Game Notes & Two-Deeps Released
Nico Gutierrez is back on the two-deep! (CREDIT: Colubia Athletics)
The game notes and the long-awaited two-deeps for the opener against Fordham have been released by the athletic department.
Also, there's the official announcement that Sal Licata from SNY will be taking over my duties as color commentator. (I will still be producing and conducting halftime interviews). I met Sal on Saturday at Wien Stadium and he was a great guy... but more importantly, he's a sports broadcasting professional who will do a fine job.
As I say every year, it's important to remember the two-deeps are mostly the same as what you'll see on game day, but they are not to be taken as the Bible. You really have to pay attention when the team runs out onto the field for the first plays from scrimmage to really know all the starters.
But here's how the lineup looks on paper:
OFFENSE
STARTER (Backup)
QB: Sean Brackett (Jerry Bell)
RB: Leon Ivery or Zack Kourouma (Nick Gerst)
FB: Nathan Lenz (Nico Papas)
TE: Andrew Kennedy (Clif Pope)
WR: Mike Stephens (Mark Muston)
WR: Nico Gutierrez (Kurt Williams)
LT: Jeff Adams (Dan Cohen)
LG: Bob Hauschildt (Prentis Robinson)
C: Kyle Stupi (Tim Skalak)
RG: Ian Quirk (Eric Walker)
RT: Scott Ward (Sam Cecil)
DEFENSE
STARTER (Backup)
CB: Calvin Otis (Rex Cole)
FS: Adam Mehrer (Steven Grassa)
SS: Neil Schuster (Dan Myers or Mike Murphy)
CB: Craig Hamilton (A.J. Maddox)
SAM: Matt Moretto (Ryan Haslett)
MIKE: Nick Mistretta (Marc Holloway)
WILL: Alex Gross (Evan Miller)
DE: Seyi Adebayo (Josh Martin)
NT: Chris Groth (Joe Raimondi)
DT: Matt Stotler (Ben Popeck)
DE: Josh Smith (Will Patterson or Ryan Murphy)
SPECIAL TEAMS
STARTER (Backup)
PK: Dean Perfetti (Luke Eddy)
P: Greg Guttas (Andrew Weiss)
KR: Craig Hamilton (Mike Murphy)
PR: Mike Stephens (Nico Gutierrez)
H: Mike Stephens (Paul Havas)
LS: Bryan Kipp (Ben Popeck)
My Take:
-Owen Fraser is not on the two-deep, but don't be surprised if he's in on the first play from scrimmage... and also don't be surprised if he's held out of the game or a lot of the game to make sure he's 100% for the Ivy League opponents.
-Ditto for Kalasi Huggins at CB.
-I think we'll see a lot of running backs get playing time Saturday, thus it's nice they put three names under the "RB" column.
-Scott Ward surprised me as the #1 at right tackle. He was always a good looking prospect, but this is a big jump for a sophomore.
-The special teams info may be completely jumbled by game time.
-It's great to see Nico Gutierrez back in the two deep. This time as a starter!
posted by Jake @ 8:14:00 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Real Columbia Super Football Fan Tidbits: (1) Two players from Buckingham Brown and Nichols in Cambridge, Mass. have broken into the two-deep, namely junior fullback Nico Papas and sophomore defensive back Steven Grassa. Note that Grassa is listed on the roster at 5'11" and yet he is only shown at 5'9" in the Game Notes. Let's hope he doesn't get any shorter by game day; (2) Senior Mike Murphy will be returning kickoffs along Craig Hamilton. The speedy Murphy was one of the top hurdlers in New York State four years ago so we can expect some exciting returns from him; (3) Add defensive back Ross Morand to the players you named, Jake, who are not listed in the two-deep probably due to injury. He was big for us last year; (4) Congratulations to DT Joe Raimondi for becoming the first freshman to break into the two-deep in a non-special teams position; (5) Similar congratulations to Luke Eddy for doing the same in place kicking; and(6) Our offensive line is probably the tallest in Columbia Football history with two 6'7" starting tackles and a 6'6" guard.
Move of Cohen from RT to LT is interesting.
A lot of familiar names are not ont he two deep -- Huggins, Augie Williams, etc. Injuries?
Is the Ivy late to adopt the trend in college football of playing freshmen early? A quick look at the various game notes of Ivy teams shows almost no freshmen making a dent - anyplace. If this was the year of recruiting speedy skill players across the League (as I read here in an earlier post), it seems surprising that none of it being put to use.
Actually, a lot of freshmen have been getting playing time in recent years across the league, even at powerhouses like Harvard and Penn. I don't know if the trend is changing now, but as Bruce Wood wrote today on his Big Green Alert Blog: "The depth charts may not be worth the paper they're no longer printed on!"
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