... and Another!

Will Hamilton


We had a line on this several hours ago, but now it's "official" from the man himself.

6-2 270-pound OL Will Hamilton from North Gwinnett HS in Suwanee, GA has committed to the Lions.

Hamilton also had offers from Brown and Cornell.

Hamilton will be the first North Gwinnett grad to come to Columbia Football.

That brings our list of reportedly committed players for 2019 to eight:


1. Bryan Bell-Anderson 5"10 170 lbs. Dr. Phillips HS Orlando, FL

2. Dominic Dodson DB 5"11 185 lbs. Central Catholic HS Pittsburgh, PA

3. Alex Felkins K 6"4 170 lbs. Holland Hall HS Tulsa, OK 

4. Ryan Hamilton DB/RB 5"11 195 lbs. Coffman HS Dublin, OH

5. Will Hamilton 6"2 270 lbs. North Gwinnett HS Suwanee, GA

6. Mitch Moyer DE 6-4, 255 lbs. Archmere Academy Claymont, DE

7. Luke Painton TE 6-7 225 lbs. Berks Catholic HS, Reading, PA  

8. Scott Valentas DB 6-3, 198 lbs.  Kapaun Mount Carmel Catholic HS Wichita, KS

Tall Haul

Luke Painton


There's a lot of excitement at the Columbia Football offices about the latest commitment to the incoming 2019 freshman class.

6"7 225-pound TE Luke Painton from Berks Catholic HS in Reading, PA, (not to be confused with graduated CU punter Matthew Panton), announced his commitment over the weekend.

When Columbia made its offer to Painton, only the Lions and Cornell had offered him a spot. But in the last two months, Painton's stock rose fast. He then received offers from Dartmouth, Harvard, Albany, Lehigh, Lafayette, Colgate, UNH, Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, Fordham, Army, and Towson.

Painton's positives are pretty obvious. He's 6"7 with very good hands and can run very well too. His height is the biggest reason why he's playing DE in high school, but he'll be solely on the offensive side for Columbia.

Painton will be the first Berks Catholic grad to come to Columbia Football. BUT, since Berks came about from the combination of the former Holy Name HS and Reading Central Catholic HS, Painton does have some of the same pedigree as Reading Catholic grad Frank Furillo '70. 

Longtime CU fans will remember the last 6"7 TE we had was Wade Fletcher '05, who transferred to Columbia from Northern Colorado and made a huge impact. That included his catch of the jump ball Hail Mary TD pass that beat Princeton in the 2003 game in New Jersey. 


That brings our list of reportedly committed players for 2019 to seven:


1. Bryan Bell-Anderson 5"10 170 lbs. Dr. Phillips HS Orlando, FL

2. Dominic Dodson DB 5"11 185 lbs. Central Catholic HS Pittsburgh, PA

3. Alex Felkins K 6"4 170 lbs. Holland Hall HS Tulsa, OK 

4. Ryan Hamilton DB/RB 5"11 195 lbs. Coffman HS Dublin, OH

5. Mitch Moyer DE 6-4, 255 lbs. Archmere Academy Claymont, DE

6. Luke Painton TE 6-7 225 lbs. Berks Catholic HS, Reading, PA  

7. Scott Valentas DB 6-3, 198 lbs.  Kapaun Mount Carmel Catholic HS Wichita, KS

Linebacker U.

Michael Murphy


The consensus line on Columbia Football last year was that the team was expected to improve, but would likely be hampered by the loss of all three of its starting linebackers from 2016.

Perhaps you might recall that I was not one of those naysayers.

As it turned out the Lion linebackers of 2017 were far from a weakness; they were probably the best linebacking unit in the Ivies. And the best part about it was there wasn't a graduating senior among them.

One travesty is that only one CU linebacker, rising junior Michael Murphy, was given All Ivy honors. At the very least, rising senior Sean White should have been given an honorable mention.

Murphy tore his ACL in the Harvard game but is expected to be back at full strength this fall.

But I'd trade postseason honors for in-season results any day.

Murphy, White, and rising junior Jalen Williams, were dominant throughout the season as the regular starters.

Rising sophomore Justin Woodley was a revelation as an impact freshman and rising senior Cal Falkenhayn had a true step up season backing up Williams at middle linebacker and getting one start.

The fact that all five of these proven strong commodities are coming back for 2018 is really unprecedented for Columbia Football and extremely rare at the Ivy level.

But there's more.

Rising sophomore Carson Powell also made some noise as a freshman, especially in the season finale win over Brown. Not far behind him was fellow rising sophomore Cameren Carter.

But there's still more.

No fewer than three of my top 10 incoming freshmen happen to be linebackers: Cam Dillon, Marquis Hubbard, and Justin Smythe-Macaulay.

