Some Recruits on Video

Andy from Lafayette has found us Colgate fans some excellent footage of two of our recruits, Tony Watts and David Gongora. Watts is a running back and Gongora is a wide receiver; both are from Florida.

Tony Watts Video

David Gongora Video

Watts in particular looks outstanding, but I will also say that he appears to benefit from quite an offensive line. There were some HUGE holes to run through. I wonder where some of those lineman are headed...

Some New Links

It's been slow in terms of football news around here (but not hockey - way to go ECACHL Champs!), so I did some clean up. The links on the right are now broken out and have some more options.

I'd particularly like to highlight some new I-AA blogs for the Big Sky conference and the OVC conference. Check them out from time to time to see what the rest of I-AA looks like!

Zoom-Zoom? California Speedster Coming to 'Gate!

Looks like Colgate is "Going Back to Cali" once more. Uzoma Idah, a cornerback from Palos Verdes, has signed with your Raider team. According to the article, Idah "also had received interest from Villanova, the University of Idaho and Northern Arizona." No idea how you actually pronouce his first name, but I think Zoom might pop in there some how as a knickname!

Besides having a great name (that's two now out of the last three), Idah comes in at 5'10" and 180 lbs. with a reported 4.5 40. More importantly though, this story seems to back up the speed claims and maybe eludes to his potential as a kick/punt returner. It also states he's got some great defensive skills.

Idah made his divisional defensive team and looks to have some great track skills as well with a 22'8.25" long jump as a junior.

Welcome to Colgate Uzoma!

Defensive Lineman from New York

I keep finding these releases that I should have found a while ago, but I haven't seen his name mentioned elsewhere, so I guess this is a 'scoop'!

Chris Giardini, Defensive Lineman/End from Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, 'signed' with Colgate back on February 1st. Chris is a big boy at 6'3" and 285 lbs. and sounds fast for his position with 4.87 40. I'm really impressed we're getting someone with his weight straight out of high school. I've said this before elsewhere, but big AND fast defensive lineman are at a premium in college football. Often in I-AA and especially in the Patriot League, we are taking slightly undersized players and having them mature into the position. Chris doesn't sound like he needs much maturing, but god help our opponents if he does!

The release mentions who Chris says we beat out for him, and it's a nice list to discuss: Holy Cross, Fordham, Lehigh, Lafayette, Cornell, and Albany. Nice to see we're taking a kid from the rest of the Patriots, our rival Cornell and the upstart Danes of the NEC. Of course, the reminder to take everything with a grain of salt comes with the last sentence that states Chris will be receiving an academic scholarship of $120,000 for four years. We all know that's a load of crap.

Still, welcome to Colgate Chris!

California Safety

This just came my way:

Garrington Spence (great name, huh?), from Mater Dei in Orange County is a 6'0" 185 lbs. safety that has said he's coming to Colgate. Mater Dei went 8-5 this year.

In doing some research for Spence, I found out that he's also fairly talented on the track and field team. This past spring (his junior year) he jumped a 21'3" long jump and ran an 11.24 100 meter dash.

Welcome to Colgate Garrington!

To recap, here's our unofficial list:

Garrington Spence S 6'0" 185 lbs. CA

Juliues Barlay DE GA

Carlton Walker DL 6'1" 270 lbs. OH

Greg Hadley LB 5'11" 220 lbs. NY
Kyle Poinsett OL 6'3" 275 lbs FL
Brendan Buglione DL 6'4" 230 lbs NY
Tyler Spencer FB/DE 6'1" 210 lbs NY
Patrick Simonds WR 6'5" 200 lbs NY
Wayne Moten DB 5'9" 170 MD
David Gongora WR 6'2" 185 FL
Zach Lasavage RB PA
Will Griffin DB FL
Ryan Gross OL NJ
Adrien Schriefer DL NJ
Jake Moore DE 6-3 210 lbs GA
Michael Gandy LB 6-1 212 lbs GA
Zack Posey 6'3" 280 lbs FL
Rob Budny OL/DL 6'1" 245 lbs OH
Paul Mancuso OL/DL 6'3" NY
Ty Henry WR FL
Tony Watts RB FL
Ryan Meyers QB CA/LA

That puts us at 22. We can't be that far away from complete. Maybe another 5 or 6 I think. Shaping up to be a solid class on paper!

