Backfield in Transition
Marcorus Garrett in his high school days
With the upcoming graduations of Leon Ivery and Zack Kourouma, the Columbia running game will automatically look different next season.
Most fans have made it clear they'd like to see rising junior Nick Gerst pick up most of that slack. And there's a lot of slack to pick up; Gerst carried the ball just seven times per game.
Another great candidate is rising sophomore Marcorus Garrett. Garrett is supremely talented, period.
But a Gerst-Garrett backfield would be missing a bruising fullback type runner. Unsung hero Nathan Lenz, who did a great job asa fullback during his time at CU, is also about to graduate this spring. Nico Papas is certainly capable of filling in next season, which will be Nico's senior campaign.
And no one will be surprised if QB Sean Brackett remains the #1 rusher on the team next year and the year after that.
The question is: should the Lions just go with the speedy backfield of Gerst, Garrett and Brackett and forget about trying to grind out tough yards right up the gut?
Let's hear from the readers...
posted by Jake @ 1:45:00 AM
25 comments
25 Comments:
Gerst and Garrett will alternate, with Gerst getting 2/3rds of the carries. FB at Columbia is strictly a blocking position; the FB almost never carries the ball but is sometimes used for outlet passes. What is need to recruit is a big back who can move the pile.
Jake,
As a New Jersey follower of Columbia football I am not sure Columbia appreciated what they got when Gerst came to Columbia. His high school Bergen Catholic is always in the Top 50 nationally playing against a level of football by far one of the best in the country. This kid was allstate at Bergen Catholic which speaks for itself nationally. From what I understand Columbia has an extremely weak offensive line that needs help. Sounds like you only got a small dose of his lightning quick talent. Alot of kids show nice high school film but not at his caliber of school. Hopefully Columbia can build an offensive play book around Gerst and Brackett Be great if Garrett can add to the mix. By the way, Bergen Catholic ranked 24 by USA today plays #9 Don Bosco at the New Meadowlands stadium tonite. These 2 schools have many players playing in the NFL. I am told they expect a crowd of 20,000 and Gerst's brother will be playing for Bergen Catholic.
The left side of our line has a two time 6'7" 305 pound all Ivy tackle and a 6'6" 295 pound left guard. If they can't open up cut-back lanes for Gerst then something is the matter.
Freshman running back Griffin Lowry looked very good in the pre-season, but must have injured his leg because he was on crutches for the Towson game and didn't play at all the rest of the year. Lowry has excellent size for a running back. Anyone know his status?
How did freshman running back Sam Williams do this season?
With all due respect how can these kids on the left side be all IVY when I am told there were no holes to run through most of the year
We don't have an "extremely weak" OL. We averaged 4.0 per rush this year and that includes 28 sacks in the average. That, by the way, is the identical YPC that our opponents got against our small DL that generated only 15 sacks and relatively few tackles for loss.
I think Ivery and Kourouma would qualify as solid backs, but not All-Ivy caliber, and they both averaged more than 4.2 per carry. So the OL was doing something right.
4.0 yds per carry doesnt get it done when Penn and Harvard average 5 yds a carry. We are already mediocre. Lets try and get to the top level and learn from what has been working for years at the top programs
We were fourth in YPC in the Ivies. We're not close to Penn in lots of areas, not just OL, but Harvard and Dartmouth, the next best rushing teams, had stud running backs. We clearly don't have one. Maybe Gerst gets there, but for whatever reason he didn't get the carries Schwieger or Gordon got. I suspect that if he were as good as Schwieger the coaches would've figured that out. So 4.0 without a star RB is better than mediocre. If you want to ding the OL, the sacks were more problematic than YPC. We gave up way too many, second worst in the league after Cornell.
Actually, the offensive line played well this season and should be very good next year. Overall, the OL has to be a "team strength" considering that it has an outstanding two-time First Team All-Ivy player in Jeff Adams, and at least seven other returning players with size and experience. As far as the DL is concerned, it too could be very next year as it also has six or seven talented players returning led by second team All-Ivy Defensive End Josh Martin who is a guy with hugh potential. However, as several Columbia Football Fans have already noted on the Blog, the Lion defensive line had trouble this year stopping the run against the better Ivy League Teams. I would expect the players on the DL to be motivated to add the necessary size and strength in the off-season to settle some personal scores next season.
Alot of good comments here.Interesting, the best back in the Ivies averages 4.7 yds per carry and Gerst averages 5.1 yds per carry and we dont have a stud running back. Lets stop the excuses. We got pushed around at the line of scrimmage by the upper echelon teams all year.
Recruiting: (1) Defense's top priority has to be to recruit a couple of impact players who can start immediately on the defensive line and at linebacker. It won't be easy to replace Alex Gross. (2) Offense's top priority has to be a recruit a couple of impact players at running back and wide receiver. Gerst and Garrett are both very talented running backs, but as Penn showed this year, you need at least three talented running backs to win an Ivy League Title. As far as wide receiver is concerned, it would have been nice if the Lions had a wide receiver of Peacock's caliber. Hopefully, we can get a guy like that this year and maybe a star kick receiver as well.
