Coming off of its best season in a decade, the Columbia football team has some 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.
On offense, the Lions were last in the Ivy League last year in total yards, first- and third-down efficiency, among other things. An undersized offensive line contributed to the problem, and that situation has not been ameliorated, as the Light Blue will be the smaller team in all of its games according to head coach Norries Wilson.
On an individual level, Wilson spoke very highly of last year's Ivy League Freshman of the Year, wide receiver Austin Knowlin, who improved dramatically over the summer.
As for the defense, which was the highlight of the Lions' 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 areas that he is most confident about this season.
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 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 will have to find a way to recover from the loss of All-Ivy free safety Tad Crawford, who graduated last year.
