Freshmen Shine for CU Football

Although Columbia can’t boast much about its league play this season, the Lions (1-7, 0-5 Ivy) are the Ivy League team to have received the most consistent and standout play from their freshmen class. In the eight weeks of play so far, a Columbia player has received the Ivy Rookie of the Week award four times.

Freshmen linebacker Alex Gross has shown his impact on defense, leading the team with 54 tackles, 10 of which came in Saturday’s 27-12 loss to Harvard. Gross has received Ivy Rookie of the Week honors three times this season after his play against Yale, Princeton, and Fordham.

Gross recorded three tackles in his first collegiate game against Fordham, and he had an interception that was called back because of an offsides penalty against Columbia.
Gross then tied his season high total with 13 tackles, and recorded his first career sack, against Princeton. As of the Harvard game, Gross has 21 solo tackles and five tackles for a loss, one of which came on a key third down in the third quarter on Saturday.

The other freshman to receive Ivy Rookie of the Week honors, Nico Gutierrez, has quickly established his presence as one of senior quarterback Craig Hormann’s go-to receivers. After only recording four catches in his first four games, Gutierrez hauled in five passes against Penn, second behind sophomore standout receiver Austin Knowlin.

“Nico’s coming along as a pass receiver,” head coach Norries Wilson said before Dartmouth. When asked about the possibility of an opponent game planning for Knowlin, Wilson replied, “It’s not an issue for us. Someone else is going to have to get open if he can’t, and they’re going to have to catch the football.”

That someone was Gutierrez. With Knowlin limited to only two receptions, Gutierrez took over, again hauling in five catches, this time for a career-high 132 yards. His performance earned him Rookie of the Week, and the next week against Yale, Gutierrez again led the team in receptions, this time with four. After the Harvard game, Gutierrez is third in receptions on the team for the season.

With Knowlin more open than usual on Saturday against Harvard—the sophomore had 10 receptions for 123 yards—Gutierrez still managed three catches for 44 yards. But in what could have been the biggest play of the game on offense for the Lions, Hormann threw a bomb downfield for Gutierrez, who was inside the 20-yard line and had a step or two on his man, but a Harvard defender deliberately shoved Gutierrez to prevent the catch. The 15-yard pass interference penalty was from the line of scrimmage, not the spot of the foul, and the Lions couldn’t keep the drive alive.

Defensive back Calvin Otis and strong safety Augie Williams are two other freshmen who have made an impact on defense in their first season. Otis is tied for third in interceptions this season with two, and has 14 tackles and three pass break ups (PBUs) as of the Harvard game. Otis almost had his third interception against Harvard in the second quarter, but couldn’t hang on to the ball. The PBU ended Harvard’s drive and allowed the Lions to go into the locker room only trailing by seven. Williams has recorded 48 tackles this season and one PBU, and was third in tackles against Harvard with nine.

The Lions are a young team—almost a third of their roster is freshmen—and these four players have been crucial to the Lions offense and defense this season. But they are still learning, and though their playing experience has helped them become key players on both sides of the ball, head coach Norries Wilson is in no hurry to look to 2008.

“I’ve been asked by some if I’m going to scrap the season, throw the young guys in there and start spring practice in November, but it’s my personal opinion that that’s not the right thing to do,” Wilson said. “I owe it to the kids that gave four years of their life in football to put the best kids I think give us a chance to win the game on the field on Saturday, and that’s my full intention.”