"If Randy Moss can learn this offense, then YOU GUYS can learn this offense!"

"If Randy Moss can learn this offense, then YOU GUYS can learn this offense!"




That's the money quote from Head Coach Pete Mangurian and he said it more than once to his young charges during the first two weeks of spring practice.

But it isn't just whit that marks the way Mangurian and the team are responding to each other so far.

The big story is that the players are embracing the tougher, more controlling Mangurian regime and they're proving it every day:

-The 4:45am bus every morning has been packed.

-The few players who are missing the bus are hustling into cabs to make sure they still make it on time.

-Several seniors are talking about how they wish Mangurian had arrived sooner.

Most importantly, Mangurian is showing a commitment to winning above any deference to the administration. That's a key fact that will serve the team well and right now, the players are "all in."


Any misgivings QB Sean Brackett may have had about all the changes with his personal coaches, (three different OC's in a matter of three months), have melted away and he is excited about the new playbook.


Getting back to Mangurian's style, the totally hands on approach includes some misgivings about the information stream about the team, and that includes this blog.


That's unfortunate, because this blog can and should serve as a great additional tool for Mangurian to assert his independence from the administration.


Let's face it, the most devoted fans are HERE, and he is always welcome to address us directly here as well as get fair but non-fawning questions in this space.

Realism Online

And that leads me to this point...

A reader commenting yesterday made an understandable criticism about how negative this blog appears to him at times. 

I accept the criticism, but I must insist that the realistic way in which I cover the Columbia football program has to continue. 

Serious fans deserve an outlet that goes beyond a cheering section.

The official Columbia A.D. website serves that purpose, when it isn't taking the entire summer off from publicizing the team like it did last year... or continuing to withhold key info, like when the spring game will be exactly.

The truth is, I am an unabashed "homer" who indulges in cheering section-like material on these virtual pages all the time.

But I also won't sugarcoat the truth and I truthfully have a lot of concerns about the Lions for this coming season... and I also have a lot of optimism about the team. 

Right now, Coach Mangurian is one of those reasons for optimism.

And for the record, I take no pleasure in reporting about players quitting the team or failing in any way. I'm not sure how anyone could believe that. 

 

New Brown AD

Brown's new AD comes from the campus just 5 minutes from my home, Hofstra.

Jack Hayes was probably the hottest commodity in the FCS world at his level. This is a big positive development for the Bears and I expect to see the results on the field and the courts if he sticks around for a decent amount of time. 

Do we have some missing pieces?






It's not just the offensive line...

I'm talking about apparent shortages on the Columbia roster.

As I reported last week, the fact that there are just ten returning OL's right now, (and that's just what we know from the NON-UPDATED roster right now... the actual number may be smaller), is probably the biggest reason why a formal multi-squad scrimmage will NOT be played on April 20th. The spring "game" will probably be some kind of situational scrimmaging.

 But the O-line isn't the only position where the Lions look thin, even when you include our known incoming freshmen class.

First up is fullback, where rising senior Andrew McHugh and rising sophomore Steven Silvio make up the entire corps. I'd throw in incoming frosh Mike Zunica into that mix as a MAYBE. I also hear reports that McHugh may be switching positions... so we could be back to just two. 

Tight end is also a question. Rising junior Hamilton Garner may be the best returning TE in the league, but he is backed up by only fellow rising junior Zack McKown and rising soph Garrett DeMuth.  Incoming frosh Nick Durham makes four TE's but if Columbia uses an H-back attack, that may not be enough in case of injuries.

Columbia's thinner numbers up front, (OL and TE), will be much discussed when the prognosticators predictably pick us for 7th or 8th in the league when those forecasts start trickling out in about three months. They'll probably not mention our fullback situation, but they will pose serious questions about our running backs. 

The funny thing about the outside forecasters is that they often get all their facts wrong about CU and still pick our order of finish pretty accurately. 

For example, no one said that coaching was the reason why they expected the Lions to finish 6th in the preseason polls last season... but they should have. The wheels were coming off the train and most of us saw that as soon as the summer began.

This time, I expect the "swamis" to give us a shot of positive energy because of new Head Coach Pete Mangurian's arrival and perhaps we'll get an extra vote of confidence because our excellent QB Sean Brackett looks to have a healthy senior season.

But don't expect anyone to pick us higher than 6th, and issues like the OL, the running backs, and the numerous -- but still unknown WR corps -- will be the big reasons why. 

This time, I don't think I'll be able to argue with them. 

Baseball Update

Coach Brett Boretti continues to rework what's expected of a Columbia sports team.

It was another nice win for the baseball team yesterday afternoon as the Lions edged Rutgers at Robertson Field.

A huge test comes this weekend when Columbia travels to Harvard and wounded Ivy baseball superpower Dartmouth.

A Few Hints

Looks like an H-back!




It was another short message from Head Coach Pete Mangurian on his personal blog yesterday, but it did contain really valuable info.

Mangurian named 11 Lions who will be joining the team as freshmen this fall. We knew all these names already, but now we know which positions Columbia is projecting them to play.

I'd say the headline is Nick Durham being listed only as a TE. The 6-4, 228-pounder was primarily a DE in high school but he could be a real factor at the H-back position that I have previously reported is the formation Mangurian is favoring for 2012.

Darin Patmon, who played safety in high school is being projected as a cornerback. At 6-1, 180 lbs. he could be strong there.

