Rating the Recruits... of 2007

Alex Gross was the crown jewel of the Class of '11

As we continue to ponder our growing list of incoming freshmen for the class of 2015, it seems like a good time to consider the overall quality of the soon-to-graduate class of 2011.

I’ll write something more about each of the graduating seniors as we get closer to the Gold Dinner, but for now the question is:

How good was that recruiting class overall?

First, remember that some key members of the class of 2011 are not finished with their Lion careers as of yet. Co-Captain Mike Stephens, Paul Havas, and Mike Murphy will all return this fall for medical 5th years.

If Stephens contributes like he truly can and Havas and Murphy add to their emergence on the varsity last season, then the class of ’11’s stock definitely goes up.

Until then, there are a lot of criteria you have to consider:

Overall Wins

Not exactly the best here as the class of ’11 went 11-29 overall, compared to the 12-28 for the class of ’10. But in Ivy play, the ‘11’s went 7-21 compared to the same 7-21 record posted by the class of ’10.

And it the jump from a 1-9 season their freshman year to back-to-back 4-6 seasons in their final two years was a great sign of some progress.

All Ivy Players

This class did well in this category. Alex Gross was a three-time All Ivy, starting with his Ivy League Rookie of the Year win in 2007.

Andrew Kennedy and Adam Mehrer were the only other multiple All Ivy honorees, but senior year brought first time honors to Calvin Otis and Nico Gutierrez.

Great Wins

The class of ’11 played a prominent role in the greatest Columbia win of the 2000’s, the 2009 28-14 win over Brown in the season finale. They also chipped in nicely in the routs over Princeton in 2009 and 2010, the win over Lafayette in 2010 that ended a decade-long losing streak to the Leopards, and the three-game winning streak over Cornell from 2008-2010.

Staying Power

The large number of seniors who stayed all four years, (and the three more who will make it five), continued the Norries Wilson trend of great class retention rates.

Columbians for Life?

There some members of the class of ’11 who you just know will be jewels in the Columbia alumni crown forever. Alex Gross is one of those people, and I would put Kennedy, Otis and Mehrer on that list as well. And we know guys like Dan Cohen, whose family spearheaded four great years of massive tailgates at Wien Stadium, will remain with us on gameday for a long time.

Don’t be surprised if these guys become the people who back this program to the hilt sometime in the near future.