Texas Twister
A.J. Maddox hopes to be the rarest of weapons in the Ivies: a legitimate speedster (CREDIT: Lakeview High School)
Thanks to the anonymous poster who listed our publicized, (in local media), list of incoming freshmen in the comments section in the previous post. Here is that list for those of you who missed it:
1. Jerry Bell, 6'2", 206 QB, Corpus Christi, Texas, Ray H.S.
2. Sam Cecil, 6'2", 250 OT/DT, Linsly School, W.Va
3. Alex Cornish 6'1", 210 LB, Fredrick, Md
4. Will Claunch, 6'2" 225, LB Florida
5. Christian Daniel, 6'4" 195 WR, Canyon H.S., Calif.
6. Owen Frazer, 6-1. 300 NT/OG, Trinity-Pawling, Newburgh, N.Y
7. Ryan Hazlett, 6'3", 210, QB, New Jersey
8. Rafael Lopez, 6'4", 235, TE, Calif
9. A.J. Maddox 5'9'' 183 DB, OLB, RB, H-Back/Slot Lakeview Central HS, Garland, TX
10. Nick Mistretta, 6'2", 225, LB, Nanuet, N.Y., Don Bosco Prep, N.J.
11. Evan Miller, 6'210" LB, St. Xavier, Cincinnati, Ohio
12. Ross Morand 6'1", 180, St. Xavier, Cincinnati, Ohio
13. Kevin Mulhearn, 5'11", 185 S, Lincoln Way H.S., Illinois
14. Nico Papas, 6'1" 235, Buckingham & Nichols, FB, Cambridge, Mass
15. Kurt Williams, 6'0, 190, DB, Don Bosco Prep, N.J.
One highlight in these names is A.J. Maddox who, according to his high school website, runs the 40 in 4.4 seconds! He played a lot of positions this past season, but primarily was used as a defensive back. Obviously, there's a lot of places where a speedster like that can fit in at Columbia.
Super speed, like well-sized linemen, has become a true rarity in the Ivies. But conversely, even those very undersized players who have great speed, like Columbia's Travis Chmelka '04, can make a huge impact when they would be too small at the BCS level to get a chance. Maddox looks like he might be able to contribute right away as a spur linebacker, sealing off the edges as the Lion defense works to bolster its weak middle from 2007.
Happy Days
What a glorious weekend it was for Columbia sports. The men's and women's fencing teams swept to undefeated Ivy League titles. The men's and women's basketball teams won all four games they played combined against Penn and Princeton. And there are even rumors that Roar-EE finally got a date with the female lead in the Lion King.
But seriously, I think the athletic department has to be pleased overall with how the spring semester sports season is going after what was a disappointing fall on many fronts. I say that because there have been so many years in the recent past when the football team's more-publicized failures have been just one part of a larger puzzle of frustration at CU. It seems to me that AD Diane Murphy has strengthened the prorgam overall and that will shake into football soon enough.
posted by Jake @ 1:09:00 AM
11 comments
11 Comments:
Here's to the less publicized sports you mentioned which do quite well, and I hope you're right
about football catching fire soon.
As for Maddox, genuine speed is welcomed at any position but instead of spur, why not catching short passes that a burst of speed can turn into first downs instead of short or no gain?
Jake,
It's CLAUNCH! (for goodness sake).
And we should be cautious about that 4.4 time for Maddox -- elsewhere listed at 4.6. He does look good in his clips, especially as a corner.
Not sure about the need for Maddox at spur. We didn't often get beat to the outside with the personnel we had last season. The middle is where we got gashed in the run game. He might fill the need at corner with JoJo leaving but I thought he looked really dangerous as a receiver. Also the spurs are responsible for taking on lead blockers on runs that start to the outside and making the ballcarrier turn in. I'd have to see this guy in person to decide if he has enough size for that task. They say he's 5'9" 183. If that's exaggerated any, like most are, that could mean he's like 5'8 175. More like a corner to me. But with Nico's injury there could be a need for him at wideout.
Nico's injury?
I would like to make a friendly comment that I hope is taken iin th espirit in which it is intended. A few of our players were working at the game on Saturday night, including a few linemen. One of our better OLs looked to me that he needs to spend some more time in the weight room and build up his upper body strength. A few of our other players also looked like they need to get bigger and stronger. I hope that this doesn't lead to cries of outrage, etc., but next Fall's games are won now, and as we learned last year, eye popping gains in weight mean nothing unles accompanied by corresponding gaims in muscle and strength.
Regardless of size and perceived ability of the individuals on the new recruit list you have to be impressed with the sheer geographic diversity of this group. A sign of good recruiting in new areas of the country. Welcome one and all...
Sorry Jake, but baseball is a Spring sport not basketball.
Why don't we all let the coach decide who plays where?
I am thrilled at the quality of the recruits we know so far.
Great sweep of the "Killer P's". Maybe this season will be the revenge of Cornell and Columbia as the "Carnivorous 'C's"
( Both Penn and Princeton got beaten by upstate and downstate NY!!)
jake-
any thought to covering hoops on this blog as well?
Our newest Lion recruit appears to be 6'2" 190 WR/DB Peter Batesko of Red Bank Catholic on the New Jersey Shore. The same news article that mentions Batesko's name lists Ryan Haslett as a defensive back rather than as a quarterback. If that is the case, Columbia will probably need to bring in another quarterback along with Jerry Bell. You certainly need at least two standout quarterbacks in every class. From what I've read, Harvard already has five or six quarterbacks in its incoming class. Anyway, welcome to Peter Batesko and his family.
Video interview with Ryan Haslett and teammates after their conference-winning victory, plus game action. Great stuff, amazing high school production.
http://www.digitalsports.com/Article.aspx?type=conference&typeid=3&id=5033
Jake, another player with great initials is coming to Columbia. According to the Roanoke Times, J.D. Tyree, a tight end/defensive end from Martinsville H.S. in Martinsville, Va. has verbally committed to the Lions. The Roanoke Times rates the 6'2", 205 Tyree as the 87th best recruit in the State of Virginia. He also plays basketball.
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