ITHACA, N.Y. -- For 45 years, Terry Cullen has been head coach of Cornell sprint football. He's been on the Schoellkopf sidelines for nearly 60 years - more than half the storied Crescent's existence. To say he's synonymous with sprint football would be an understatement. In fact, when Jay Carter '71, ME '72 and his wife, Juliann Reisner Carter '71, endowed the position in 2001, they named it the The Terry Cullen Head Coach of Sprint Football.

That was two decades ago. Older than most of the current student-athletes in the program.

When Cullen's 2022 team hits the field, you'd better believe they take the support of decades of alumni with them. Getting a chance to play for a seventh CSFL title will require every bit of that support. 

Cornell finished second in the league as recently as 2018, its second with the sideline combination of Cullen and Bobby Gneo, who serves as associate head coach. The Big Red is 3-10 since, though much of their momentum was seized after missing a year due to COVID-19 (2020). The Big Red went 2-1 over its final three games last fall, and now it's hoping to carry that energy into 2022.

That one loss, however, was a big home defeat to North champion and division rival Army. The Black Knights outgained the Big Red 482-53 in the 2021 season finale, including 275-46 on the ground, in winning its 10th straight contest in the series. Prior to that, Cornell had won four-of-five, with its last victory coming 20-10 in West Point during the 2010 season.
 

The 2022 Big Red

The 2022 Cornell team returns All-CSFL skill players in second-team running back Jacob Wynkoop and honorable mention quarterback Xavier Martinez. Receiver Evan Nicholas, offensive lineman Kevin Jess and linebacker Kai Mulligan were also honorable mention picks in 2021.

Wynkoop was a one-man rushing attack in 2021, gaining 558 yards and a touchdown while averaging 4.9 yards per game in six contests. He also caught 14 passes for 105 yards, ranking second on the team in both categories. Wynkoop dominated in consecutive Big Red wins over St. Thomas (23 carries, 226 yards, TD) and Chestnut Hill (38 carries, 189 yards), posting 415 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Martinez is a playmaker with is feet and made things happen with his arm as a junior in 2021. He passed for 662 yards and four touchdowns, throwing two scores apiece against Caldwell and St. Thomas Aquinas. He also rushed for a touchdown at Chestnut Hill.

Nicholas had four games with at least five catches, hauling in five for 104 yards and two touchdowns against Caldwell. The 6-0 sophomore also secured five catches for 89 yards and a score at Chestnut Hill and posted 100 all-purpose yards at Mansfield. Blocking for him was Jess, who saw action in all six contests on an offensive line that surrendered just one sack total in its final two games.

Luke Verzella returns as a senior after hauling in eight catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. He is a big red zone target at 6-2.

The team's leading returning tackler with 23 stops a year ago, Mulligan added a tackle for loss while playing in six contests. He'll be part of a defense that shut out Chestnut Hill and averaged 5.0 tackles for loss per game. 

A number of other defensive players reached double figure tackles a year ago and return, including Marco Nykodym, Liam Gormley, Elijah Biddlecom, Ross Halpern and Zac McPherson. 

The schedule does the Big Red no favors, as three of its first four games of the season will come against division champions Army West Point and Navy, as well as second-place Penn from the South. Those three teams went 18-3 in 2021. The other opponent is a Mansfield team that earned a 48-6 win over the Big Red last fall.

Cornell won two of its final three contests played in 2021, with a loss to division champion Black Knights its lone blemish. Included was a 20-point fourth quarter that lifted the Big Red over St. Thomas Aquinas at home, 30-27.