Columbia Football

Nick DeGasperis, 2006 (CREDIT: Columbia Athletics)

Sorry for missing the daily player countdown yesterday, but I am officially sick. It happens. Don't worry, I'm docking myself an imaginary pay check.

There is a bit of interesting news coming from the Athletic Department release on the incoming freshmen for the baseball team.

One of those players is the speedy Nick Crucet from Cypress Bay High School in Florida.
That's the same high school where incoming football freshman Joe Nathan hails from.

I say this is interesting because it seems like there are more and more cases where we find multiple Columbia athletes, on different teams, coming to us from the same high schools. I hope this is the result of our recruiters comparing notes about promising athletes, even when they don't play the particular sport they're scouting.

Synergy is a goal often strived for, but rarely achieved. It seems like some level of positive synergy is at work right now for us.


Player Countdown: Adrian Demko and Nick DeGasperis

Since I missed a day yesterday, it seems fitting to mark players number 94 and 93 by citing the WR duo of Adrian Demko and Nick DeGasperis, both class of 2007.

Nick DeGasperis came to Columbia as a two-sport athlete in football and baseball. He may have been the first Columbia recruit to get attention on the Internet as I remember a number of articles about him and his future college prospects showing up on the Web from his local paper in Schenectady, NY.

He was a great "possession-type" receiver who really stood out in his senior year of 2006. He did not grab any TD's that season, but he did have 35 receptions for 462 yards. He made some very gutsy grabs, holding on to the ball after really vicious hits, that helped set up key scores in the wins over Iona and Cornell. He had another crucial catch and run in the finale at Brown that helped set up the dramatic winning field goal in that game.

It's truly a travesty that DeGasperis only had one touchdown catch in his CU career; that one score came in a close loss at Brown in his sophomore season of 2004.



Adrian Demko grabs one vs. Harvard


At 6'3" and about 210 pounds, Adrian Demko brought a perfect size for his position to the table. Demko came to Columbia from the dominant Valparaiso High School program in Indiana, and while he never put up stunning stats, he did provide key leadership on the team as it transitioned from head coach Bob Shoop to the Norries Wilson era.

DeGasperis and Demko may not be the first names Columbia fans rattle off when they list their favorite receivers. But they made enough sacrifices on and off the field to deserve to be remembered well.

Bill Wazevich never joined Marty Domres in the NFL...but he should have

DAY 96: Bill Wazevich

No discussion of wide receivers in Columbia history should exclude Bill Wazevich '70.

Wazevich was QB Marty Domres' favorite target for two seasons, but he was much more than just a small cog in a combo.

Wazevich caught forty five passes for 593 yards in 1967. In his varsity career he caught 102 passes for 1,336 yards, then an Ivy League record. His 214 receiving yards against Princeton in 1967, still is a Columbia record and was an Ivy League record at the time. That game was a heartbreaking loss, as it came during Columbia's long losing streak to the Tigers that stretched from 1946 until 1971.

The Ohio native then made the jump to the NFL. He got signed by the Cleveland Browns and put up a hell of a fight to get a slot on the team before he was finally cut. 

Here's a fantastic local newspaper piece about Wazevich's struggle to make the Browns that I recently found.

Wazevich went into finance instead, becoming a vice president at Merrill Lynch.

In 2002, he died before his time, at age fifty four. When I interviewed Domres during the 2007 season, Marty said Wazevich's death was still too new, painful, and raw to talk about.

It's easier to talk about what he did as a student, athlete and an alum. He excelled at all of those roles. 

After football, he still had a career in sports. He was a very well-respected high school basketball official for boys’ and girls’ games. He worked district and regional tournaments and officiated in three state tournaments in Ohio.

Just how much bigger are today's Columbia football players compared to the squads of the not-so-distant past?

I crunched some numbers from the rosters of significant Lions teams of the last 22 years to find out. Most of the results were not surprising.

First, let's look at the 1987 team. It was the final winless season for Columbia's varsity during that 44-game losing streak. Every varsity team since 1987 has won at least one game.

In 1987, the average weight of a Lion varsity offensive lineman was 233 pounds. The average defensive lineman was 228 pounds.

The 1994 Lions posted the first winning season for a Columbia varsity team since 1971.

The average varsity offensive lineman on that 1994 team was 258 pounds, the average defensive lineman was 238 pounds.

Not to be mean, but the 2005 Lions were just about the weakest squad I've seen us put together in 22 years.

The average 2005 varsity offensive lineman was 274 pounds and the average defensive lineman was 236 pounds. (I'm not including incoming freshmen, because freshmen were not allowed on the varsity before 1994).

