Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/David Collins
Football Defensive Preview
9/13/2022 3:00:00 PM | Football
Lions bring back an experienced unit poised to build off last season
NEW YORK — As the Columbia football program gets set to debut at Marist Saturday night, GoColumbiaLions.com will preview each unit group. Today, we catch up with defensive coordinator Justin Stovall, who moves into a new role after spending the last seven seasons as special teams coordinator and linebackers coach.
Last year, Columbia was opportunistic in creating turnovers with 16 (12 interceptions and four fumble recoveries), to rank second to Harvard. The Lions were also effective in rushing the passer with 26 sacks and added 13 quarterback pressures in 2021.
"There's room for growth, and there are stages to that growth," said Stovall. "We have a lot of guys on the defense taking on new roles, myself included, but if we can develop consistency then that's something for us to fall back on. We have adopted the team culture of "effort, accountability, team" and come out here every day working to get better so that we can be the best team defense we can be."
The linebacking corps return Scott Valentas, who led the squad in tackles (56), while playing just eight games. CJ Brown emerged as a starter as a sophomore and racked up 26 tackles in nine contests. Prior to the season, he was named a Phil Steele All-Ivy League selection.
Seniors Mitch Moyer and Thomas Thibault anchor the defensive line with the pair each playing in all 10 contests last year. Moyer had 33 tackles from his interior spot, while Thibault added 22 takedowns. The Lions did lose the bulk of their edge rushers to graduation, but will look for new players to emerge.
In the defensive backfield, despite being without staples Ben Mathiasmeier and Will Allen Columbia has some good experience returning to that unit. Safety Fara'ad McCombs returns after taking the spring semester off with three career interceptions and eight pass breakups to his credit. At cornerback, Bryan Bell-Anderson is coming off a strong junior campaign with 30 tackles and turned away six pass attempts. Sophomore Seth Parker has impressed in the spring and training camp and is likely to his workload increase.
Kick-off in Poughkeepsie is set for 6 p.m. and the contest can be seen on ESPN3. Columbia opens its home slate against Ivy League rival Princeton on Saturday, October 1.
Season and single-game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting www.gocolumbialions.com/tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11.
For the latest on the Columbia football team, follow @CULionsFB on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
Last year, Columbia was opportunistic in creating turnovers with 16 (12 interceptions and four fumble recoveries), to rank second to Harvard. The Lions were also effective in rushing the passer with 26 sacks and added 13 quarterback pressures in 2021.
"There's room for growth, and there are stages to that growth," said Stovall. "We have a lot of guys on the defense taking on new roles, myself included, but if we can develop consistency then that's something for us to fall back on. We have adopted the team culture of "effort, accountability, team" and come out here every day working to get better so that we can be the best team defense we can be."
The linebacking corps return Scott Valentas, who led the squad in tackles (56), while playing just eight games. CJ Brown emerged as a starter as a sophomore and racked up 26 tackles in nine contests. Prior to the season, he was named a Phil Steele All-Ivy League selection.
Seniors Mitch Moyer and Thomas Thibault anchor the defensive line with the pair each playing in all 10 contests last year. Moyer had 33 tackles from his interior spot, while Thibault added 22 takedowns. The Lions did lose the bulk of their edge rushers to graduation, but will look for new players to emerge.
In the defensive backfield, despite being without staples Ben Mathiasmeier and Will Allen Columbia has some good experience returning to that unit. Safety Fara'ad McCombs returns after taking the spring semester off with three career interceptions and eight pass breakups to his credit. At cornerback, Bryan Bell-Anderson is coming off a strong junior campaign with 30 tackles and turned away six pass attempts. Sophomore Seth Parker has impressed in the spring and training camp and is likely to his workload increase.
Kick-off in Poughkeepsie is set for 6 p.m. and the contest can be seen on ESPN3. Columbia opens its home slate against Ivy League rival Princeton on Saturday, October 1.
Season and single-game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting www.gocolumbialions.com/tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11.
For the latest on the Columbia football team, follow @CULionsFB on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
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