Young Isn't Restless

I was among those who were surprised by RB Ryan Young's tweet late yesterday afternoon where he announced he will be returning to CU Football in the fall. Young had entered the transfer portal, and I presumed he had no Ivy eligibility left. 

It's hard to express how much of a positive development this is for the Lions. While Dante Miller grabbed a lot of attention as the year went on, Young never stopped being a crucial and effective part of the Columbia offense. 

Now, he will bring that talent and perhaps the most RB experience in the Ivies back the Lions in 2022.

Recapping some of Young's big highlights: 

-A 19-carry, 91-yard rushing performance capped by a dramatic TD run with a Yale defender riding his back for a 17-10 win over the Elis in 2018.

-Key contributions on the ground and as a receiver in the 2018 wins over Brown and Cornell. 

-A 65-yard TD run against Saint Francis that got the Lions back into the game in an an eventual win in the 2019 season opener. 

-Also was key contributor in the 2019 wins versus Harvard and Penn, and had a big TD run in the loss versus Brown. 

-Was an Honorable Mention All Ivy at RB in 2021, with major contributions to the wins vs. Marist, Georgetown, Dartmouth, and Brown. In the loss against Yale, he may have had his best ever game. And getting back to Brown, his 60-yard TD catch along the west sideline electrified the team. 

The Lions now have a lot to be confident about on offense heading into the fall. Young is returning with other talented RB's backing him up, the starting QB is the reigning Ivy Rookie of the Year, the O-line is returning more starters and experienced players than at any time in CU history, and some very exciting WR with solid experience as well. 

The defense seems to have more holes to fill, but in some ways there are fewer tough questions about the defense than we had going into 2021. There are still excellent players returning on all three lines of the D.

If this trend keeps up, we may have to start asking the "If not now, when?" question about the Lions and their championship chances for 2022. 

BREAKING: Dante Miller announcement at 2pm ET

Columbia senior and 2021 Ivy League rushing champion Dante Miller has just tweeted that he will announce he transfer commitment choice at 2pm Eastern Time.

My money is on South Carolina... but we'll see. 

UPDATE: Miller did indeed accept a preferred walk on spot at South Carolina. Best of luck to Dante!

We also wish good luck to LB Cam Dillon, who has transferred to Rice and DL Paul Akere who transferred to UVA. Earlier this year, Jordan Colbert transferred to URI. They will all be sorely missed!

Ivy Cavs

DL Paul Akere, who had a breakout season for the Lions in 2021, has received some of the most impressive offers in the transfer portal so far. 

On Thursday, he tweeted the most compelling offer so far in my book; from the University of Virginia. It's compelling because I have deep ties to that school and also because standout Dartmouth OL John Paul Flores, (brother of CU OL Charlie Flores '18), announced his commitment to the Cavaliers this week. 

It would be cool to see not one, but two Ivy transfers making an impact for UVA this fall. 

On a related topic, a big question right now is how many CU players currently in the transfer portal will follow Dartmouth WR/KR Jamal Cooney's example and decide to return to their Ivy homes if the pickings seem too slim when it comes to transfer offers? Many of the Lions in the portal actually don't have any Ivy eligibility left, but for those who do this is an option.

We'll try to get this all sorted out in the coming weeks, but don't be surprised if we don't have real handle on the Lion veteran roster until the summer. 

Tall Order

Ayden Baker

6-6 225 pound DE Ayden Baker from Wheeling Central Catholic High School has committed to the Lions. 

Baker only began playing football last year, but was named to several All State and All Regional teams in West Virginia. 

Baker had offers from Navy, Brown, and a preferred walk-on offer from West Virginia (that's two swipes from Navy in 24 hours).

Baker will be the first WCCHS grad to come to Columbia Football.

Many fans may remember that Columbia has had great luck with defensive linemen who were late comers to the game of football and only played in their latter stages of high school. Two players who did that were Josh Martin and Lord Hyeamang... not too shabby. 