New Blogs of Interest

For you I-AA diehards out there, the I-AA blogging universe continues to grow in size. The latest to join our community is a blog devoted to Big Sky Football and another site dedicated to South Carolina State sports out of the MEAC. I've added links to the right hand side to them.

From time to time, check them out and see what's going on outside of our somewhat insulated I-AA atmosphere!

New Atlanta Area Commit

Juliues Barlay, Southside, DE

No information on him yet. If I find some, I'll get it up.

Ohio Lineman

Carlton Walker will play for Colgate this fall. He's listed as a 6'1" 270 lbs. defensive lineman and he's from Columbus Academy in Ohio. The defensive part is different from what 'Mr. Tipster' Andy from Lafayette found so who knows what he'll play. On defense he would be a bit larger than we typically see weight-wise which is a good thing!

Carlton seems to be athletic as he's also a captain of the basketball team. No stats appear to be online for him.

Welcome to Colgate Carlton!

CNY Linebacker

Greg Hadley (#45 in the picture) from Fayetteville has signed with Colgate. The Christian Brothers Academcy linebacker is listed at 5'11" 220 lbs. and was named to the Class AA all-state second team his senior year.

Welcome to Colgate Greg!

New Poll

First, the 'Era Poll' is finally history. It had a great turn out and sparked some very interesting discussion. The final result is that readers of The 13 Yard Line chose the Biddle Years over the 1930's 53% to 47%. Clearly we have a divided opinion here!

Next up: the Northeast Conference (NEC). I've spent a lot of time this past week discussing and debating the scheduling of the NEC and the impact their new scholarship policy may have on the Patriot League and Colgate in particular. In case you did not know, the NEC was a need-based league like the Patriot but put a cap of 30 equivalencies per team. 'Equivalency' is an NCAA term for the amount of money that equals one full scholarship. The Patriot has no such cap and therefore most teams are around the 50 equivalencies mark. The limit in I-AA is 63.

For this recruiting season, the NEC has changed from need-based aid like the Patriot to athletic scholarships like the majority of I-AA but has kept the 30 cap and also has a cap of no more than 10 per year.

So take some time to think about what that may mean for the Patriot League (stroll on over to the Don Hansen forum to catch up on the debate I've been having if you like) and cast your vote!

Time to Make a Cumulative List

I myself am having trouble figuring out just where we are, so its time to compile a list. Here goes:

*New Addition: Greg Hadley LB 5'11" 220 NY
Kyle Poinsett OL 6'3" 275 lbs FL
Brendan Buglione DL 6'4" 230 lbs NY
Tyler Spencer FB/DE 6'1" 210 lbs NY
Patrick Simonds WR 6'5" 200 lbs NY
Wayne Moten DB 5'9" 170 MD
David Gongora WR 6'2" 185 FL
Zach Lasavage RB PA
Will Griffin DB FL
Ryan Gross OL NJ
Adrien Schriefer DL NJ
Jake Moore DE 6-3 210 lbs GA
Michael Gandy LB 6-1 212 lbs GA
Zack Posey 6'3" 280 lbs FL
Rob Budny OL/DL 6'1" 245 lbs OH
Paul Mancuso OL/DL 6'3" NY
Ty Henry WR FL
Tony Watts RB FL
Ryan Meyers QB CA/LA (keep forgetting to add him to these lists!)

That's 17 players. We've probably got another 10 to go. 6 kids from Florida! No time to break down positions yet... I'll be looking up the new Florida verbals tonight after Colgate beats Cornell at Lynah!!!!