The other nine players remained at the positions we expected them to be.

Mangurian promises more names in the coming days... let's hope some of them include the 4 guys we don't know about yet and maybe that mystery transfer some of us have heard not enough about!


Sweeney Switches

Speaking of tight ends, Cornell's Beau Sweeney, who transferred to the Big Red after two years as a QB at Cal, has switched to tight end. If that isn't a major vote of confidence in rising junior Bushnell Cup winner Jeff Mathews, I don't know what is.

Quakers Resurgent?

Sorry to ruin your breakfast...






Penn Spring

It wasn't a real game but the Philadelphia Daily News was pretty impressed with the Quakers' offense in the situational "game" Sunday.

For Columbia fans like me who watch our recruiting battles with Penn in New Jersey very carefully, the name of rising sophomore Spencer Kulcsar should stand out. Kulcsar was a top RB at Bergen Catholic, a school that routinely sends its top Ivy recruits to Penn first and Columbia second. 

Kulcsar scored two TD's Sunday.

Kulcsar took over from Columbia's Nick Gerst as Bergen's top runner in 2009 and 2010, before being replace after graduation by Mike Gerst in last year. 

It looks like this fall we'll see which former Bergen rusher is the best player in the college ranks when the Lions visit Franklin Field on October 13th.

Another name that should jump out of this report on the "game" is Ryan Mitchell, the WR who had a standout game against the Lions last fall. Mitchell is very much back for more action in 2012 and looks like he's still a speed burner at the position. 

I picked Penn to win the Ivies last season and make it three titles in a row, but the offense and defense sputtered at times as the Quakers finished a very disappointing 5-5 on the season. And anyone who saw Columbia do everything in its power to give the game away to Penn at Homecoming last year could tell just how far the Quakers had fallen. 

But it's hard to believe they'll stay down. Al Bagnoli is still the best, if not the most lovable coach in the Ivies. And he has bounced back before. 

Oh, and don't be surprised if in a month or so we learn of a big transfer coming Penn's way. 

Mad Monday

Last night's NCAA men's basketball game was filled with excitement and the title game always gets the ratings all the network and NCAA execs smiling. And so, Kentucky won another national title. 

But these games, and these teams filled with "one and done" players are the worst examples of what college sports should be all about. And the myriad of administrators who seek to eradicate serious athletics on our campuses use these sports factory schools like Kentucky and Kansas as ammunition against the very different kinds of programs in our Ivy schools.

And with John Calipari as the coach of the Wildcats, the chances this championship will have to be vacated because of NCAA violations are at least 50/50.

How far we've come from the days of Bill Bradley at Princeton when we saw not only Ivy players who were focused on their educations, but all players in all conferences were doing the same thing. 

Consider someone like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scored a perfect 4.0 GPA all four years at UCLA.

Or even a Bill Walton, who may not have been as studious as Kareem but he was certainly involved in the student activism of the time and a recognizable figure off the court as well.

"One and done" athletes tarnish the "scholar" part of the "scholar-athlete" equation and give everyone who plays college sports a bad name. 

Sticker Shock

My friend Bruce Wood over at Big Green Alert wrote yesterday about the massive tuition costs he's facing now that the second of his two kids is about to start college. It was enough for him to rethink the blogging and freelance writing life and search for a real full-time gig.

It's just the latest evidence for me that college tuition has become a classic bubble that will finally burst sometime in the next ten years. With student loans outstanding now at $1 trillion in America and even ELDERLY AMERICANS on the hook for billions, this just isn't sustainable.  

But before these colleges, especially the Ivy colleges, do what's necessary to really cut the root sources of the costs by eliminating tenure, etc. -- you can be sure they'll come after athletics first and come after it hard. 

At first, the results will be a strong fundraising effort by Columbia's most loyal alums, who happen to be ex-athletes and the sports teams' fans. 

But after a while, the hostile attitude from the administration will take its toll. Increased donations will only go so far when recruited athletes visit our campuses and see nothing that resembles a warm greeting from the deans or the faculty. 

Shorthanded

Looks like we're a little short staffed



As one reader noted this weekend, the reason why there will not be a traditional spring game this April 20th is likely because there are only 10 returning offensive linemen on the roster.

That's not really enough to really field two offensive units, so the "game" 18 days from now is more likely to be a series of situational plays, etc.

In many ways, that might tell us more about the team and who is really shining so far.

I don;t know about you but if we could rewind to the following "situations" from last season, I wouldn't mind seeing how a Pete Mangurian-led team would have responded differently:

1) The 4th and goal play against Fordham with the Lions already up 7-0. Norries Wilson and Co. opted to go for the TD, Sean Brackett threw a pick into the corner of the end zone that became a pick six. You know the rest.

and of course...

2) The agonizing three downs after a 1st a goal inside the ten against Penn late in the 4th quarter on Homecoming. Most of us have spent most of the offseason praying the new coaching staff will be more prepared for this kind of situation.


Playing Ball

Speaking of spring games at the Baker Complex, Columbia baseball had a pretty good start to Ivy League play, winning 3 of 4 against Yale and Brown on Saturday and Sunday.

Next weekend, the Lions travel to Harvard and league powerhouse Dartmouth. The Big Green are shockingly just 1-2 in the Ivies this season and will be in panic mode if they have even one more loss by this coming Sunday.