OL Transfer

Matt Klenk


6-4 300-pound OL Matt Klenk has transferred from the University of Buffalo to Columbia.

He should have sophomore standing and, as an FBS transfer, be cleared to play immediately.

Klenk graduated from Pittsford HS in Pittsford, NY and would be the first documented Pittsford grad to come to Columbia Football. He reportedly received a preferred walk-on

Columbia was already fielding a pretty veteran offensive line for this coming season, but Klenk figures to be a very hot contender to start and help take the unit to the next level.

Special Teams Player of the Year

When Head Coach Al Bagnoli came to the Lions, the place kicking situation was one of the more unsettling parts of the team.

But in just a few years, not only had it improved but it also boasted impressive depth.

Some of this was the result of shuffling the assets better. When Bagnoli took over in 2015, Cameron Nizialek '17 was tasked with place kicking and punting. Nizialek actually did not do a bad job as the kicker, but his punting was All Ivy caliber. Once relieved of the kicking duties in 2016, Nizialek indeed had an All Ivy season and even landed a post-grad starting punting slot with Georgia the following year.

As a freshman kicker, current rising senior Oren Milstein was a revelation was he put in one of the best kicking seasons in Lion history. He wasn't quite as good in 2017, but still one of the best in the league.

Then, 2018 began with what seemed like a tragedy in the making. Milstein was injured and kickoff specialist Chris Alleyne had to step in. 

All Alleyne did was post the best place kicking season in Columbia history. He went 15-18 on field goals, including 6-7 from 40 yards or more. He broke the all-time school longest FG record with a 51 yarder against Yale. And he was 5-5 on FG's in the three games Columbia won by one score or less.

Oh... and he was a perfect 24-24 on PATs.

Not only was Alleyne the clear best special teams player on a team with a lot of very good special teams performers in 2018, he's a definite contender for MVP of the entire team. 

New Coaches & Spring Practice Begins

New Coaches for Spring

Replacing the highly respected and liked assistant coaches Todd Gilchrist and Ricky Santos are former Dartmouth WR coach Jerry Taylor and the QB coach is now Ryan Larsen.

Taylor is very much a known quantity from his years at Dartmouth where he developed some of the Big Green's star wide outs including Hunter Hagdorn.

Larsen is more of a wildcard, even as he is thrust into what may be the toughest job on this Lions team: choosing and preparing a starting QB. The good news is there is talent. Based on my sources, rising junior Josh Bean could have returned to play more games last season but the coaches decided to be more cautious after his injuries. Rising sophomore John Foreback was unable to begin practicing with the team until the latter part of last season, but all reports say he was impressive and will challenge for the starting role as well. Rising sophomore Ty Lenhart, who ended up doing most of the emergency QB play last year is also back as is rising junior Dillon Davis.

Considering Columbia still managed to eke out a 6-4 record last season without any stability at QB, it's fairly obvious that some solid improvement and consistency under center is Job One for this off season.

Other key players back from injury are WR Josh Wainwright, LB Justin Woodley, and RB Dante Miller, and too many other wounded warriors to mention really. Their returns really add to what should be an exciting (less than) six month period between now and kickoff.

Ryan Young


Freshman of the Year

I know I made these nominations more than three months ago, and I also know the coaches have already handed out their official awards for the 2018 season. But I want to list my own winners over the next few days.

For Freshman of the Year, the competition was tough because so many freshmen contributed to individual wins, but rarely did they get the chance to make an impact on more than one game.

But RB Ryan Young was an exception. He was a major reason for the Lions win over Yale, but he also really contributed to the wins over Brown and Cornell too. I know the upperclassmen really appreciated him as the ranks of the Columbia backs got thinner and thinner.

It's not clear where Young fits into the Lions RB picture going forward, but his 2018 season was one he can cherish forever.

Two Subtractions and an Addition

I apologize for taking an extended winter break from the blog, but new schedules and work obligations did get in the way.

I decided to return this week to share the important but tragic news about Matt Barsamian '07, (see below), because he was just too important a person to Columbia Football not to be mentioned. We send our condolences to all his family, friends, and teammates.

And now that I'm back...

Two Tough Coaching Losses

Getting back to more mundane matters, the biggest news of the off season for the Lions besides recruiting commitments is the loss of two of the most respected assistant coaches in the Ivies.

After luring him back from New Hampshire after he briefly left during the 2018 off season, QB coach Ricky Santos left for UNH for real this time. Santos is now basically the head coach in waiting there, and that was too much of and offer for him to turn down. His ability to develop Columbia's QB's will be sorely missed and adds to the question marks about the position going forward.

The other loss is WR coach Todd Gilchrist, who may have been the most popular coach among the CU players and an effective teacher as well. Gilchrist is joining the staff at Holy Cross in the same role as WR coach.

