Columbia Football: Roster of Heroes

Rory Wilfork was a three-time first-teamer


A reader has asked just how many Columbia players have made 1st Team All Ivy over the past 25 years.

You ask, I, (always at least try to), deliver.


Columbia Football 1st Team All-Ivy (1984-2008)


1984

Dan Upperco, TE

Len Genova, OG


1985

NONE


1986

NONE


1987

Matt Sodl, DL


1988

NONE


1989

Matt Less, TE

Bart Barnett, LB


1990

Gary Comstock, WR

Bruce Mayhew, QB

Galen Snyder, LB


1991

Tom Boccafola, K

Des Werthman, LB


1992

Sean Nichols, DL

Des Werthman, LB


1993

Sean Nichols, DL


1994

Brian Bassett, TE

Tony Petras, OL

Craig Valentine, OL

Jamie Schwalbe, QB

Eric Keck, DL

Marcellus Wiley, DL

Rory Wilfork, LB


1995

Craig Valentine, OL

Rory Wilfork, LB


1996

Marcellus Wiley, DL

Rory Wilfork, LB

Roy Hanks, DB


1997

Bert Bondi, TE

Roy Hanks, DB


1998

Kirby Mack, FB

Rashaan Curry, DE

Paul Roland, LB

Chris Tillotson, FS


1999

NONE


2000

Johnathan Reese, RB

Kirby Mack, LB

Philip Murray, FS


2001

NONE


2002

Philip Murray, FS


2003

Nick Rudd, P


2004

Wade Fletcher, DE

Michael Quarshie, DL


2005

NONE


2006

Matt Barsamian, OL

Tad Crawford, DB


2007

Austin Knowlin, WR


2008

Lou Miller, DL

Alex Gross, LB



TOTAL NUMBER OF 1st TEAM ALL IVY PLAYERS, 1984-2008: 43

BEST YEAR: 1994 (7 PLAYERS NAMED)

YEARS WITH NO PLAYERS NAMED: 6

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS: 15

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS: 26

SPECIAL TEAMERS: 2

PLAYERS NAMED MORE THAN ONCE:

Des Werthman, 1991, 1992

Sean Nichols, 1992, 1993

Craig Valentine, 1994, 1995

Rory Wilfork, 1994, 1995, 1996 *(ONLY 3-TIME WINNER)

Marcellus Wiley, 1994, 1996

Roy Hanks, 1996, 1997

Kirby Mack, 1998, 2000 *(ONLY PLAYER TO BE RECOGNIZED AT 2 DIFFERENT POSITIONS)

Philip Murray, 2000, 2002


There are some interesting trends to note in this list. One thing that stands out is the much smaller number of offensive players named.

Offensive players on successful teams in the Ivies tend to stand out in the coaches' (who do the voting) minds. That's especially true of starting quarterbacks.

For Columbia, the Lions have had just two 1st Team QB's. One was Bruce Mayhew, whose achievement is even more remarkable because he did it on a 1-9 Columbia team.

The only running back named in this 25-year period has been Johnathan Reese, but he too was named to the first team despite being on a 3-7 Lion team in 2000 that only went 1-6 in the Ivies.

It does appear that while defense wins championships, the teams that win championships are usually chock full of All Ivy offensive stars at the skill positions.

Rory Wilfork's three-time 1st Team achievement looks better every year. I thought that Austin Knowlin had a great shot of matching it, but he will just have to hope for a two-time appearance now.

The 5-4-1 1994 team that went 3-4 in the Ivies was the best represented on the 1st Team with 7 players. So it's strange that the 1996 team that went 8-2 and 5-2 in the Ivies only had three players on the 1st Team.

I think the reason may be the very large number of close wins Columbia earned that year and the surprisingly weak offense that often relied on defensive scores to prop it up.

Of course, awards and honors are great. But we'd all rather celebrate an Ivy League championship season with no 1st Team All Ivy players than a second-place season with 10 first-teamers.