More Riches from St. X
Ross Morand (CREDIT: MaxPreps)
In addition to Lou Miller's little brother Evan, perennial power St. Xavier is sending another excellent looking prospect to Columbia.
His name is Ross Morand and my sources tell me he's well-known for bone-crushing hits on receivers that often result in dropped passes and fumbles.
This is an "expecially," (a new word I've coined for special players from "St. X"), gratifying "get," since Morand's older brother plays for Cornell and he was considered a good bet to follow his footsteps.
AND DON'T FORGET BOBBY RAY
Please remember that we are still trying to raise money to help former Lion Bobby Ray '90 in his brave fight against ALS, (Lou Gehrig's Disease). You can donate to help Bobby here.
posted by Jake @ 1:12:00 AM
13 comments
13 Comments:
Does look another nice get. He was all-Catholic in Cinci for a team that went 15-0, won the OH largest schools championship with a shutout 27-0, and whose D was recognized as really outstanding. Morand, Miller and his mates were 10-0 on a frosh team, then went on to be 49-2 for their entire careers.
Any word on offensive lineman committing to Columbia?
Columbia Football will have at least four players from St. Xavier's on defense next year--Drew Quinn, Lou Miller, Evan Miller and Ross Morand. Given that St. Xavier football is clearly the "Best of the Best," this is splendid news for Columbia Football Fans--particularly "D" fans. I'm starting to feel very good about the 2008 season.
During a half-time interview at a BB game several weeks ago, Coach Wilson said we had two O linemen as of that point in time.
Checking in as a St. X fan here in Cincinnati. No doubt Morand is a good get for you, he is a solid d-back. Just a few corrections though. He is a good cover guy, but was hardly known for his "bone jarring hits". Secondly, the photo you have included is not Ross.
To the St. X Fan in Cincinnati: Is Ross Morand a cornerback or a safety? Is Evan Miller an ILB or OLB? Thanks.
Assuming no drop outs, the O line roster for 2008 will have:
8 sophomores
4 juniors
4 seniors
16 Total
Most teams like to carry no more than 19 or 20 O linemen.
This O line roster is skewed to the young end of the spectrum. This reduces the need for a lot of OL recruits this year and is also rather unappealing to current prospective recruits who are looking at all those young guys right in front of them.
When my son was being recruited, the first thing he did was look at the age spread of the current roster. If there was a ton of young guys in his position already in place, he was generally less interested in the program.
I don't see a bumper crop of OL recruits this year. However, one never knows.
Morand needs some beefing up; he's 170, 6'2"
Thanks for the information on the returning OL players. In the Ivy League, each school ordinarily recruits between five to seven offensive linemen, regardless of the number of returning offensive linemen on the roster. For various reasons, Columbia needed more offensive linemen last year. However, I would not be surprised at all if Columbia succeeds in recruiting a "bumper crop" of offensive linemen this year and next since the OL is what Coach Wilson knows best. Nearly all of the named recruits so far appear to be very athletic players from outstanding high school football programs with great coaches. Offensive linemen in the Ivy League usually come from smaller schools and therefore are not as well coached. If you are 6'5" +/- and weigh about 285, I would think you would want to come to Columbia and play for Coach Wilson.
To Mon Jan 21
Two points:
Most schools are starting 2 or 3 or 4 seniors on their O line. CU had 1 senior starter and only one other senior OL. Usually, each year brings open slots for the underclassman to try and earn. Not so at CU next year. If you are an good OL recruit with options, do you pick a program that has a lot young guys already starting (and will continue to start for two or three more years) and that also has a lot of other young guys waiting for their shot or do you pick a place with more opportunity to get play earlier?
Second, Coach Wilson is the head coach. He spends virtually no time coaching the OL. Coach Blackshear is a good coach (who started at RG on a D1 national championship team) and the O line guys like him a lot. Just because Coach Wilson used to be an O line coach (two coaching positions ago)doesn't mean he is going to carry more OL's than the team needs.
Jake, from what I just read, today's lucky number seems to be "27." Only five more high school seniors have a chance to become part of the Columbia Football Family and the door could close this weekend. Congratulations to the new Columbia Lions and their families!
In qaddition to the 32 recruited players, we can also count on a few incoming players who are not designated as football recruits becaus ethey don't need to be "banded" to secure admission. Last year we had 6 or 7 first years who fell into that category. What I can't recall is if any of them saw any playing time.
Didn't one of the Miller brothers play for Yale?
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