Lou Miller Leads Columbia?s Nine All-Ivy League Football Selections
11/24/2009 1:45:00 PM | Football
NEW YORK – Eight Columbia Football players earned nine different positions on the 2009 All-Ivy League Football teams, with Lou Miller earning first team status by a unanimous vote. Senior wide receiver Austin Knowlin and sophomore left tackle Jeff Adams also earned first team honors.
Junior tight end Andrew Kennedy and junior free safety Adam Mehrer each were named second team All-Ivy League, while seniors Andy Shalbrack (strong safety), Corey Cameron (linebacker) and M.A. Olawale (quarterback) were honorable mention.
For Columbia's ninth honor, Knowlin was named honorable mention return specialist.
Miller, one of the League's most dominant defensive ends, led the Ivy League in sacks for the second consecutive year, en route to his second consecutive first team selection. Miller broke the 29-year old Columbia career sack record with 17, and was among the League leaders in tackles for a loss. It is the second straight year that Miller earned first team All-Ivy League honors to close out his stellar career.
This was Knowlin's third consecutive first team honor, as he was named first team receiver as a sophomore, and first team as a return specialist and second team receiver as a junior. The 2006 Ivy League Rookie of the Year came just 12 yards shy of breaking the single season receiving yardage record as a sophomore, but broke two Columbia career records as a senior – receptions (210) and receiving yards (2,484). Knowlin ranks among the Ivy League's all-time bests in receptions, receiving yards and all-purpose yards.
In his first season as a starter, Adams had a breakout season on the blind side, helping the Columbia offense to second in the Ivy League in rushing offense (158.6 yards/game), third in total offense (329.7 yards/game) and third in points per game (22.5 points/game). In Columbia's season-ending win vs. Brown, Adams and the offensive line did not yield any sacks and helped the Lion offense compile 447 yards of total offense, including 288 on the ground.
Kennedy was a scoring machine at tight end for the Lions, as he found the end zone five times during the 2009 season. The Connecticut native ranked third on the team in receptions and receiving yards, averaging 15 yards per catch.
Mehrer was one of Columbia's most consistent and dynamic players on defense this season, as he led the team in tackles and interceptions with five. His finest moment came in the Lions' season finale against Brown when Mehrer picked off a pass at the end of the first half at the Columbia 15, returned it to midfield and had the presence of mind to lateral it to fellow safety Andy Shalbrack darting down the sideline. Shalbrack reached the end zone, giving the Lions a 21-7 halftime lead en route to the 28-14 win.
Shalbrack received honorable mention honors at the end of a strong career in which he was a four-year starter in the Columbia secondary. Shalbrack was all over the field in his final season, finishing third on the team in tackles. He also had three interceptions, a sack, six pass breakups and nine pass defended, thanks in large part to his big hits on opposing receivers.
Cameron is another senior defender who gained an honorable mention nod by the league's coaches. A stalwart among the Lions' linebacker corps, Cameron was second on the team in tackles and seemed to always had a nose for the ball. He earned Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors earlier this year after Columbia's 38-0 shutout of Princeton, when the California native made several key stops to help keep the Tigers off the scoreboard.
Despite being limited by injuries during the second half of the season, Olawale earned honorable mention honors to close out his career as a Lion. A force to be reckoned with whenever he had the ball, whether it was throwing or running for Columbia, Olawale led the Lions in total offense and threw for eight touchdowns and rushed for seven more scores. His most gutsy performance came in the second half of Columbia's 30-20 win over Cornell, when he rushed for a pair of scores to lead the Lions to the comeback win despite missing the previous 2 1/2 games due to injury.