That brings us to today.

These numbers will change, (and likely go considerably higher), but as of now, the average weight of a varsity Lion offensive lineman is 280 pounds and the average defensive lineman is 244 pounds.

So, from 1987, the average weight of our offensive linemen has jumped 20.1 percent or 47 pounds. The average weight of our defensive linemen is up seven percent or 16 pounds.

Bigger is better? Well it doesn't hurt.

John Witkowski's passing records don't bother me

I love looking through the Columbia football record book from time to time.

I'm not pouring over the data to win at Columbia Football Jeopardy, or to feed my inner math geek.

Actually, I do it for two reasons: 1) I want to be aware in the broadcast booth if and when a Columbia record is about to fall and 2) I like to remind myself of those Columbia records that are long overdue to be broken.

Breaking some of those older records could really be the key to a great season this year and beyond.

Here are my top five LEAST favorite Lion records:


5) Single Season QB Completion Percentage: Archie Roberts .616, 1963

The great Archie Roberts holds this record, (which requires a minimum of 75 attempts), set during his junior season of 1963 when that kind of completion percentage was pretty high. But now, it's not exactly breathtaking. If a regular Columbia starter at QB breaks that record in the coming years, that would probably mean big-time offensive improvement.


4) No HYP Season Sweep

Columbia has never, and that's never in over 130 years or so, defeated Harvard, Princeton and Yale in the same season. Doing so in any given year would probably mean that the Lions are really contending for a title. And sweeping the "big boys" would always be nice.


3) Career Receptions: Don Lewis 176, (1981-83)

Austin Knowlin entered the 2008 season with 118 catches, and I thought he had a really great chance to bust that record last year. But he finished with 39 receptions and his career total now stands at 157 and third on the all-time list. Knowlin can't leap over Lewis and Bill Reggio in the three-year totals, (Reggio has 170), but he should break the overall record this year for sure.

I realize Columbia's offense changed when Craig Hormann graduated, but I dream of Knowlin getting about seven receptions per game at least.


2) Single Season Receiving Yards: Don Lewis 1,000, 1982

I swear I have nothing against Don Lewis! But it seems like someone should have shattered this record a long time ago. Knowlin came darn close in 2007 with 988 yards, and I can remember 2-3 long receptions that were negated by penalties that would have put him over the top.


1) Best Home Winning Streak at Wien Stadium: Three wins, 1996-97

It's all about winning, and you want your team to have a real homefield advantage. Columbia won a pair of emotional games against Cornell and Brown in 1996 to close out the season and then won the home opener against Towson in 1997. That's the best we've done since Baker Field became Wien Stadium in 1984.

Columbia's home winning streak right now stands at two with the victories over Dartmouth and Cornell last year. To break the record, the Lions would have to beat a tough Central Connecticut team in the home opener and then Penn at Homecoming. Achieving that would certainly bring the program to a higher level... at least for 2009.

I like breaking things.

Some of Columbia biggest football fans live here!


Let's face it, this site is a little too male-dominated. We know there are lots of female Lions fans out there and we want to hear from them more often!

Luckily, I did get one great email yesterday from an alumna who fondly remembers my long-running interview subject, Roger Dennis.


She writes:


"I am in the middle of preparing some remarks for my Barnard College 40th reunion, and one of the comments has to do with a freshman year incident involving Roger Dennis.

Just for fun, (and not having thought of Roger Dennis in eons), I googled Roger and came across your Roar Lions Roar feature on him. I decided to just email you and let you know that from my very limited perspective, Roger Dennis was an incredibly nice guy. Here's my response to a question regarding humorous incidents at school (sorry it's a little sketchy, but I haven't thought about this for 44 years!):

It happened within the first few days I was on campus. One evening I went with a group of girls to check on the coffee place on the Columbia campus (not surprisingly, I can’t remember the name – was it the Crypt?). While there, a few older boys came along and started chatting with us on the steps (I think it was closed).

One in particular, caught my interest and he and I talked for a while. The next day I met a guy at a mixer who was in the Columbia Band and he invited me to come with him on the band bus for the first football game of the season up at Baker Field. I had been in the high school band and had spent many an hour practicing marching formations and music. I had a pretty good idea how bands were supposed to operate at sporting events, but I was pretty surprised to learn that the band had not practiced even once before this game. I wondered how that would translate into the half-time show. I can still remember how surprised I was to find out that the Columbia band just ran from one hilarious formation to another – no marching required – and that the commentary sounded like a comedy routine, and a pretty raunchy comedy routine at that. I seem to remember a condom formation, but maybe that was another game involving Yale???