Two more from Florida!

Jeez - we've must be renting a house down there!

Thanks goes out to nygater for these two.

Tony Watts - Lake Highland Prep - Running Back











Ty Henry - University - Wide receiver










Anyone want to talk about the impact that the Florida Atlantic semi-final game in 2003 might be having? This is amazing...

Another Florida Monster

Looks like we got ourselves another big boy from the Sunshine State. 6'3" 275 lbs. offensive lineman Kyle Poinsett from Venice High School in Florida has agreed to wear the Maroon and White this fall. If you believe what Poinsett is saying, this might be a name we notice on the field right away:

The main attraction is a quality education plus the opportunity to play right away.

"I'll have the chance to start," said Poinsett, the 6-foot, 3-inch, 275-pound offensive lineman. "They said I'm number one on their list on offensive line."

"They said they would build their whole team around him," said Poinsett's mother, Debi.

We do have a couple of holes to fill on the line, so if Kyle is as good as advertised, he might just be lining up against UMass in September.

Kyle was named to the second team all state Class 5A offensive line this past season. He also was listed at 6'4" 315 lbs. to start his senior season, so I think the new height and weight are a bit more accurate.

Welcome to Colgate Kyle!

Tidbit on Pat Simonds and another verbal

We already knew that Pat Simonds was coming, but here's a little bit more on Simonds, a 6-5 and 200 pounds receiver:

From the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin:

"(Colgate coaches) told me I'd be coming in as their No. 4 or No. 5 receiver, but that playing time will all depend on how much I work between now and then," Simonds said.

I can't say I disagree. Kenny Parker is #1, Eric Burke #2, David Morgan #3 and Garrin Rose #4. Depending on how quickly Simonds can get up to speed, I can see him becoming a nice fourth option as the year progresses, especially given his height. Since the graduation of Luke Graham, we've been missing a tall receiver. Of the four return receivers I just listed, Burke is the tallest at 6'0".

We've also got a verbal committment from Paul Mancuso, a 6'3" lineman from Trinity-Pawling near Poughkeepsie, NY. He comes from a winning program (9-0 last year) which is always a good thing in my book!

Cleveland Area Recruit

Colgate's latest apparent verbal is Rob Budny of Walsh Jesuit near Cleveland, Ohio. His high school roster (#64) has him as a 6'1" 245 lbs. RB/DL but that is most likely a mistake because #64 is not an eligible number and because there was one game note out there that had him as the offensive and defensive lineman of the week. I think in the preseason he started out as a fullback and then was most likely moved to the offensive line.

Budny is probably a defensive line recruit with that size and given our overall needs in this recruiting class but I could be wrong.

Florida Lineman Heading North

Zack Posey has committed to Colgate. He's a 6'3" 280 lbs lineman from Pope John Paul in Boca Raton who I believe we should be all psyched about. I'm not sure though if he is an offensive or defensive recruit. The signing indicates defense, but Zack has some offensive awards to his name. Either was, he has the potential to be an impact recruit in a year or two.

Some accolades:

First Team All-State Class 2A Offense

Palm Beach All-Area Offense

Posey was Pope's best drive blocker and graded out at 88 percent or better in each game. The 6-3, 280-pounder had 15 pancake blocks and was the lead blocker for 22 rushing touchdowns. He also had 24 tackles for a loss and recovered two fumbles on defense.

Welcome to Colgate Zach!

More Updates from Georgia

Gotta love a football crazy state like Georgia. Here is a county by county listing of signees from the Atlanta area. Colgate's got 2 on that list:

Jake Moore DE 6-3 210 Marietta Colgate

Michael Gandy LB 6-1 212 Lakeside Colgate

I think there might be more from other parts of Georgia still to come.

Signing Day Updates

These will be brief because they may start to really come in soon. We've got two more on the 'verbal' screen:

OL Ryan Gross

DL Adrien Schreifer