That brings our list of unconfirmed commits for 2022 to 20:

1. Ayden Baker DL 6"6 225lbs. Wheeling Central Catholic HS Wheeling, WV

2. Lucas Bullock LB/RB 6"0 200 lbs. Blue Valley North HS Overland, KS 

3. Mark Chapman OL 6"3 270 lbs.​​ Choate Rosemary Hall (PG), Guildford HS Guildford, CT

​​4. Ewan Clarke OT/DT 6"6 280 lbs. St. Stephen's/St. Agnes School Alexandria, VA

5. Matt Gallehdari LB/WR 6"3 215 lbs. Kent School/Hun School 

​​6. Ethan Hebb DB 6"2 190 lbs. Cardinal Gibbons/Williston Northampton School Raleigh, NC

​7​. Noah Jordan OL 6"5 307 lbs. St. Mary's Ryken HS Leonardtown, MD

8. Jordan Kelly WR/DB 6"2 180 lbs. Refugio HS Refugio, TX

9. Stryker Leschber DL/TE 6"4 220 lbs. Thorndale HS Thorndale, TX

​10. James Lill OL/DL 6"5 287 lbs. Schroeder Webster HS/Avon Old Farms Webster, NY

​11​. Shawn Lin DL 6"4 250 lbs. Loyola HS Los Angeles, CA

​12. Jayden Marshall DB 6"0 190 lbs. Lee County HS/WIlliston-Northampton School Sanford, NC

​13. Kameryn Metcalf DB 5"10 180 lbs. D.R. Phillips HS Orlando, FL 

14. Joshua Powell DL 6"3 215 lbs. St. Christopher's School Richmond, VA

​15​. AJ Simpkins QB 6"3 212 lbs. The Christ School Arden, NC

​16​. Jack Smiechowski LB 6"1 195 lbs. St. Joseph HS Montvale, NJ

17. Patrick Sodl LB 5"11 210 lbs. Loyola HS Los Angeles, CA

18. Edan Stagg WR 6"1 175 lbs. University Lab School Baton Rouge, LA   

19. Malcom Terry RB 5"9 200 lbs. Gonzaga College HS Washington, D.C.

20. Owen Thomas DL 6"3 240 lbs. Westfield HS Chantilly, VA

Navy Transfer Ship Comes In

With all the talk about Columbia and other Ivy schools losing players to the transfer portal, we could forget that transfer players come into the Ivies too. 

We won't forget that tonight now that Navy's 5-9 200 pound RB Malcom Terry has committed to Columbia as a transfer. Terry is a graduate of Washington, D.C. football powerhouse Gonzaga College HS. 

During his original recruitment, Terry had offers from Navy, Yale, Holy Cross, Fordham, among others. 

In a funny coincidence, the last Columbia Football player to come from Gonzaga is Jordan Colbert... who has just officially committed to transfer to Rhode Island. 

That brings our list of unconfirmed commits for 2022 to 1​9:

1. Lucas Bullock LB/RB 6"0 200 lbs. Blue Valley North HS Overland, KS 

2. Mark Chapman OL 6"3 270 lbs.​​ Choate Rosemary Hall (PG), Guildford HS Guildford, CT

​​3. Ewan Clarke OT/DT 6"6 280 lbs. St. Stephen's/St. Agnes School Alexandria, VA

4. Matt Gallehdari LB/WR 6"3 215 lbs. Kent School/Hun School 

​​5. Ethan Hebb DB 6"2 190 lbs. Cardinal Gibbons/Williston Northampton School Raleigh, NC

​6​. Noah Jordan OL 6"5 307 lbs. St. Mary's Ryken HS Leonardtown, MD

7. Jordan Kelly WR/DB 6"2 180 lbs. Refugio HS Refugio, TX

8. Stryker Leschber DL/TE 6"4 220 lbs. Thorndale HS Thorndale, TX

​9. James Lill OL/DL 6"5 287 lbs. Schroeder Webster HS/Avon Old Farms Webster, NY

​10​. Shawn Lin DL 6"4 250 lbs. Loyola HS Los Angeles, CA

​11. Jayden Marshall DB 6"0 190 lbs. Lee County HS/WIlliston-Northampton School Sanford, NC

​12. Kameryn Metcalf DB 5"10 180 lbs. D.R. Phillips HS Orlando, FL 

13. Joshua Powell DL 6"3 215 lbs. St. Christopher's School Richmond, VA

​14​. AJ Simpkins QB 6"3 212 lbs. The Christ School Arden, NC

​15​. Jack Smiechowski LB 6"1 195 lbs. St. Joseph HS Montvale, NJ

16. Patrick Sodl LB 5"11 210 lbs. Loyola HS Los Angeles, CA

17. Edan Stagg WR 6"1 175 lbs. University Lab School Baton Rouge, LA   

18. Malcom Terry RB 5"9 200 lbs. Gonzaga College HS Washington, D.C.

19. Owen Thomas DL 6"3 240 lbs. Westfield HS Chantilly, VA