Brown Bears Football

There are some late round opportunities for Ivy League players to get into the 2010 NFL Draft.  Here are some of those players and the teams that have shown they are willing to draft Ivy League players:

Seventh Round

New York Giants Pick 221, New England Pick 229, or Philadelphia Eagles Pick 243:

WR Buddy Farnham, Brown

6'0" 194 lbs., 4.49-40 time (Pro Day best), Ivy Player of the Year, Second team All-American, career: 229 rec., 2,895 yds., 27 TDs.  Over 4,800 multi-purpose yards.  Possession receiver and special teams threat in the mold of SEA WR Sean Morey.

Seventh Round, Pick 231

New England Patriots: DT David Howard, Brown

6'3" 293 lbs., 5.03-40 time, All-Ivy (two-time), 27 bench presses, and 32" vert.  These numbers compare with, equal, or exceed those of Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy.  He has been playing in the Patriots backyard for the past four years.

Seventh Round, Pick 242

Pittsburgh Steelers: OG James Williams, Harvard

6'5" 290 lbs., 5.54-40 time, 16 bench presses. Pro day numbers hurt his chances to be drafted higher but still a solid prospect.  And Pittsburgh is not adverse to drafting from the Ivy League.

Undrafted Free Agent Signing

WR Austin Knowlin, Columbia

5'9" 195 lbs., 4.47-40 time

His speed and return ability will be intriguing for some NFL team, perhaps the NY Giants since Knowlin has been playing in New York for the past four years.

WR Bobby Sewell, Brown

6'0-1/2", 197 lbs., 4.41 and 4.43 - 40 times, 41" vert., 16 bench press reps.

Much like teammate Farnham, Sewell is a possession receiver but with an extra burst of speed.  Could also be a special teams weapon.  Should get a camp invite at a minimum.

ILB Jake Lewko, Penn

6'1" 232 lbs., 4.78 - 40 time

A bit undersized (5-10 lbs.) and just a step off from being considered a draft contender.  Also a long snapper.  Could be a camp invite.

QB Michael Dougherty is gone to graduation

I thought Brown was the best team in the Ivies last year. They had a high-powered passing game, a very good defensive line, and a killer secondary.

It's a shame we don't have tie-breaking rules in the Ivies, because the Bears bear co-champ Harvard in second week, and I just think it's wrong for a team to have to share a title with an opponent they defeated on the field.

But that was last year, and in 2009 Brown faces some severe losses due to graduation that could be too much to keep the Bears a top the league.


1) Who is coming back and who is lost?

Brown retains a solid core of linemen on both offense and defense. The offensive line boasts three returning starters, led by 1st Team All Ivy Paul Jasinowski. A fourth starter, Matthew Adkins, could be returning as a 5th year starter because he missed most of his junior year to injury.

The Browns also the best overall returning defensive player in David Howard, a first team All-Ivy defensive lineman. He'll be joined up front by second team All-Ivy James Develin.

The other strength area is at wide receiver, where stars Bobby Sewall and Buddy Farnham return.

But then things look a little, if not a lot, iffy up in Providence.

The biggest loss is two-year starting QB Michael Dougherty (and I still think Head Coach Phil Estes hates himself for not starting Dougherty as a sophomore in 2006 over the interception-prone Joe DiGiacomo). Running wasn't really a primary focus for the Bears in 2008, but veteran tailbacks Dereck Knight and Jon Edwards are also gone.

The biggest loss on offense may be tight end Colin Cloherty, a first team All-Ivy menace who could have helped by presenting a nice big passing target.

The defense loses its entire starting linebacking crew, including a big star in Steve Ziogas. 75 percent of the fine secondary also departs including corner Darrell Harrison.


2) Back to the QB position, who's in the running?

It looks like three sophmores with no varsity experience. But if there's anyone in the league who could pull a rabbit out of his and get his team a good new starting QB, it's Estes.

Still, it's a stretch to think that his successor will play up to Dougherty's level, at least not right away. Don't be surprised if a freshman gets a chance to start some point this season.


3) Can Brown Surprise?

The Bears might be able to put together a contending team by mid-season, but that will be well after the bid showdown at Harvard. I don't think Brown will suffer the way they did in 2006, when they fell to 2-8 a year after the great Nick Hartigan graduated, but doing much better than 6-4 will be a tough stretch.

If we look at Ivy League football just this season, we can see a Brown team that has resurrected itself to claim first place and, if the chips fall where they should, an Ivy League championship.

This is no overnight feat.  This took a steady growth period—since 2002, their last losing season—to get the Brown program back to where it is currently the best in its conference.

In '08, impressive wins over archrivals Harvard and Penn put them on track to add to their trophy case.  If the Bears can get by Yale on Nov. 8, they stand an excellent shot at putting it into cruise control with games against winless Dartmouth and Columbia to wrap up the season.

What I like about the Ivies is everyone has a chance.  Some teams, like Columbia, just don't properly position themselves for success. 

Cornell, despite far too many lackluster seasons, is showing some signs of life under head coach Jim Knowles.  It really looks like the current coaching staff is pulling it together. This is a perfect example of the direction Columbia needs to take.

Look at Cornell's record just this year (3-4). It's not impressive if we just look at Ws and Ls, but Cornell has been in every game they have played—except against Brown.  They are playing well and not caving in.  They are showing stability.

Dartmouth has had some excellent seasons in the long history of their program.  They have won a good share of Ivy championships and had some terrific players and coaches along the way.  Unfortunately for them, the 2008 season is a catastrophe.  They could go winless.

If they play the role of spoiler in their remaining games, it would not be surprising though.  That's just how Ivy play is.  In fact, I bet the Big Green do have something left in the tank.

Traditional power Harvard has faltered only once this season—against Brown.  They still have Penn and Yale to play though.

Last year it looked like Yale would go wire to wire.  Their brilliant season came to an unfulfilling climax in losing to archrival Harvard on their home field.  Yale is not short on toughness.  Key players QB Matt Polhemus and RB Mike McLeod took on the Yale hockey team in some fisticuffs. 

Yale has a strong football heritage.  The accomplishments of Carm Cozza still stand for something in New Haven, and current head coach Jack Siedlecki is doing justice to that heritage.

Dean Cain’s Princeton Tigers have looked ordinary this season.

Penn really only established itself as an Ivy League powerhouse beginning in the '80s.  How they did it is with very aggressive recruiting, due diligence, assigning the budget to get it done, and really bringing in a caliber of athlete that set a standard for years to come.

Now every student athlete that arrives at Penn has the winning mentality already in place.  This wasn't something out of thin air.  It was by design with the right coaching and the right personnel.

Most of the Ivies will always have a good team because they have a very deep recruiting pool to work with.