Let's talk about Brown football. Talk, talk, talk. Last year, his first at the Bruins' helm, Coach Mickey Kwiatkowski proved that he was a great talker.

Unfortunately, his team backed up that jabber with only two wins, which is only one more victory than last-place Columbia.

Yet, just like their coach, the Bruins were quite entertaining at times. Brown set six separate team, individual game and individual career passing records last season on the wings of Kwiatkowski's Wing-T Flex offense.

Just who will be doing the passing this year, however, remains the question mark for Brown this season, and the lack of experience at that position will keep Brown within spitting distance of the cellar again this season.

Whoever replaces graduated quarterbacks Mike Lenkaitis and Rich Willis, who led the Bruins to its most productive aerial attack in the school's 112 years of football, will be without the services of first-team All-Ivy split end Mike Geroux, who also graduated.

But, on the bright side, the Bruins still have senior flex receiver Rodd Torbert as a target. Last season Torbert set single-season Brown receiving records with 67 catches and 908 receiving yards en route to capturing first team All-Ivy honors.

The inside linebacker duo of Jason Pankau and Brad Sidwell looks to be the strongest aspect of the Brown defense. The two combined for 170 tackles last year. Only four other defensive starters return from last year, but maybe that is not such a bad thing, seeing that Brown gave up more than 380 yards a game last season.

Roaring Lions?

Columbia will also be looking to shore up its defense, but, then again, what won't the Lions be looking to shore up? Columbia's lease on the Ivy League basement won't expire this year.

The Lions are looking at a bevy of sophomores on defense to continue Columbia's long walk towards respectability. Tackle Colby Bressler and defensive end John Jennings epitomize the type of squad which Coach Ray Tellier has been trying to assemble since taking over two years ago.

Bressler and Jennings are big. Jennings stands in at 6'5" and weighs 225 pounds; Bressler is one inch shorter, but weighs 275 pounds.

The two also are representative of a recurring problem for the Lions. They are young and inexperienced. Only six starters return on offense and defense. One of Columbia's main problems has always been a lack of depth not at one position, but at every position. Tellier has problems just getting enough bodies on the practice field. This year, however, 20 more players are expected on the roster.

"We made progress last season, but we didn't get as far as we wanted to," Tellier said earlier this year. "This season we have to take that step toward winning."

That task will be made all the more difficult without two first team All-Ivy selections on the offense. Quarterback Bruce Mayhew and his favorite target, Gary Comstock, have graduated, leaving a gaping hole where the Lions scoring should be. Comstock's 68 catches were good for 816 yards and third in the nation.

Senior John Tribolet, Mayhew's backup for the past two seasons, is the favorite to take over the quarterbacking duties. He will be looking to hook up with juniors Scott Spivey and Mike Sardo on the receiving end.