Ivy League football is back, and fans got their first glimpse at what is to come through the Ivy League Preseason Football Media Day.
In a virtual event Aug. 16 featuring all eight Ivy League institutions, coaches and players from each school were granted 15 minutes to speak on the state of their programs and answer any questions on the upcoming season. Head Coach David Archer ’05 represented the Red along with fifth-year players Kenan Clarke ’20 and Richie Kenney ’20.
While Cornell had the floor, Archer’s opening remarks made it clear that this year was important not only for the current student athletes, but also for the returning seniors whose final season was nearly taken away.
“[For these] super seniors, [it’s] like you’re rearranging your whole life. Whether it’s at Cornell, Brown or Penn, they’re taking off semesters, taking off years academically, [putting off] jobs or finding gap years to play,” Archer said. “And so for those reasons I think the 2021 Ivy League football season has the chance to be its best ever because of the collective effort of all these teams and all these amazing student athletes.”
Archer said these fifth-year players will bolster the squad for years to come because of the expertise they offer incoming members of the team.
“Their presence is going to be felt not only this year but for years to come. Imagine being an 18-year-old freshman and walking into a program that doesn’t have just one senior class, it has two,” he said. “[They offer] a different level of maturity, not only for the team to feed off of this year, but also for those younger guys to see.”
With the opportunity to lean on the guidance of his fifth-year players, Archer looks forward to working with the team in person to create relationships with the players and coaching staff.
Assistant coaches Jeff Comissiong, Kashif Moore and Will Blanden were all brought in during the offseason to help mentor the linebackers, running backs and defensive backs respectively. Making sure that the new coaches and players create a healthy relationship has become a top priority for Archer as football season approaches.
“It has to be an entire team thing, so that’s been our theme,” Archer said. “Coming from the top down, let’s build trust amongst each other and be committed to doing that.”
The players are just as excited to return to Cornell football. Recent Canadian Football League draftee and Ontario native Kenan Clarke chose to forgo playing professional football in his home country this year in favor of returning to school to play for the Red with his extended year of eligibility.
“Overall with the defense, just the tenacity, the energy that we bring is really unparalleled,” Clarke said. “When we get together, it’s a domino effect and it’s something the special teams can feed off of in our offense definitely so carrying that momentum and bringing our own juice, day in and day out is something that we pride ourselves on.”
Former starting quarterback Richie Kenney has been eager to get back into football form as well. After patiently waiting for the opportunity to return, he said he believes the team around him has the potential to reach new heights.
“We’ve been waiting for this opportunity to get back in play,” he said. “You don’t need to motivate anyone to show up. Guys are excited to get back together to get to work together as a team … I don’t think anyone can stop us.”
With no shortage of experience coming from both sides of the ball on every team in the Ivy League, each program will navigate one of the most unique years in conference football history.
The obstacles of new player dynamics and being over a year removed from competition offer the Red a unique opportunity at a new start with established talent. Whatever comes of the upcoming season, Cornell plans on building on its team internally with newly established trust and veteran leadership.
Ivy League football is back, and fans got their first glimpse at what is to come through the Ivy League Preseason Football Media Day.
In a virtual event Aug. 16 featuring all eight Ivy League institutions, coaches and players from each school were granted 15 minutes to speak on the state of their programs and answer any questions on the upcoming season. Head Coach David Archer ’05 represented the Red along with fifth-year players Kenan Clarke ’20 and Richie Kenney ’20.
While Cornell had the floor, Archer’s opening remarks made it clear that this year was important not only for the current student athletes, but also for the returning seniors whose final season was nearly taken away.
“[For these] super seniors,“[it’s] like you’re rearranging your whole life. Whether it’s at Cornell, Brown or Penn, they’re taking off semesters, taking off years academically, [putting off] jobs or finding gap years to play,” Archer said. “And so for those reasons I think the 2021 Ivy League football season has the chance to be its best ever because of the collective effort of all these teams and all these amazing student athletes.”
Archer said these fifth-year players will bolster the squad for years to come because of the expertise they offer incoming members of the team.
“Their presence is going to be felt not only this year but for years to come. Imagine being an 18-year-old freshman and walking into a program that doesn’t have just one senior class, it has two,” he said. “[They offer] a different level of maturity, not only for the team to feed off of this year, but also for those younger guys to see.”
With the opportunity to lean on the guidance of his fifth-year players, Archer looks forward to working with the team in person to create relationships with the players and coaching staff.
Assistant coaches Jeff Comissiong, Kashif Moore and Will Blanden were all brought in during the offseason to help mentor the linebackers, running backs and defensive backs respectively. Making sure that the new coaches and players create a healthy relationship has become a top priority for Archer as football season approaches.
“It has to be an entire team thing, so that’s been our theme,” Archer said. “Coming from the top down, let’s build trust amongst each other and be committed to doing that.”
The players are just as excited to return to Cornell football. Recent Canadian Football League draftee and Ontario native Kenan Clarke chose to forgo playing professional football in his home country this year in favor of returning to school to play for the Red with his extended year of eligibility.
“Overall with the defense, just the tenacity, the energy that we bring is really unparalleled,” Clarke said. “When we get together, it’s a domino effect and it’s something the special teams can feed off of in our offense definitely so carrying that momentum and bringing our own juice, day in and day out is something that we pride ourselves on.”
Former starting quarterback Richie Kenney has been eager to get back into football form as well. After patiently waiting for the opportunity to return, he said he believes the team around him has the potential to reach new heights.
“We’ve been waiting for this opportunity to get back in play,” he said. “You don’t need to motivate anyone to show up. Guys are excited to get back together to get to work together as a team … I don’t think anyone can stop us.”
With no shortage of experience coming from both sides of the ball on every team in the Ivy League, each program will navigate one of the most unique years in conference football history.
The obstacles of new player dynamics and being over a year removed from competition offer the Red a unique opportunity at a new start with established talent. Whatever comes of the upcoming season, Cornell plans on building on its team internally with newly established trust and veteran leadership.