At any rate, the halftime was hilarious. The biggest surprise of the day, however, was finding out who the star football player was for Columbia – none other than Roger Dennis, who had been so nice to me on the steps of the coffee place. I had no idea that he was a star player! A few days later I went out for the first time with Jay, a Columbia Junior, who would be my boyfriend for the next two and half years. Jay, who never missed a football game, was shocked the first time we encountered Roger, who said hello to me, while walking on Broadway! (“That was Roger Dennis, the Roger Dennis… how do you know him?”)

I enjoyed Columbia football all four years I was at Barnard and often took my students to games at Baker Field in the 70's after I started teaching in Washington Heights.

Best regards and looking forward to the next installment,

Linda Greene (Linda Krakower, Barnard College, 1969)


I long for a time when our football players will be recognizeable on campus to just about everyone again.

Perhaps, perhaps.

Adam Mehrer created the most takeaways for Columbia in 2008 with 4 INT's

In 2007, Columbia finished 1-9 but had just a -4 turnover ratio.

The problem is, the Lions' opponents scored 98 points off Columbia turnovers while CU managed just 33 points off takeaways.

That was a big point differential of 65.

I felt this was a major area where the Lions needed to improve in 2008.

And they did... but there's a lot of improvement still needed.

Last season Columbia's turnover ratio actually got worse, falling to -6. But thanks to a fantastic job by the defense, Lion opponents scored just 60 points off of turnovers.

To make the defense's achievement more plain, consider this: Columbia turned the ball over 21 times in 2008 and that led to just 60 opponent points. That's less than a field goal per turnover.

Meanwhile, Columbia improved by scoring 38 points off its own takeaways, leaving a much more manageable point differential of 22.

But, bottom line—the Lions will need to create and capitalize off of more turnovers in 2009 to be an Ivy contender.

It starts with interceptions. Columbia's opponents threw the ball a lot more against the Lions in '08 than they did in '07, but Columbia grabbed fewer interceptions overall. They went from picking off 4.2 percent of all opponent passes to intercepting just 2.9 percent of the time. Strip away the five INT's the Lions got against Cornell alone, and you're seeing just too few pick offs from a secondary that was talented enough to do better.

Turnovers are a big part of the game of football, and an inevitable part of college football. Columbia needs to find a way to make them work more in its favor.

                                           It's a rainy day in NYC

The returning Columbia Lions football players resume practice today in a rainy New York City. Perhaps the most important thing about drills today will be getting to this type of weather.

Rain has for some reason become more common on football Saturdays here in the Big Apple over the last two years. The 2007 and 2008 Columbia seasons saw more wet game conditions than sunny.

Some of the roughest games over the last two years:

1. Versus Dartmouth, 2008

Probably the strongest winds I've ever seen at Wien Stadium. I thought the goalposts were coming down two or three times.


2. Versus Towson, 2008

The heaviest consistent rain at a Columbia game that I have ever seen, (with the possible exception of the 1990 home game against Cornell). There were several puddles on the field, and play had to be halted in the first half for 45 minutes because of lightning.


3. Versus Marist, 2007

It kept looking like it might let up...but it really never did. Luckily for the Lions, their offense didn't let up either: Columbia won 31-7.


4. Versus Yale, 2007

Very ugly conditions dominated the first half. It did get a little better in the second 30 minutes, but it still was a rough day for the fans.


5. Versus Brown, 2008

No rain, but these were easily the coldest game conditions the Lions have faced since the 2003 "blizzard" game at Cornell. Thank God for the delicious hot soup they gave out liberally in the Brown Stadium press box.

Which brings us to another discussion...

I'm worried about ruffling a few feathers league-wide with my take on the press boxes and amenities at our opponents' stadiums, but what the hey?

I do realize that the food and other luxuries offered to the journalists in press boxes are just a courtesy, and I don't want to appear like an ingrate. I really do appreciate whatever I get in these press boxes, but I think everyone loves ratings.

Again, what the hey?

First off, let me give a shout out to our own home of Wien Stadium. We have the only press box that serves a halftime and a pre-game meal (that being actually a series of bagels and muffins, but New York bagels, 'nuff said), and the elevator service and completely closed-in area make things very comfortable for everyone involved.

I don't care what people may say, no one in the Ivies who covers Columbia games dreads coming to Wien Stadium and our press box. No one.

Okay, now let's look at the other schools in alphabetical order:





1. Brown Stadium

Truly a "tale of two stadiums." The press box is awful, period, and it seems the people who do most of the complaining are the Brown employees (it was practically non-stop last November)! The decaying wooden structure is a little scary, and let's not even mention the bathroom.

