Here's the Beef
No, Rafael Lopez isn't exactly a lineman, but he was one of the most talented Ivy-eligible blocking tight ends available in this year's recruiting class, and we got him. Hopefully, he will have the strength to make a difference in Columbia's outside running game.
Southern California is starting look like a recruiting gold mine for the Lions again. That's a good sign, because the last time the Golden State was so well represented on the CU roster, it was the glory days of the mid-1990's.
posted by Jake @ 6:58:00 PM
27 comments
27 Comments:
Lopez is a tremendous blocker who will open holes for us on a consistent basis. He will also give the quarterbacks a passing option over the middle. We now have at least three talented players at tight end in Evangelist, Kennedy and Lopez. It will be interesting to see who becomes the standout tight end we desperately need.
Word on the grapevine is that Columbia has at least four beefy offensive lineman committed, and they're bigger than last year's recruits. Not sure who they are or their skill level.
The inside word is that we have a great incoming class, even stronger than the last two.
Credit to Cheston Blackshear on developing a good Columbia presence in SoCal. He's really good in communicating with recruits and making them feel at ease and earning their trust.
I count about eight guys who either started or got into the rotation regularly last year as first years. Doesn't count those like Hamilton and Myers that did a lot on special teams. I can only attribute that to growing pains of developing the program. If we have to keep relying on that many 1st years we are in trouble. Good teams have a strong senior presence and it should be difficult for any freshmen to crack the starting lineup. The quality of athelete from one class to the next should not vary tremendously from year to year in a well developed program so that the experience and physical maturity of the upperclassmen should make it hard for incomings to make an impact until second and third years.
dabull: well said.
Solid programs do not start very many freshman especially in the more strength dominant positions like lineman.
It's not the same at Columbia. We have to get better athletes, that's why we've had freshmen starting, and doing very well (eg., Gross and Knowlin). I think, however, that with the current recruits we will see the last of freshmen starters, with some exceptions, of course.
By the way, we have a tough opening game against a much improved (and Patriot League champ) Fordham team. In addition to Xavier Martin (the rb who tore us up last season and made Patriot League Rookie of the Year), Fordham has recruited Jamir Livingston from St. Joe's in Philadelphia -- he's a short but strong, very fast and elusive runner of whom Scout says, "He can take it to the house anytime." And the Rams return most starters on both sides of the ball. Should be a challenging and exciting home opener!
I didn't know about Jamir Livingston commiting to Fordham. Andy Shalbrack played with him at St Joseph's Prep (same school as Penn's Ambrogi brothers). I would think he has some good information on strengths, and hopefully weaknesses, that can assist the defensive team when they play.
As fo rthe reference to Evangelist, I seem to recall that he was offered by Minnesota. I had expected great things from him a la Wade Fletcher, but he seems to have the injury bug. Kennedy showed a lot last year.
Does it not feel good to see in the NYT and read on the CU web that the Lions beat Yale last night.
Just wait until we win in the fall.
I have read the negative comments about JJ's coaching; but ,it just might be that to excell from as bad as things got here at CU, it will take more time than we fanatics would like.
Glory years in the mid-90s, Jake? I hope you were just deliberately exaggerating a little bit.
We had one good season (8-2) in which we threw away our best chance for an Ivy Title.
If we adhere to the low standards of the past we'll never have a winner.
Maybe "some good years" or "some of our best years" would have described it better. Anyway, I do agree that making inroads to SoCal,Texas,Ohio will help tremendously for the future.
I am willing to call the mid-90's glory years. Tellier rebuilding the program year by year culminating in the 8-2 season was a huge achievement. Ray richly deserved his I-AA Coach of the Year award.
The subsequent slippage was not glorious, but the rebuilding years were.
Leonidas
There was also the 5-4-1 season of '94, and in '95 we ended Penn's
nation-leading winning streak and probably would have done a whole lot better if Cavanaugh didn't break his leg. Comparatively speaking, those were glory years --even the uniforms looked good.
This could be the year of the tight end at Columbia. As the newspaper article about Lopez indicates, we now have the manpower to use a double end formation which will certainly enhance our running game. According to the scouting repors, Lopez and incoming freshman fullback, Nico Papas, are both devastating blockers. Pete Stoll is also an excellent blocker. Any news on the incoming running backs?
I heard that Columbia may have still another very good football player coming in from New Jersey. Anyone know for sure?