Crystal Ball: Take One

I hope to have a more extensive preview of all Ivy teams going into spring practice. But in the interest of time, let me just make the conclusion of my analysis very clear when it comes to which team must be favored to win the 2019 Ivy race at this point: Dartmouth.

I'll explain why later... but it should be somewhat obvious.

David Sawyer


Final Reported Commit... for now

I was offline when 6-6, 280 pound  OL David Sawyer from Rose High School in Greenville, North Carolina committed to the Lions.

Sawyer will be the first Rose grad to come to Columbia Football.

I will update my LionFeeders recruiting database when the official incoming class is announced in April or May.



That brings our reported list of commitments to 27:

1. Sam Antona DB 6"1 180 lbs. Roswell HS Roswell, GA

2. Caden Bell QB 6"0 185 lbs. Junipero Serra HS San Juan Capistrano, CA

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

4. Cameron Burt WR 6"4 200 lbs. Blue Valley North HS Overland Park, KS

5. McLeod Buckham-White DB 5"10 171 lbs. Lovett HS Atlanta, GA

6. Cameron Coleman LB 6"1 217 lbs. Rye Country Day School Rye, NY 

7. Drew Davis DE/LS 6"4 240 lbs. Bishop Watterson HS Columbus, OH

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

9. Andrew Donovan P/K 6"0 184 lbs. Darien HS Darien, CT

10. Jack Ertz TE/WR 6"4 205 lbs. Grapevine HS Grapevine, TX

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

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

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

14. Jaydel Jenkins WR 6"3 180 lbs. San Clemente HS San Clemente, CA

15. Cole Matthiesen TE 6"4 220 lbs. St. Albans HS Washington, D.C.


16. Tavehon McGarry LB/RB 6"0 220 lbs. Bishop Dwenger HS Fort Wayne, IN


17. Hugh McLean DL 6"0 270 lbs. Lake Braddock Secondary Burke, VA

18. Zachary Mills OL 6"4 280 lbs. Mandarin HS Jacksonville, FL

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

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

21. Andrew Pruske OL 6"3 255 lbs. Churchill HS San Antonio, TX

22. Railan Peace DB 6"1 180 lbs.Sunny Hills HS Fullerton, CA


23. Kevonte Polk DB 6"0 190 lbs. Lanier HS Sugar Hill, GA  

24. David Sawyer OL 6"6 280 lbs. Rose HS, Greenville, NC

25. Thomas Thibault TE/DE 6"6 225 lbs. Williston Northampton School Easthampton, MA

26. Alex Thompson WR 6"2 185 lbs Punahou School Honululu, HI

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

Service Information for Matt Barsamian '07

Here is the information about funeral services for Matt Barsamian '07. I am including the entire mini-obituary:

Matthew David Barsamian, 33, passed away unexpectedly on March 16, 2019.

Born on May 5, 1985, in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Matt grew up as an excellent student with a passion for sports. His athletic career continued at Columbia University, where Matt was an All-Ivy selection and captain of the Columbia Lions football team. Upon graduation in 2007, Matt took his talents off the field to Citigroup, where he rose to become a Director in the Debt Capital Markets Group (a/k/a “The Desk”).

Matt’s passion in life was the company he kept. He was a professional groomsman for those that were closest to him and an instant friend to everyone else, especially Packer fans, anyone that played golf, and his Columbia team. His father, Jeff, was his best friend; his mother, Bev, was his rock; his twin sister, Angela, was his other half; and his goddaughter, Aggie, was his whole world.

Matt met the love of his life, Lauren, in 2012, and the two were married on September 22, 2018, in their mutual home state of Michigan, surrounded by family and friends. In Lauren, Matt found the type of love and partnership about which most people can only dream. The couple traveled the world, attended countless sporting events, successfully combined their two immediate families and exceptionally large groups of friends, and built a devoted life together in New York City.

Matt is survived by his wife, Lauren; parents, Jeff & Beverly Barsamian; sister and brother-in-law, Angela & Matt Manosky; goddaughter, Aggie Manosky; grandparents, Agnes Barsamian, Delbert & Patricia Mills; in-laws, David and Judy Robinson, sisters and brothers in-law, Alex and Erin Hutt, Jacob and Dana Baker and countless extended family, friends, and loved ones. He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Arthur Barsamian.

Please join his family in celebrating Matt’s life at Pixley Funeral Home, 322 W. University Drive, Rochester, Michigan, from 1:00-8:00pm this Sunday, March 24th. A prayer will be offered in Matt’s memory at 6:00pm. The funeral service will be held at St. John’s Armenian Church, 22001 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, Michigan, at 10:30am on Monday, March 25th. Following the services, a luncheon will be held at Red Run Golf Club in Royal Oak, Michigan.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to The Matthew D. Barsamian Memorial Fund at: https://www.gofundme.com/barso