Roster Depth Hallmark of 2007 Squad

Coming off of its best season in a decade, the Columbia football team has a lot of momentum to build on going into 2007. The Lions have 15 starters and 57 letter-winners returning to the squad, and they will be joined by 39 recruits and one transfer for this year’s campaign.

Last year around this time, there was a lot of curiosity about the football program because of the changes that had occurred in the off-season, namely the hiring of head coach Norries Wilson. This year, there is still curiosity, but it is concerning whether this year’s team will be able to improve upon its successes from last season.

There have been some good signs in the off-season and during preseason camp for the Lions. The 40 new players constitute a rather large recruiting class for the Lions and give the team a much deeper roster. One of the most important statistics from the off-season is that, of all the new players, no one quit during preseason camp. All the recruits and walk-ons stayed with the team for what is generally the hardest part of the season, which speaks well to the foundation of the program.

On the downside, however, there have been some injuries, the most noticeable being at quarterback. Senior captain Craig Hormann may not play in the first game of the season due to a knee injury, so it will be interesting to keep an eye on that situation. In his stead, sophomore M.A. Olawale and transfer Shane Kelly are vying for the starting quarterback position.

The offense that one of these three will be running this season had some problems last year and will need to improve to help the Lions’ defense, which was their strong point in 2006.

“The offense has improved some,” Wilson said. “The defense is trying to fill some holes where they have injuries. They’re both out there working hard, but we’ve got some things we’ve got to work through.”

On offense, the Lions were last in the Ivy League last year in total yards, first downs, and third-down efficiency, among other things. Part of that stemmed from an undersized offensive line, which has not changed, as the Light Blue will still be the smaller team on the field in all of their games according to Wilson.

This means that Columbia is going to have to learn how to play stronger and smarter and to work as a team to make things work.

“There wasn’t anything wrong with the X’s and O’s. We just had to get them to execute,” Wilson said. “You can only scheme it up so much, but they’ve got to go out and play and get it done.”

On an individual level, Wilson spoke very highly of last year’s Ivy League Freshman of the Year, wide receiver Austin Knowlin, who took the summer as a chance to improve his play.

“Knowlin didn’t take the summer off,” Wilson said. “He did a great job coming back here in great shape. He’s banged up a little bit, hasn’t taken himself out of a drill since we started. He’s out there every day, and he’s working to get better.”

As for the defense, which was the Lions’ best aspect of play last year, there are going to be some personnel changes to fill the holes left by graduating players, but the intensity and skill level looks to remain the same. The linebacking corps, led by junior captain Drew Quinn, and the defense in general were cited by Wilson as being the area that he is most confident about this season.

“I’d say, when they’re healthy, we’ve got a pretty good linebacker corps, and we’ve got a pretty good back seven when they’re healthy,” Wilson added.

According to Wilson, the defensive alignments and strategies will not change for this season, but players have been moved around to benefit the team and fill in the gaps. In one move, sophomore Lou Miller was moved from linebacker to the defensive line in order to hopefully increase the Lions’ rushing speed off the end.

In the secondary, seniors Eugene Edwards and captain JoJo Smith are holding things steady at the corners, but the Lions need to replace All-Ivy free safety Tad Crawford, who graduated last year. Enter sophomore Drew Abeyta.

“We’ve got to put somebody back there that we believe in. Drew Abeyta’s had a real good camp,” Wilson said. “You’ve got to be able to make tackles, and you’ve got to be able to cover the post. I believe he can do it.”

Tomorrow, all the wheels start turning, and everyone will be able to see what the 2007 season has in store for Columbia football. However, the team is focused on tomorrow, not the season at large.

“We all work on the same goal,” Wilson said. “We all have the same goal: we want to win one game a week.”