How does the football team feel about the season’s end?

We talked to the players themselves

Cornell football season came to a close this weekend with Big Red falling short of victory against Penn in the Trustees’ Cup, the annual Cornell-Penn game.

While Cornell football is a strong program with a rich history, the 2014 and 2015 seasons have proven disappointing with a 1-9 final record. Nevertheless, Big Red takes adversity in stride and continues to move forward, focusing on improvement in the months to come.

We caught up with some of the players to talk highs and lows of the season, post-grad plans, their greatest lessons and advice for other athletes.

Luke Hagy, Senior, Running Back

Are you glad the season’s over? Or will it you miss it?

I am definitely going to miss it. It’s something that I’ve been doing for 12 years now and it already feels weird a day after the game. What I will miss most though are all of the guys that I have played with.

What are your plans for after graduation?

Right now I have three job offers that I am considering for after graduation. I was also asked to play in the FCS Senior Scout Bowl so I will see if I get any opportunities to try to play in the NFL or CFL.

How has playing football as a Division I athlete affected your college career, as well as prepared you for post-college life?

Playing football at Cornell has taught me a lot about time management skills, what hard work truly is, and how to be a great competitor. So many things that you learn on the field can relate back to so many things off the field as well, such as working in teams.

What advice do you have for incoming student athletes to Cornell?

My advice would be to make sure that you keep up with your school work. We come here as students first over athletes, so it is important that we do our job both on and off the field. It is obviously a very difficult school, so it is so important to not get behind on your school work.

Chris Lenz, Senior, Wide Receiver

Are you glad the season’s over? Or will it you miss it?

It will without a doubt be missed. It’s a lot of hard work and puts constraints on your time but for me it was 100% worth it. This is a game I’ve been playing since I was in second grade and a game that I’ve loved my whole life. Now that it’s over I feel in some ways that I’ve lost part of myself. That being said, it will be nice having some extra time on my hands to hang out with friends and relax.

What are your plans for after graduation?

I’m hoping to be able to work closer to home during the next few years and spend time with my family. I think I eventually want to attend law school once I’ve saved up and paid off some of my existing student loans.

How has playing football as a Division I athlete affected your college career, as well as prepared you for post-college life?

It’s given me some of the best friendships that I will ever have. It has also drastically improved my time management while in college. Having half the time to do the same amount of work as your other classmates teaches you to be efficient with your time. As far as post-college life it has taught me a great deal about perseverance, accountability, and selflessness. I believe all of which are important for life after college.

What advice do you have for incoming student athletes to Cornell?

Something I’ve learned over my time at Cornell is that things rarely turn out the way you envision they will. But don’t let adversity cause you to give up on something you’re passionate for. At times it can be tough, but in the end you’ll be better for it. Also, remember to enjoy yourself while it’s still going on. It goes by faster than you can imagine.

Justin Soloman, Junior, Outside Linebacker

Are you glad the season’s over? Or will it you miss it?

Well for me, I broke my foot in the first week, so I’ve been missing football all year. Missing it from an emotional perspective and physical one basically, ha-ha.

What improvements do you feel need to be made for upcoming seasons? What are you looking forward to for your final season playing football?

Well I think it’s different for every guy on the team, but I’m an outside linebacker so I’ll speak to that. For my position group, I think we can do a better job at getting to the quarterback, and that means becoming more explosive as athletes and being better technicians in our pass moves. And then just playing with a swagger and nastiness on defense. I hope to be able to bring that to the room when I’m healthy again.

What are the greatest lessons playing football at Cornell has taught you?

The greatest lesson I’ve learned through playing football is that being consistent and dependable will supersede most other factors when it comes down to evaluating people on the football field, or in a job, for example. When it really matters, you want the guy that’s going to come and be the same everyday and can block out distractions and everything that can hinder a student athlete’s performance.

Biggest positives and negatives of the 2015 season?

The defense shutting out Columbia at home on senior day. That was huge to send them out on a high note like that and in such spectacular fashion. Great moment. And obviously there’s a lot of different areas ripe for improvement, but I’d say our attitude isn’t one that fosters winning. When we get down, or something doesn’t go our way, you can just feel it. The enthusiasm and energy is just zapped from us. Great teams find ways to win close games and play from behind. I believe a big part of that hinges upon their attitude and belief during those situations.

Kyle Gallagher, Sophomore, Quarterback

Are you glad the season’s over? Or will it you miss it?

I will definitely miss it.  To look back and realize half of my football career is over is crazy.  I cannot believe how fast it went by.  At the same time, I am looking forward to the off season to improve as a team so we can come back stronger next year.

What improvements do you feel need to be made for upcoming seasons?

I think that the most important improvement that we have to make as a team this upcoming season is to become a more consistent football team.  At times this year we looked very good and at times we struggled, so if we can become more consistent I think that will lead to more success.

What are the greatest lessons playing football at Cornell has taught you?

I think the greatest lesson Cornell Football has taught me is how to handle adversity.  The adversity that we have been through as a team will help all of us moving forward as a team and as people.  This type of adversity teaches you lessons that you can carry for the rest of your life.

Biggest positives and negatives of the 2015 season?

The biggest positives for this season were that we had great senior leadership and we improved as a team from last year.  The biggest negative for this season was that the improvement as a team did not lead to many wins.

James Hubbard, Sophomore, Wide Receiver

Are you glad the season’s over? Or will it you miss it?

I’m definitely going to miss football season. We train all year for only 10 games. Our football team is a family and I’m really going to miss playing with the seniors that will be graduating this year.

What improvements do you feel need to be made for upcoming seasons?

This past year a lot of guys on the team gained valuable experience. I think we need to continue to grow as players both on the field and in the weight room.

What are the greatest lessons playing football at Cornell has taught you?

Perseverance. Being a Cornell football player is definitely not easy. Between balancing school, practice times, and lifts, there’s a lot demanded of us and it can get tough. But our coaches have told us that you can control two things: attitude and effort. And as long as you can keep those two things in check, you can weather any storm.

Biggest positives and negatives of the 2015 season?

Positives: We grew closer together as a team and got better at all three facets of the game. Negatives: Our record isn’t where we want it to be, but we are moving in the right direction.

Mason Banbury, Freshman, Defensive Line

Are you glad the season’s over? Or will it you miss it?

I definitely am going to miss the season. We had some really great senior leaders who have set high standards for the players in our organization.

Coming to play Division I football at Cornell, did you expect to get much playing time as a freshman?

When the season first started I was not slated to play in my freshman season, but with an injury at my position, I was able to get some good playing time in the last few games.

What improvements do you think need to be made for future football seasons?

I think everyone on the team can improve, we are obviously not satisfied with where we finished in the league, so the off-season will be a really great experience with everyone trying to get better.

What is the adjustment to college like for a student athlete?

I think the biggest adjustment for me this year as compared to high school is handling all the extra meeting times and workouts on top of practice, and being able to stay on top of my school work.

More
Cornell