Not the on subject of beef, but I read an interesting interview with Tom Brady in which he said that his two biggest strengths are awareness and decision making. That prompted me to think that our incoming QB Bell is likely to have both as it's difficult to account for his ridiculously high passing stats in other ways. And that would be a significant upgrade for us at that position.
Speaking of our incoming QBs, Ryan Haslett was second team all state on offense in New Jersey's group two (public schools divided into 4 groups by size, with group 4 the largest and group 1 the smallest schools).
Dr.V
Dr. V. is correct. You cannot complete 63% of your passes at any level without being an incredibly smart decision maker. I also suspect that Bell throws a perfect spiral, has a quick release, and does all the other things that good quarterbacks must do to excel at their position.
Ryan Hazlett is a different type of quarterback than Jerry Bell. From what I've read about Hazlett, he's a very good athlete whose high school team concentrated on the run, so he doesn't have huge passing stats. According to Rivals.com, Hazlett does the 40 in 4.72 which is very good for a quarterback, particularly one who goes 6'3" 210. These two guys have complementary talents --one's a passer, the other a runner.
As for JJ as a coach, I really just don't know. His teams seem very inconsistent, and I am puzzled by this year's freshman class. How can we not recruit another point guard?
Re not having recruited a PG in this frosh class, don't know whether they tried, but didn't get whom they wanted or thought it best to wait a year. Remember, last year (when recruiting was going on) it looked like we had 3 pure point guards (Brett, Foley and Sweet), several combo guards (Bulger and Scott) and Armstrong, who while not a PG or combo guard, was expected to help attack defenses with his drible drive. The injuries to Foley and Armstrong hurt tremendously.
-Dr. V
As for Jerry Bell, his completion percentage as a senior was 69%, not 63 as stated by previous poster. Not bad, huh? He also brings strong intangibles, leadership, etc. I don't think he'll start as a freshman -- Kelly deserves the first shot -- but by his junior year he'll be leading us to Ivy titles. He's not that fast -- 5.0 40 -- but if you look at his clips he knows where to go and he gets there. Plus he says he'll be working on his speed and mobility all spring season. How many of the great qbs are speed demons? Not Brady, not Favre, neither of the Mannings.
As for BB, two guys coming in, Ahgo and Johnson, both have the capability to play point, plus both can drive to the hoop. I think those two will be the best guards we've had in a while (Johnson passes like Larry Bird...haven't seen Agho but hear he's a real good one who can do it all), and along with Foley, Scott and Bulger, we'll be okay. Plus there's still time to recruit another point guard. Give JJ more time.
Respectfully, although I'm very optimistic about Agho, he's not a PG. Matt Johnson, however, can play point.
-Dr.V
6'7" Matt Johnson is classified as a small forward by Rivals.com and the 6'3" Noruwa Agho is considered to be a shooting guard. Two star point guards have committed to all of the Ivies for next season except Columbia and Dartmouth. Most of the Ivies also have talented point guards returning. There are a few very talented high school point guards who have not committed yet, but I do not know if any of them are considering Columbia. Presumably, Coach Jones is doing his best to get two of the remaining point guards, as only one of the Columbia players mentioned by the previous posters is a genuine point guard,and that's Patrick Foley. Point guards are born, not made. If Columbia wants to be a force in the Ivy League next year, it has to recruit a couple of big-time point guards. That's a period, no ifs and buts.
While it's impossible to know how he'll do in college ball, Matt Johnson plays the point now. It's doubtful he can step in and do the job the Lions need, of course.
MaxPreps lists him as a guard; he's had six double-digit assist games and, from the very brief recordings I've seen of a couple of his games, appears to see the court well.
We'll just have to wait, in any case.
As evidenced in last nights Super Bowl: Good offenses win games while good defenses win championships. A team that displays a great defense will always prevail over a team with a high powered offense. Speed, strength and tenacity with a nose for the ball and bone crushing hits is what shampionship teams are built on.
Unlikely, but possible that a couple of point guards have already committed to Columbia, but their names have not been published on the Ivy League Basketball Board. That's the internet Board which lists the names of basketball recruits for the Ivy League and some other conferences. By the way, in addition to everything else, Columbia and the other Ivies will have to deal next year with Harvard monster incoming freshman basketball class which includes a 6'10" center who is one of the best high school players in the country.
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