"From what I understand Columbia has an extremely weak offensive line that needs help"
I don't know where you got your information, this OL can improve, but it is certainly capable of outstanding play.
Get as much speed on the field as you can and then use the speed. Motion and get single coverage on a swing pass, run outside, motion for a sweep. Look at how Oregon uses its speed. They get their playmakers in space. They also can go inside when they need as well. If our offense is faster than the defense, then the blocks don't have to be held as long. Use the talent you have in th manner in which they will be most sucessful. I don't beleive we are a power I team with the current personnel so use what you have. Why recruit such fast but smallish players if the offense is not designed for them?
There is general consensus that this coaching staff has dramatically increased the talent level on the team. We all are impatient to see it transcribed to wins.
Been to Baker complex? Been to Columbia's campus? How many football fields have you seen there? ONE! What does that mean? While the coaching staff has killed themselves recruiting, and more importantly RETAINING, those players, what happens to them when they arrive? Let's examine that.
The coaching staff is close to retaining every recuit for four years, at 120 players. They all truck up to Baker and hit the field. Where does every body go? Suppose we squeeze eleven on eleven on one end of the field and another eleven on eleven on the other end of the field. We're really jamming them in. We now have 76 players standing around doing what? No second field. No steady consistent reps for the third string or JV to develop. This is part of the reason for my post earlier in the week about the team being worn out by the end of the week and season. The practices are less efficient due to the limited size of the facility. It takes a lot longer to get all the work in.
How may goal posts are there at Baker Complex? How many on the Columbia campus? TWO! One at each end of the field! What do the kickers do when the team is practicing on the fields? Nothing really. They get very precious reps when the offense and defense vacate the precious single field.
The season is now over. Suppose Sean Brackett gets a little break in his academic schedule and wants to practice a few routes with his receivers. How does he do it? Does he take the "A" train with a couple of his teammates to Baker? Pretty difficult obstacles due to the lack of facilities.
The kids at Penn walk out of their classes between 34th and 36th street ALL the way down to 30th street at Franklin Field! Four to six blocks! The kids at Harvard have it a little tougher. They have to walk all the way over the Charles River Bridge but when they arrive there is a nice reward with a phenomenal indoor bubble placed over the "The Stadium", according to the Harvard football program. Huge facilities and practice advantages at the top two programs. You want to know why they have top programs? Look at the committment to facilities from the top of the institution. Go to Yale, I swear I must have seen at least eight fields there! You know their thirds and JV's are getting plenty of reps.
One of the very best reasons to play at Columbia is the summer internships. During the summer, the players travel to the city get back to campus and want to throw the ball around. Where do they go? There is nothing on the campus. Do they go to Baker? Is it open? How much time does it require? Does the school help them with transportation? Our players are falling behind in the summer!
Talk to any player and ask them about the weight room. They have to go in shifts! They have to split up the times and then work around the other teams at Columbia. You want to know why we need to work on strength? This isn't helping the coaching staff or the players.
Look it, Baker is a very nice facility. But there are not enough fields there or in close proximity. Before everyone starts punching out the Columbia coaching staff and players for another season please level the playing field for them.
Institutionally, if this forum wants to compete with the big dogs, then they have to learn to run in the tall grass. Yes, it is asking a lot. On a year to year basis to compete at the prestigous upper levels of Ivy league football we need more fields at Baker to get the first, second, third string and JV players on the field! We need some kind of practice facility within walking distance of the players dorms. The new facility at Baker is needed and appreciated but the players need more more weight facilities on the main campus, immediately! Their time is little and precious. Get us out of that damn dungeon!
If you want us to play with the best allow us to compete on a level field with the best.
On the other hand, we are one of the few schools which actually can offer our players a reason to stay on campus during the summers. Who wants to spend the summer in Philly, or Providence, etc.? But this is all the more reason to get the Campbell Center built! Talk is cheap--open up your checkbooks. I have been at the top level in my class for contributions for many years. I am going to suck it up and write another check for the Campbell Center. I know that times are tough, but if all of us dig down a little deeper we can get it done. We can't count on Bill and a few cohorts to pay for everything.
I am glad to see so much passion for the team and Columbia athletics as a whole! I am, however, concerned with these misguided posts about weight training, the staff, the administration, recruiting, and the facilities. It's interesting to read these "insider's" perspectives and how they drink the administration's Kool-Aide by defending their agenda...
I'm at a loss for why people consider the facilities, or the City as a negative compared to the other Ivies? How then do the track/cross-country, baseball and golf (of all things) win Ivy Championships? Hmmm, let me see... is it because they have to travel equal, or even further, distances to their training facilities? No, that's not it. Maybe it's the fact that Columbia only has one small baseball field? Maybe that's that is the issue? Or that the golf team trains in the winter at indoor facilities hitting into nets? Is it their weight training that's an issue? Apparently not with Tom Sheehan in charge of their training (who should be overseeing football as well by the way - was EXCELLENT under Tellier). So what is it??? Ah, COACHING! Those coaches win, why can’t ours? Those coaches recruit kids who want to go to school in the City and they have their eyes wide open about the athletic challenges of going to school here.
