Columbia Football Snags Three New Names

Buckingham Browne & and Nichols: a new Lion pipeline?

As we get closer to "National Signing Day," (Feb. 5), our list of reported incoming freshmen continues to grow.

Remember, Ivy recruits don't actually "sign" anything, but with all the Div. I-A recruits signing the national letter of intent by the fifth, the recruits for other schools often start making their verbal commitments.

The headline name for today (in my opinion) is the very promising offensive guard Xander Frantz from Buckingham Browne & Nichols H.S. That's the same high school that sent us current rising sophomore Nico Papas and another incoming freshman, Steven Grassa. (But we did lose out on getting BB&N QB Mike DiChiara, who has chosen Cornell.)

Frantz is graded highly by scouts who expect him to excel on the offensive line, despite the fact that he played on the defensive line as well in high school.

It would appear that Nico Papas' father John has become a good ally for Columbia recruiters. John Papas is the head coach at Buckingham Browne & Nichols.


Scott Ward

Another offensive lineman bound for Morningside Heights is Newport Harbor High School's Scott Ward. Ward is 6'7" and 241 pounds, so he may need to bulk up, but that's a great frame to work with. Ward's commitment has been reported here OCVarsity.com, a very good web site.



Andrew McHugh

Finally, we have Andrew McHugh, an outside linebacker at Saint John's Prep. School in Massachusetts. McHugh is a native of Swampscott, MA, which was also the hometown of Columbia great Greg Abbruzzese '92.

And Check This Out!

A reader has passed along this link to a video featuring an amazing one-handed grab by incoming freshman wide receiver Price Pinkerton. Pretty amazing.