Chance Abound For Freshmen

Saturday night’s game in the Bronx becomes the latest chapter of the Columbia football story, not merely adding another season or scene to an already verbose novel, but also revealing a brand new set of characters clad in blue and white. Based on the number of additions alone, the incoming class of freshmen is the future of the program. And in the cases of standout players who have proven themselves even before the first kickoff, these recruits are Columbia football’s best hope for the season.
In the first class of his tenure at Columbia, head coach Norries Wilson has brought in the largest new segment of the team, with 39 freshmen accounting for 40 percent of its roster. The team’s recruiting efforts have notably aimed to address deficiencies in the offensive line and lighten the burden carried by the Lions’ defense.

“We focused on creating some depth at the offensive line, creating some depth at the linebacker position,” Wilson said. “Just trying to improve our overall team depth so we can try to practice the right way so we don’t have to wear kids down.”

In a way, lightening the burden has meant adding weight. The average freshman football player weighs more than the average sophomore (215 pounds to 210 pounds), and three of the five heaviest members of the team are in their first year at Columbia.

“We’ll still be the smallest team on the field every game we play.” Wilson said. “We’re working on it. Actually some of our younger kids are bigger than some of our older kids, and they’re ready to get in the game.”

Much to the excitement of Lions fans, the team’s fresh faces are composed of several highly sought-after recruits.

At running back, the Lions have brought in freshman Zack Kourouma from Wilbraham, Mass. The 5-foot-11-inch, 182-pound back earned All-Western Massachusetts honors in his senior year, and although he sits behind junior Jordan Davis and sophomore Ray Rangel in the tailback rotation, Kourouma can be expected to take live snaps this year.
Freshman Nico Gutierrez , born Nicholas Frederick Gutierrez, joins a cast of a dozen wideouts, and the receiver from Connecticut will become a familiar sight at Baker Field. Gutierrez earned eight letters in high school and helped New Canaan, Conn., win the 2006 Connecticut state championship, class MM, in his senior year.

Freshman Marc Holloway, a linebacker from Philadelphia, should be in rotation this coming season as well. At West Philadelphia Catholic, Holloway garnered four letters in football and another two in track. He gained leadership experience in his senior year as a football captain, helping the team win the division championship. At 5-foot-11-inches and 220 pounds, he has the size to compete in this league and will get plenty of opportunities to do so this year.

The freshman class has become acclimated to the team dynamic and has learned just what coach Wilson expects of each one of them.

“We practice a little different than what some of those kids are used to in high school. I won’t say harder because I wasn’t at their high schools. But they had to find out what we expected of them,” Wilson said, “and buy into what we’re doing.”

In Wilson’s view, the latest recruits have made the successful transition from high school into Ivy League football that their 60 upperclassman teammates made before them. Something of the camaraderie of last year’s squad, however, seems to be missing—at least at the moment.

“Last year’s team had a little bit more family,” Wilson said. “This year’s group is a little different. They don’t work any less hard, but the intensity level isn’t quite what it was last year.”

There is one sure method of firing up a team, however: a season full of winning.