But, the folks at Brown can make a very good case for having the best and most appropriate food in the Ivies. The sandwiches, cookies, and much-needed delicious soup are worth every splinter and other indignity their press box has to offer.






2. Schoelkopf Field (Cornell)

This is a very, very nice facility. It boasts cozy broadcast rooms and a completely closed-in structure to keep that biting Ithaca wind off your face.

The food? Eh. Totally forgettable and not easy to get to, as they keep it in a corner of the floor that leads to bottlenecking. I think I'm bringing my own chow next time.





3. Memorial Field (Dartmouth)

Certainly a friendly atmosphere, but I was a little afraid climbing the steps up there and again, let's not mention the bathroom.

The food was not great and in short supply. I realize that Hanover, NH is supposed to be rustic, but come on. I'm not sure if the press box has been rennovated since 2007, but I don't think so.





4. Harvard Stadium

It's a hike to get up the stairs to the press area, but it's not a scary hike on narrow rickety steps like at Dartmouth, so I actually enjoy the workout (I always take staircases two steps a time, and you should too).

The food is pretty forgettable. No, seriously, I really can't remember what I ate at Harvard this past season. That's bad.





5. Franklin Field (Penn)

As the kids say these days: "OMG." This has to be the worst place for anyone covering a game, through and through.

I can honestly say the makeshift-looking scaffold where they seat the media is frightening. It had the quaint quality of allowing all the cold air to circulate around its residents while blocking out the sun completely. As a result, I froze through a 55-degree day.

And here's the kicker: There was no food. Thank God the Penn game this season is at home. Now, is there a building inspector in Philly I can forward my complaints to?





6. Princeton Stadium

Well, this is nice, very nice. The newest Ivy League football stadium has great broadcast booths, pretty good food, and just great amenities all around.

Forget what you hear about Harvard and Yale, Princeton has the money. I mean the real money.






7. Yale Bowl

It's a chilly, open-air press box impossibly far from the field, but the food is plentiful and pretty good. I've been lucky enough to only be there on nice weather days, but I can imagine things getting really dicey on windy, rainy Saturdays.

Well, I've avoided the QB "position preview" for spring practice as long as I could—and with good reason.

Nothing fires up the fans' passions more than the quarterback position—two fans, three opinions.

After two years of Craig Hormann's rock-solid ownership of the job, every week in 2008 became a question mark when it came to who was going to start at center.

I thought Shane Kelly started the season extremely well. Despite going 0-3 through the first three games, Kelly was putting up good passing numbers and running better than any starting QB since Steve Hunsberger '04.

Then after some tough outings against Lafayette and then at Penn, he seemed to be on thin ice. A lost fumble against Dartmouth late in the third quarter led to the coaches putting in Millie Olawale and he energized the team to victory.

But it wasn't all smooth sailing from there. Olawale wasn't perfect in the next week's loss to Yale, and Kelly ended up leading the team through a significant portion of that game.

The week after that, both QB's had their troubles versus the fierce Harvard pass rush.

Olawale seemed to be back on top securely after leading the Lions to a win against Cornell in week nine, but an injury at the end of the first half against Brown kept him from finishing out the year on a strong note.

But seniors Kelly and Olawale are not alone. The sole returning junior QB, Paul Havas, who missed 2008 with an injury, is back. He's joined by rising sophomores Jerry Bell, who got a decent chunk of playing time in the Brown game, and Kevin Lenehan.

In one of his published spring practice notes, Head Coach Norries Wilson talked about how only two QB's were available, but I'm not sure if he meant available for that particular practice or for ALL of spring practice.

Either way, there should be a lot to watch for from the QB position at the April 18 spring game. Check it out and let your opinions fly!

Ray Rangel had the most carries for the Lions in 2008 (CREDIT: Columbia Athletics)



Want to see a dramatic, I mean really dramatic, statistic?

Try this one:

Columbia improved its total rushing yardage in 2008 by 122 percent over the previous year.

That's a startling stat and it's a tribute to the offensive line, the running backs, and running QB's.

The passing attack is very important, and receiver Austin Knowlin is the most exciting player on this team.

But the fact remains that to win in the game of football, you have to be able to run the ball and the Lions ran the ball a whole lot better last season than they have in many, many years.

Columbia's running attack was truly a team effort. No one back rushed for more than 392 yards and no one had more than 91 carries on the year.

And only one of the Columbia players who ran the ball in 2008 is lost to graduation: Jordan Davis.

