiver has sprinted 30 or 40 yards down the field. It’s easy to get winded very quickly running a few of those patterns. Plus it’s a good way to tire out a DB.
Jake, I think you are on to something in identifying freshmen wide receivers Titus Evans and Braylon Gardoni as future stars. While it may take a bit longer for Evans to get on the field because of the remarkable depth in front him, Gardoni looks like he could make an immediate impact on special teams as a punt as a punt returner, kickoff returner or both. Take a look at his recruiting film. He is one tough dude to tackle in the open field.
Post a Comment