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Updated: November 1, 2024 @ 5:29 am
Sawyer Tierney played almost every sport but football at Ithaca High School. At Cornell he’s part of a resurgence on the spring football.
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Sawyer Tierney played almost every sport but football at Ithaca High School. At Cornell he’s part of a resurgence on the spring football.
While at Ithaca High school, Sawyer Tierney (class of ’21) was so absorbed in soccer and track that playing football was just not possible. Issue number one: Soccer and football are both fall sports. Issue number two: Given Sawyer was a two-time captain and a crucial player on a four-time sectional championship soccer team, the coach would have likely put up quite a fuss. (As a sprinter on the track team, Sawyer was also a school record-holder in the 300, and a four-year state qualifier.)
Now a senior at Cornell, Tierney is in his second year as a Sprint Football player – splitting time between Offensive Line and Tight End – and he is “loving every minute of it.”
In Sawyer’s words, “When I was a freshman, I played intramural soccer and ran club track, but I didn’t want to commit to any varsity sport, because I wanted to see what an Ivy League workload was like.” He added, “I did an internship my sophomore year, but last year my workload was fine, and I saw what a great experience my brother had playing Sprint Football, and it was time to join.”
Aidan Tierney (Cornell class of ’22) is Sawyer’s brother, and he was featured in this column a few years back. He is now the Offensive Line and Tight Ends coach for the Sprint team, and I asked the younger Tierney about having his brother as a position coach, and he said, “It works out well, there are no issues. In fact, if I want to go over and watch film, or study an opponent’s defensive strategies, it helps that we have known each other our whole lives.”
The Sprint team is 2-3 at this point, and those two wins have the players excited. “Last year was a tough year,” Tierney said. “We were 0-6, and bringing in Coach (Michael) Huyghue this season has made a big difference in that the culture has really improved.” Contributing to the program’s upward trajectory, Sawyer offered, is the fact that “Coach Huyghue brought in a really elite coaching staff, and that has helped us buy in. Coach (Sean) Jones – our defensive coordinator – won a Super Bowl with the Packers, and he had over a hundred sacks in the NFL. Trent Strozier is our offensive coordinator, and he was (Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback) Vince Young’s coach, and our linebackers coach, Blake Clark, brings a lot of coaching experience as well.” Tierney said that all of those coaches came from the Houston area to Cornell as a testament to Huyghue’s vision for the program, and he joked that all three are likely to be buying a new winter wardrobe shortly. He then added, “Seriously, we saw the sacrifice these coaches have made to come here. They have made it clear that they do not want to lose, and we are trying to learn as much as we can from them.”
After such a challenging 2023 season, the Sprint team is ripe for redemption. In Tierney’s words, “On campus, Sprint Football is sometimes seen as a fun activity – a way for guys to get together – but the attitude on the team is, it’s a Division 1 varsity program, and we want to win. We are leading our division, and we’re in a good position to make the championship game. That will be a big step up from 0-6.” Being a part of the program’s rejuvenation is a rising tide that is lifting all boats, as the saying goes. Sawyer stated, “Seeing such a high level of commitment and the way it translates into a high level of effort makes it more fun. My teammates are bringing a lot of intensity, and a lot of competitiveness, and that has brought a big shift.”
The Cornell Sprint Football team will travel to West Point to take the gridiron against the Cadets this Friday night. They will play Mansfield the following week, and the NSCF Championship game will be played in mid-November.
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