Jamal Russel (CREDIT: Columbia Athletics/Gene Boyars)
Columbia tight end Jamal Russell is the subject of the latest "On the Prowl" mini-interview on the Columbia web site. Looks like Jamal has a nice sense of humor. It would be wondeful this coming season if he and rising junior Troy Evengelist team up to form the best tight end combination in the Ivies. They certainly have a chance to do that.
Speaking of interviews, the piece Columbia football administrator Todd Kennedy did about me back in April for the Lions Den is now available online. Remember, you can get the hard copies of the Lions Den well before they appear online by making even a small donation to Columbia athletics, which I highly recommend.
More on the Rules Changes
This year's NCAA football rules changes are not limited to kickoffs being moved back to the 30 yard line and the return to the old time rules during kicks and changes of possession. Click here for a look at the rules changes and rationales behind them. Wouldn't it be nice if every organization admitted its mistakes so quickly and publicized the reasons for its big decisions? Sure the NCAA has a lot of problems, but it would appear the football rules committee is not one of them.
posted by Jake @ 9:01:00 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
Russell can be a great player if he can learn to hold onto the ball, especially the easy catches, instead of worrying about where he is going to run after the catch. He creates mismatch nightmares for defenses.
Holding on the ball better is actually something that a player can learn to do given time, as opposed to getting a lot faster and taller, which doesn't exactly happen too often. He's not alone in needing to do this, Tim Paulin also had some trouble holding on to some key passes last year.
Think Princeton game; JR had three costly drops. I know that some players read this blog, but this isn't meant to slam him. I think he can be a great player, sort of an Ivy Shannon Sharpe, because he is too big for DBs and too fast for LBs.
Part of me wants to say that if Russell had come down with those catches, we could have won the Princeton game, but I'm not sure.
One big point to note is that most Ivy teams had weak or very inconsistent offenses last season, and any new weapon Columbia can unveil this year could make a huge difference.
Could have won the Princeton game? We had it in our grasp. That game showed that we had the makings of a good team. After Princeton took us apart the year before it was a fine defensive performance.
The Princeton game definitely showed we had a championship defense, that's for sure. We lost to the Tigers 43-3 the year before.
Hey, it's time for you people to stop bringing up Jamal Russell's lapses in that one game. His great catches far outnumber those drops. Everybody's entitled to one nightmare game. Let it go and cheer for the guy to show what we know he can do, which is plenty.
I'm expecting a trememdous year from Russell. I would like to see more slant patterns called for him this year. Last year he was thrown too many square outs, which do not permit him to utilize his speed and strenght to maximum advantage.
I agree that it's time to ease off on Russell. This is a new season and everyone gets a clean slate.
And if you want to stay positive we can remember his breakaway TD against Cornell and the key catch he made in the winning drive against Brown.
Post a Comment
<< Home