New players called upon to replace injured starters Olawale, Rangel

As the Columbia football players took the field this Saturday against Yale, fans found themselves asking a lot of questions. Where’s Millie? Isn’t Ray Rangel out for the season? Why is he taking punt returns instead of Austin Knowlin?

There was a little bit of a number shuffle in the Columbia lineup this weekend. Regular starting quarterback Millicent Olawale (jersey No. 16), in uniform but on the sidelines, was replaced by freshman Sean Brackett (jersey No. 10), who started for the first time in his career. Senior running back Ray Rangel (jersey No. 4) is out for the season with an ankle injury, and wide receiver Austin Knowlin (jersey No. 83) donned jersey No. 4 in his honor, leading to some confusion in the stands.

The stage was set: two of Columbia’s top offensive players were out with injury. Olawale has been a significant force on the field since 2008 where he saw playing time in eight games. Last year he was named the team’s Most Valuable Offensive Player, contributing a team-high 392 rushing yards.

This year, Olawale is second in rushing with 215 yards in just six games and has thrown for 951 yards and eight touchdowns. He was also the only player to score in the team’s loss to Dartmouth as he converted a one-yard touchdown run to put the Lions on the board. Before Saturday’s game, Olawale had led the Light Blue to a 2-4 overall record as starting quarterback.

A suspected shoulder injury is what kept Olawale out of this Saturday’s game and allowed Brackett a chance to play. While the transition was not seamless, the Lions played well with Brackett in the pocket due to the players’ similar playing styles. Wide receiver Austin Knowlin said after the game that “they [Olawale and Brackett] both can run, they both can move a little bit.”

Also noticeably missing from the gridiron was running back Ray Rangel. Rangel started all 10 games last year and made his presence felt on offense. He was second on the team with 329 rushing yards and was leading this year with 501 yards in the first six games alone. Rangel has already run for five touchdowns this season and was named Columbia’s Student-Athlete of the Month in September when he was the Ivy League leader in rushing yards.
Rangel was taken out in last week’s game against Dartmouth. Lions head coach Norries Wilson described the incident: “He got too much torque on his foot … [it] destroyed his shoe.” According to Wilson, after the results of an MRI, doctors determined that surgery was needed. “Ray has given all he’s going to give to this program for the season,” he said.

In tribute to Rangel’s dedication, Knowlin traded in his traditional No. 83 for Rangel’s No. 4. “Ray is like my brother … so I wanted to make sure he was out there and he was honored the right way,” Knowlin said after the game.

Teammates Leon Ivery and Zack Kourouma stepped up against Yale and did their best to fill the void on the field left by Rangel’s absence. Including Ivery’s 75-yard run, the two contributed 156 rushing yards to the Lions’ offense.

While Columbia’s offense took two hard hits with the loss of Olawale and Rangel recently, it looks like Olawale will take the field again this season and the team will continue to call upon younger players for support. This weekend alone, the crippled offense was able to post 22 points against a strong defense—a sign of good things to come for the Light Blue.