None of this should be surprising to longtime Ivy football watchers. During his 23 amazing years at Penn, Head Coach Al Bagnoli cranked out super linebackers season after season.

Considering the fact that linebackers really are the most important part of any defense, it's hard not to be very bullish about Columbia's chances this season based on so much returning talent at this crucial position.

Getting Defensive

Mike Hinton gets his star turn after his game-icing sack vs. Dartmouth last year


The first pleasant surprise of the Al Bagnoli era at Columbia on the field was the immediate upgrade in the play of the defensive line.

But since that 2015 campaign, Columbia's defensive strengths have come from the linebacking corps and the secondary. The D-line hasn't been a weakness the last two seasons, but that furious pass rush that defined the Lions three years ago seems to be a distant memory.

Now, there's a concern that the defensive line will indeed be a weakness in 2018 with the graduations of top 2017 players Lord Hyeamang and Connor Heeb.

But there is reason to believe this will be a positive year for the Lion DL.

The first reason is senior co-captain Mike Hinton is not only returning, but he started to show real improvement throughout his junior season and this past off season.

Another reason for optimism is the rise of junior DT Arman Samouk, who also improved last season and emerged as a fierce threat during the off season and spring game.

Fellow junior Daniel DeLorenzi is healthy again after missing parts of last season to injury. DeLorenzi has been nothing short of excellent when he's healthy.

Another junior who has been developing nicely but quietly is LinDon Harris. Harris could be about to have a breakthrough season.

But the most excitement may end up coming from the sophomore class. Cooper Wilson was a surprise contributor at DE last year as a freshman and he made a growing impact in the spring. His fellow sophomores Andrew Nichols and Oganna Oraedu looked very impressive to me in practice last year and I would be very surprised if at least one of them didn't crack the regular rotation and make an impact this season.

Like most seasons, the incoming freshmen crop of D-linemen are hard to figure as the position is usually very hard to play as a 1st year at the college level.

And like all Ivy teams, there's a dearth of 270-pound plus defensive tackles who look poised to play at an All Ivy level. But rising junior Alex Robin did start to contribute last season and could make some noise.

If the Lion linebackers and secondary play up to expectations, 2018 could be another year where the D-line simply develops and grows. But if the DL plays better than expectations, this could make Columbia's defense the best in the Ivies.

Crowded Field

Josh Wainwright


The improvement to the Columbia Football program that Head Coach Al Bagnoli and his staff have brought over these past three-and-a-half years is obvious in many ways.

But the most striking example is the talent and depth you now see in Columbia's wide receiving corps.

Note that I wrote "talent AND depth," because we've seen a lot of talented Lions over the years. Some of them were even the best in the Ivy League at their positions. But now, Columbia has more than one WR who is a top player in the league and decent backups to boot.

Of course, the leader of this very stellar group is still junior Josh Wainwright.

Wainwright followed up his impressive freshman season with a sophomore campaign that included breaking Columbia's 35-year-old single season receiving yards record, catching 78 passes, and scoring eight TD's including the most dramatic walkoff score perhaps in program history.

Hot on his heels for most of the year until he was injured against Penn was fellow junior Ronald Smith. Smith broke the 50-year-old Columbia single game receiving record with 236 yards on 10 catches at Princeton. That day included the second most dramatic play of the year for CU with his 63 yard catch and run for a TD in what would prove to be the game winning score. Smith missed most of the second half of 2017, but still finished with 31 receptions for 437 yards and four TD's.

There are a number of good WR's in the league, but the tandem of Wainwright and Smith is the best one-two punch in the Ivies. And it's not just about their stats. Wainwright gets so wide open and make so many acrobatic catches, that you have to keep your eyes on him throughout the game. Smith runs like a majestic gazelle after the catch and is positively lethal down the sideline even when tightly covered.

But wait, there's more... so much more.

Despite the prowess of Wainwright and Smith, no fewer than four other CU wide receivers managed to hit double-digits in receptions, led by senior Kyle Castner and sophomore Emerson Kabus, with 24 and 21 catches, respectively.

Sure-handed juniors Kaleb Pitts and Chris Everett were not far behind, each making spectacular catches from time to time.

Remember, each of the players mentioned above isn't just coming back this season, with the exception of Castner, they each have at least two more seasons at Columbia. And that's just the returning talent.

You can't discuss this unit without mentioning two very sought-after incoming freshmen wide receivers. First is Mozes Mooney from La Jolla, California who had so many quality offers, he might have been the toughest "get" for Columbia this year. Next is Trajen Johnson from Little Rock, Arkansas who was also offered by a massive number of top schools.

Yes, Columbia has a challenge this year in having to find a new starting QB. But there's no QB in the country who wouldn't want to be working with this group of wide receivers this season and beyond.