It Begins...

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Camp about to Begin


I received the big Columbia football fundraising mailing yesterday and it confirms that training camp officially begins tomorrow for the Lions.



Of course, the first day of training camp is usually just a check in day and I don’t expect the team to actually hit the field until Friday or Saturday.

But tomorrow is the true beginning of the season for the players and coaches and all the staffers who make Columbia football go.

Time to get serious.


I also have to say I am flattered that a short blurb by Head Coach Norries Wilson that appears in the mailing is almost completely identical to the top three goals I listed for the football program way back in December.




Collier Winters




Why Collier Winters Gets No Love



There’s still a lot of preseason hype surrounding Yale QB Patrick Witt and whether he is the best player at his position in the Ivies.



Yesterday, I pointed out that Witt is NOT among the three returning Ivy QB’s who have been a 1st Team All Ivy honoree.



Those three young men are Columbia’s Sean Brackett, Penn’s Billy Ragone, and Brown’s Kyle Newhall-Caballero.



So what about Harvard’s Collier Winters?



At least one reader thinks we’re giving him short shrift too.



Are we?



Well, Winters is definitely a good QB and he sure has a strong arm.



There’s just one problem: he hasn’t been able to beat Penn



In two crucial starts against the Quakers in 2009 and 2010, with the Ivy title on the line, Winters has come up short.



Last season at Franklin Field, Winters went 21-44 and threw three interceptions in the Crimson’s 34-14 loss.



In 2009 at Harvard Stadium, Winters went just 10-23 for just 135 yards passing in a 17-7 loss to Bagnoli’s Bruisers.



Based on the way he talks and acts, I think Harvard Head Coach Tim Murphy believes Collier Winters is a nice kid, a talented kid, but just not a kid who can bring the Crimson a title.



Why else would Murphy welcome two-time transfer Andrew Hatch back on the team with open arms last year. Yes, Winters got injured in the preseason, but that was AFTER Murphy brought Hatch back in. Of course in the ultimate case of poetic justice, Hatch got injured himself early in the season, Winters got better and Murphy had to go back to him for the remainder of the season.



So in summary, it’s not ME anyone needs to convince about how good Collier Winters is… it’s Tim Murphy who needs to be convinced.



Or maybe just Penn.









Top 100 Moments of 2010



#31: One Step Forward, two Steps Back



After Columbia showed signs of life with a determined drive to make it 24-7 Yale, the defense stepped up with a three-and-out and forced the Elis to punt from their own 38.



But Nico Gutierrez, who did a super job filling in for the injured Mike Stephens all year in punt returns, had a rare mistake and he fumbled the kick back over to Yale at the CU 22.



Three plays later, the Bulldogs had another TD pass and upped their lead to 31-7 at halftime.