The top rusher was rising senior QB Millie Olawale, who really only broke into the regular lineup midway through the season. He averaged an impressive 5.8 yards per carry and broke off the longest run of any Ivy league rusher last season with his 70-yard scamper for a TD at Brown in week 10.

Olawale's combines great speed and real strength, making him a real terror in the open field. I expect the QB's to have some kind of extra protection against sacks in the spring game, so Olawale may go really wild with that split second of added time as a cushion.

Returning senior QB Shane Kelly was also a frequent runner, putting up a 4.0 yards per carry on 71 carries. He and Olawale had three rushing TD's each.

Another returning senior is tailback Ray Rangel, who had the most carries of any back last season and showed a lot of improvement from the 2007 season.

Rising junior Zack Kourouma is also very much worth watching as he looked very good in limited duty last season. Kourouma had 84 yards on just 11 carries in 2008 and also showed real potential as a receiver. Kourouma's fellow rising junior halfback is Leon Ivery, who has worked hard on the JV squad these past two years.

The returning sophomores are David Chao and Donnie Miller, who, like Ivery, have not yet carried the ball in a varsity contest.

And for those of you who want more Austin Knowlin...Remember that he acted as a ball carrier 17 times in 2008, gaining 61 net yards with a long of 16. There are more than a few ways to get his hands on the ball.

Fans may do well to focus also on all the returning fullbacks, where there's a lot of talent to go around.

Rising sophomores Nico Papas and Peter Holst-Grubbe were hampered by injuries for much of 2008, but both were highly-regarded coming into Columbia in September. Papas did get into some games on special teams.

Rising junior Nathan Lenz made a good contribution last season, getting 10 carries and showing some toughness on a few inside runs.

Pete Stoll remains a fan favorite and comes back for his senior season in 2009.

At this point, there's no way to tell what kind of offense Columbia will run in 2009. But there should be a good chance to at least assess the ball carrying talent on Apr. 18.

Matt Bashaw is one of just two returning D-line seniors (CREDIT: Columbia Athletics)


The overall numbers posted by the D-line as a whole in 2008 were very encouraging, and backsliding to 2007 levels will be fatal.

The Lions went from giving up 2,311 rushing yards in 2007 to allowing just 1,043 in 2008, a 54.8 percent drop!

Columbia's defensive linemen recorded 16 sacks in 2008 compared to just 9 in 2007, a 77.7 percent gain!

And the D-linemen had 41.5 tackles for a loss compared to 24 in 2007, a 72.9 percent jump!

But the Lions will lose some key players from this unit to graduation.

The great Phil Mitchell, whose stats didn't always reflect his impact on this team, is moving on. So are unsung surprise player Javier Garza, and solid veterans Eli Waltz and Conor Joyce.

But coming back are starters Lou Miller and Owen Fraser, both of whom had breakout years in 2008.

Miller finished as a First Team All Ivy, leading the league in sacks and tackles for a loss. He was also my overall team MVP.

Fraser started all 10 games as a freshmen and made a huge impact with 28 total tackles with four-and-a-half for a loss including a sack. I never saw the ballots, but Fraser had to be in the mix for Rookie of the Year.

Freshmen offensive linemen may be a rare site in varsity games, but Coach Norries Wilson and his staff have never hesitated putting frosh into the lineup on the defensive line at Columbia.

In 2006, then-freshman Matt Bashaw made a pretty good impact as a pass rushing specialist.

And in 2007, the now-departed Brian England helped shore up the middle of the line.

Fraser's impact in 2008 made it three years in a row.

Fraser will obviously be a top rising sophomore to watch at the spring game, but so is Chris Groth, who had a good freshman campaign with plenty of playing time.

I will also keep a keen eye on Bashaw, now a rising senior, who was hampered by injuries last season and missed a lot of playing time. Bruce Fleming is a rising junior who has shown some promise and may get a chance to better showcase his talents this spring as well.

But the D-line vets are dominated in sheer numbers by the rising sophs. In addition to Groth and Fraser there's Karson Bodnovich, Ben Popeck, Shea Selsor, and J.D. Tyree, putting the total of soph d-linemen at six.

Other than Fraser and Groth, I don't think fans can make a fair assessment about the other sophomores until at least the spring game is played.

The same goes for rising juniors Josh Smith and Matt Stotler.

Miller and Bashaw are the only returning seniors.

One or more of the five or six incoming freshmen defensive linemen may again get into the mix this season.

But with what I would say are two real starting slots up for grabs, (of course officially, ALL positions are up for grabs), spring practice is the time for the returning players to shine.