Introducing the Big Red: Luke Siwula

Red running back Luke Siwula has given his team the best possible gift — choosing to return to Schoellkopf Field for another season.
The fifth-year senior from Cortland, N.Y., is No. 6 on Cornell’s all-time career rushing list and is 178 yards away from breaking the top-5.
Winning the team’s Mr. Offense Award as a junior, Siwula came into his senior season set to shatter all of the program’s rushing records. Injury, however, took its toll, as he went down with an injury in the Red’s 45-7 win over Georgetown Sept. 29, in which he rushed for three touchdowns.
[img_assist|nid=31417|title=Star power|desc=Fifth-year senior Luke Siwula (25) has one more chance to become one of Cornell’s top-5 rushers of all time. The tailback returns for another season after playing in only three games last year.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]
Even though he played in only the first three games last season, the two-time All-Ivy selection tied with then sophomore Randy Barbour in leading the team in touchdowns with six, as well as ranking second in rushing with 217 yards. Siwula will share carries and the spotlight mainly with Barbour, who emerged as the Red’s top rusher during Siwula’s absence.
Barbour’s breakout sophomore season mirrored that of Siwula, whose rushing total skyrocketed from seven to 1086 yards between his freshman and sophomore years, the latter of which ranked 10th all-time in a season for Cornell. The only other Cornell player to rush at least 100 yards in each of his first three starts was none other than the famed Ed Marinaro ’72.
“He’s tough as nails and a bona fide 1,000-yard rusher,” said head coach Jim Knowles ’87 to cornellbigred.com.
The tailback boasts an array of talents — running but also blocking and catching.
The Red’s gameplan tends to call on Siwula’s rushing skills, but the classic north-south runner also boasts talents as a receiver, having tallied four receiving touchdowns in his career. He caught 18, 11 and 5 passes in his sophomore, junior and senior years, respectively.