Tomorrow we will learn the names of the three (up from two in the recent past) nominees each for the offensive and defensive Ivy Football players of the year award or Bushnell Cup.
I don't think it's a stretch to say senior WR Bryson Canty and senior S Hayden McDonald should be offensive and defensive finalists, respectively.
But when it comes to Columbia and Bushnell Cups, you never know. Two years ago, I thought LB Scott Valentas '23 was a very likely finalist for Defensive POY, but he was snubbed.
Columbia only has TWO Bushnell Cup winners in its history, QB John Witkowski in 1983 and RB Doug Jackson in 1975. SInce then, not even one Lion has been named as a finalist for the award.
Canty was a part of so many dynamic plays for the Lions this year, it would be hard to list them all. Working against him is the fact that he missed some playing time to injury early in the year, and the fact that QB changes and high winds in some games definitely deflated some of his stats.
McDonald was dominant at safety versus the pass, but also the run. He made key plays in every game, punctuated by an impressive interception in the end zone at a crucial moment in the win over Cornell.
The toughest competition for Canty will be Harvard WR Cooper Barkate, who sparked a very good year for the Crimson offense.
McDonald's toughest competition for the award will be Dartmouth's DL Josiah Green.
Cornell QB Jameson Wang has a shot to be a finalist on the offensive side, while LB Mitchell Gonser from Harvard could be a defensive finalist as well.
But it's all very hard to predict.
