I've written a few times in the past about how 6-6 WR Joe Splendorio was, hands down, Pete Mangurian's best player in his three years as head coach at Cornell.
Splendorio was all over the field for the Big Red. He made a huge impact as a receiver of course, but he was a terror on special teams too. He was named to the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.
Why do I mention Splendorio? Because when you look at the things Mangurian has said and written about Splendorio in the past, you can see that he wouldn't mind find another player of his stature and skill... and soon.
And who could blame him?
Perhaps this new pickup for the Lions 2013 recruiting class will be that man.
Connor Spears is a 6-6, (some say 6-7), 205 pound WR from Sioux City, Iowa's Bishop Heelan HS.
Spears visited the CU campus this past weekend and sent out a Tweet on Sunday announcing his commitment to CU.
Spears would be the first documented high school grad from Bishop Heelan to play football for the Lions, but Lion basketball team member John Daniels is also a Heelan grad.
That makes TWO big "gets" perhaps in some part thanks to our basketball team, as starter Brian Barbour at least helped to plant the idea of transferring to Columbia in Brent Nottingham's head.
And getting Spears is also a nice feat considering his dad and grandfather both were student athletes at Dartmouth.
You can see his highlight video here:
And here's a special treat! You can watch and hear Spears singing the national anthem from October, 2011, (hint: he sings better than that other Spears person who sometimes appears in the tabloids):
Nathan Gibbs
Hickory Lion
Also joining the fast growing Lion list is Nathan Gibbs, a 6-4 285 lbs. OL from Hickory HS in Hickory, NC
You can learn more about Nathan by reading what I think is a very nice personal statement and by watching his highlight video here.
And if you're already not impressed enough, read this touching story about how Gibbs looked after a teammate who was actually homeless and living in a shelter.
Gibbs will be the first Hickory HS grad to play for the Lions.
Parker Tobia reaches in for a stop
Bergen Leader
New Jersey football bloggers are reporting that top Bergen Catholic LB Parker Tobia has committed to Columbia.
The 6-1, 200 lbs. Tobia is credited with being one of Bergen's best outside LB's in recent years, which is saying something at the linebacker factory that BC truly is.
Tobia made MSG Varsity All Metro Area Honorable Mention, which is not an easy thing to do when you consider the Metro Area includes much of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. A lot of very good players on Ivy teams will not make that list this year and in years to come.
Tobia is the latest in a long line of Bergen Catholic grads to play for the Lions.
So here's our new list of unofficial commits as of 3:38pm on Tuesday:
1. Tony Bonadies, OL 6-5 315 lbs. Leonia HS, Leonia, NJ
2. Keith Brady, LB 6-2 205 lbs. Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, OH
Tony Bonadies, a Rivals 2-Star rated offensive center from Leonia HS, (just across the GW Bridge from Baker Field), has committed to Columbia. He's listed as being as big as 6-5 and 315 pounds.
If his name sounds familiar, it should. Tony is the younger brother of 1st Team All Ivy LT Joe Bonadies who is graduating this spring from Penn.
Here's a look at Tony's highlight reel:
Tony would be just the third documented Leonia HS grad to play for the Lion program and the first since Sean Fuller '89.
Needless to say, this seems like a very good pickup for Columbia.
1. Tony Bonadies, OL 6-5 315 lbs. Leonia HS, Leonia, NJ
2. Keith Brady, LB 6-2 205 lbs. Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, OH
An All State LB/FB from Michigan has committed to Columbia.
6-2 215 lbs. Gianmarco Rea from Detroit Country Day School truly looks like he's just a good a prospect at FB as he is at LB, even though he stood out as Detroit Country Day's defensive leader.
Rea would be the fourth documented Detroit Country Day grad to play for the Lions according to my all-time "Lion Feeder" data base.
You can see his offensive highlight reel here:
And his defensive highlight reel here:
And here's what a Detroit area high school football expert has to say about what Rea meant to his team this season:
"If you're looking for someone who can take care of the dirty work, Rea does just that on both sides of the ball for the Yellowjackets. One of the best fullbacks in the area when it comes to busting open holes for Wilson, while also proving to be one of the most consistent producers on the defensive side of the ball. What he does might not be pretty, but it gets the job done on both sides for Country Day."
So here's our updated, unofficial list so far:
1. Keith
Brady, LB 6-2 205 lbs. Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, OH
Rising senior Nick Melka's younger brother, 6-4 238 lbs. Charles Melka from Benet Academy outside Chicago has committed to Columbia and will play on the defensive line like his brother.
Charles has been on my radar since last July when I first portrayed him on this blog.
He would be the third documented Benet grad to play for the program and in a fun fact, all three Benet alums would be playing together as the other grad is rising junior WR Connor Nelligan.
The younger Melka was a well sought-after recruit who had a real leadership role in Benet's solid program.
You can see his senior year highlights by clicking here.
You can see his junior year highlights here:
There's a lot of hope for the Melka clan in Morningside Heights as Nick looks to bounce back from an injury-shortened 2012 season. As a sophomore in 2011, Nick was a definite rising star and he looks to pick up where he left off this fall.
Here's our updated unofficial list of commits so far:
1. Keith Brady, LB 6-2 205 lbs. Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, OH 2. Toure Douglas, WR 6-4 188 lbs. Vineland HS, Vineland, NJ 3. Cameron Dunn, WR 6-3 210 lbs. St. Xavier HS, Cincinnati, OH 4. Kelly Hilinski, QB 6-6 220 lbs. Notre Dame HS, Sherman Oaks, CA 5. Tyler Kwiatkowski, LB 6-3 220 lbs. Mount Carmel HS, Mount Carmel, PA 6. Charles Melka, DL 6-4 238 lbs. Benet Academy, Lisle, IL 7. Eric Mourkakos, OL/DL 6-3, 235 lbs. Dwight-Englewood HS, Englewood, NJ 8. Cameron Nizialek, K/P 6-3 195 lbs. Freedom HS, South Riding, VA *9. Brett Nottingham, QB 6-4 212 lbs. Monte Vista HS, Danville, CA 10. Kendall Pace, OL 6-5 250 lbs. Bishop McNamara HS, Forestville, MD 11. Will Peoples, S 6-1 190 lbs. Buckingham, Browne & Nichols, Cambridge, MA 12. Richard Wolff, OL 6-3 254 lbs. Crespi HS Encino, CA
*=Transfer from Stanford University, junior status