Based on several posts that are very familiar with Coach Wilson, it is a safe bet to establish that he is a "nice guy"... fantastic! That's great; he's a nice guy that can't coach! That's not a subjective opinion, that's a fact. Guess what, the OC and DC are under his watch, so that makes him a poor judge of administrators. To me, this is no different than in the real world. If you have the Head of a division who can't produce results, or manage his staff effectively, then they must be replaced. The issue here is that we are far too tolerant and that we are mired in mediocrity. Very soon, however, Dr. Murphy MUST take a hard look at the situation and demand some results. In fact, where is the post season "State of the Union"? We should have received some sort of statement from Dr. Murphy at least acknowledging these shortcomings (along with highlighting some positives). How about something from Coach Wilson? Or can we expect the same "... we didn't pay dividends on your investment..." speech?
Regarding recruiting… we clearly have the talent. The issue is that most of it remains on the sidelines. When the question of recruiting was posed to several coaches (and administrations), they all said that there is a level playing field and that they (other Ivies) all use the same resources. If that’s the case, we need to think outside the box! Where are our transfers? How does Yale have a QB from Nebraska and a TE from Boise State? Harvard had Clifton Dawson from Northwestern (as well as the Hatch double transfer). Penn has taken several D-I transfers and currently has a DB from Stanford on their team. What do we have? A QB from BU (no, they haven’t had a team in several years, but it’s true), and nothing else. Again, we have to think creatively… for example, we can offer SCHOLARSHIPS to players who were in the military (http://www.gs.columbia.edu/post-911-gi-bill-and-yellow-ribbon-program) through GS. Note, this can be for ALL sports, not just football. Our coaches need to have stronger ties to the NE Prep Schools (Andover, Exeter and Deerfield RARELY hear from our staff). Both Harvard and Yale send kids up to Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, Choate, Avon, etc. to “hide” them for a year while these kids boost their academics. Harvard and Yale can’t take all of them, so we should grab some up. Brown swoops in at the 11th hour and has gotten several players over the years.
I think that you would raise more money for the Campbell Center, and the team as a whole, if we knew that there was a NEW direction. Regretfully, I only see U-Turns…
"With all due respect how can these kids on the left side be all IVY when I am told there were no holes to run through most of the year."
The left side of the line cannot just open up holes on its own. In my humble opinion, Adams and Hauschildt did just fine. As for the All-Ivy remark, Adams is by far the most athletic tackle in the League. The line works as a unit, not just as one side.
- True Blue
I can see where one football field is a problem. The last time I heard about the huge campus expansion in Manhattanvile, not one inch was dedicated to a sports use. You'd think a hundred yards could be put aside for a practice facility and now, not in 10 years.
Doesn't anyone there want to sell one decrepit lot?
me thinks the lions are getting hungry!! Where is the holiday spirit of peace love and forgiving? Oh, I forgot: this is football.
Seriously, I also have the feeling that we are not getting the best results in the only statistic that count; WINS from the team.
We must look to the coaching. We had FIVE first team all-Ivy players (second only to Penn's 9 selections), and we won only 2 games in the league. Joe Jones had 7 years and things started to slip backward in the seventh year. How many years does a FB coach get?
Doc/jock
Note for Greg A. The Dartmouth RB Schweiger reminds me a little bit of a smaller version of you. He seems to make a lot of his yards on cut backs, and you were one of the best cut back runners I h have ever seen. Gerst is capable as a cut back runner, although as much as I like him I don't know if he has top end open field speed . That observation is based upon his being caught a few times when he had an open field. Garrett may be a little faster and more capable of turning the corner. He reminds me a little of Solomon Johnson...
Not sure what games you were watching this year. Gerst made everybody else look like they were moving in slow motion. One of the coaches told me they had the kid at 4.35 in the 40...
The condition of Penn's program when Jerry Berndt arrived couldn't have been in any better shape than Norries' first year here. He won one game his first year then reeled off four or five straight Ivy titles (some were co-Champs but I'd kill for that).
I am a big fan of Norries and there may have been other things at work for Penn to turn it around that quickly, but the time is now.
In my opinion, we have to make a legit run at the title this year, and sustain it for years to come, or it's time to look for someone who will get us there.
2-5 annually is not enough anymore. At minimum, Norries has got to have a winning Ivy record this year and he's got to sustain winning seasons over the next 4-5 seasons. Anything less than that and it's time for a change.
Speaking of coaching, hard to believe we had a chance to nab Mike Singletary a few years ago. Here's an excerpt from an earlier Jake post:
"Chicago Bears all-time great Mike Singletary, who openly said he was interested in the Columbia head coaching job back in 2002, is now the head coach of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. What a difference 6 years makes! "
I feel strongly that coaching is that intangible that makes the difference. The New England Patriots were doormats for 25 years (!) and had no winning tradition until Bill Parcells came. He turned the whole attitude around, and changed everything. He set the table for Belicheck, who then went on to turn them into a dynasty. I can also recommend the new Lombardi play on Broadway, which I just saw. Lombardi had something special. He won--dominantly-- everywhere he went, from high school onwards.
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