March 14, 2007

2007 Cornell Football Spring Schedule in PDF Format
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ITHACA, N.Y. - The quest for the 2007 Ivy League title starts for the Cornell football team on Friday, April 13, as the Big Red will open its two-week, 12-session spring practice schedule. Spring practice will culminate with the annual Spring Game on Saturday, April 28 at 1 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.

Coming off last season's 5-5 season that included the program's third straight upper division Ancient Eight finish (3-4, t-4th), Cornell will get a jumpstart with the team's seven returning starters on offense and defense as competition will begin for many of the open slots.

Head coach Jim Knowles gets ready for his fourth season with 14 total starters and 36 letter winners, and with just 11 of those being rising seniors, this camp will help a very young team mature even more. The Big Red went 5-1 at home, including topping a pair of nationally ranked teams at Schoellkopf Field.

On the offensive end, senior tailback Luke Siwula and junior Shane Kilcoyne highlight a running game that averaged over 182 yards per game a season ago. Siwula, a two-time All-Ivy selection, needs just 22 yards to become the sixth player in school history to surpass 2,000 yards. Siwula rushed for 885 yards and four scores a season ago, while Kilcoyne churned out 350 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomores Randy Barbour, Matt Kenney and Isaac Minor will battle for carries as well during spring camp.

Rising junior Nathan Ford opens camp as the incumbent starter at quarterback and will be tested by Stephen Liuzza. Ford, who is moonlighting on the Big Red baseball team and hitting .296 with a home run and seven RBI in seven games, returns after piling up 1,417 passing yards and 345 rushing yards while combining for 14 touchdowns (eight passing, six rushing) in his first season as a starter. The 6-1, 202-pound Ford ranked 57th nationally in total offense (176.2 ypg.) and 58th in the country in passing efficiency (118.53). He threw for a career-best 309 yards against No. 18 Harvard, the 18th 300-yard passing game in school history. He was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 16 after accounting for four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing) as the Big Red snapped its 10-game losing streak to Colgate in a 38-14 Homecoming win. Liuzza, meanwhile, set a freshman record for passing yards in a season (139) and a game (114 vs. Penn), earning Ivy League Rookie of the Week twice. The freshman was also fourth on the team in rushing, recording 135 yards on 25 carries and scoring two touchdowns.

Ford and Liuzza will have solid protection, as fifth-year seniors Brian McGuire (right guard) and Ted Sonnenberg (center) are expected to return on the offensive line, joining rising junior Steve Valenta at left tackle. Seniors Loren Rosenberg and Matt Cosh, juniors Matt Lundy, Babak Motamedia and Josh Barvin and sophomore Quentin Bernhard lead the returners who will attempt to break into the rotation.

Junior receivers Jesse Baker, Zac Canty, Brian FitzPatrick and Tommy Bleymaier and sophomore Bryan Walters saw the most action a season ago, with Canty and Baker ranking 1-2 on the team in receptions and receiving yards. The duo combined for 63 catches for 819 yards and five touchdowns. Junior Alex Spooner is the lone returning tight end to see playing time a season ago and will have a chance to claim a starting spot with a good camp.

The defense will also return seven starters, including All-Ivy defenders Ryan Blessing (senior linebacker) and Tim Bax (junior safety). An honorable mention All-Ivy pick, Blessing had team-high 70 tackles and five sacks in his first season as a starter to go along with six total tackles for loss and two pass breakups. He played his best in the Big Red's victories, leading the team in tackles in wins over Colgate and Princeton and registering nine tackles and two sacks in the triumph over Dartmouth. His five sacks placed him 52nd nationally in the final NCAA statistics. Bax recorded 57 tackles and a team-best 7.5 tackles for loss while starting all 10 games at safety to earn his honorable mention nod. The big-play sophomore also posted two interceptions, five pass breakups and a forced fumble. His 41-yard interception return vs. Princeton set up a 1-yard touchdown that put Cornell ahead in its win over the Tigers, and he closed out the season with 10 stops and three tackles for loss in win over Penn.

The defensive line will have to be rebuilt with the loss of key seniors Jonathan Lucas, Matt Darby, Jeff Dicks and Ryan Kiscadden, but experienced returners are back at every position. Junior Scott Boone, who missed nearly the entire 2006 season with injury, returns as a potential All-Ivy candidate, along with classmates Frank Kunis, Lucas McCarthy, Graham Rihn and Dario Arezzo, all of whom saw significant playing time as sophomores.

Besides Bax, the defensive backfield returns potential All-Ivy candidates in seniors Michael Boyd (safety) and Colin Nash (defensive back). Sophomore cornerbacks Frank Morand and Joe Jackson and junior safeties Gus Krimm and Anthony Sabo are also expected to make major contributions. Senior Chi Chi Madu emerged as a special teams demon in 2006 and will also have a shot to earn a starting spot.

Blessing, meanwhile. joins classmates Doug Lempa and Kyle Reidy and junior Brian Ostrowsky as all four linebackers from last year's two-deep return. All four players form a top unit with substantial game experience.

Bryan Walters will lend his vast talents back as a punt and kickoff returner as well as a wide receiver, while punter Nick Maxwell will compete with senior Michael Bolling, and place-kicker Peter Zell will enter camp trying to fend off senior Jay Harding.

The Big Red opens the 2007 season on Saturday, Sept. 15 against Bucknell at Schoellkopf Field in a game that is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m.