From MVP Awards To Campbell Trophy Nominations, Ben Mathiasmeier Excels On And Off The Field

Upper West Side NY

12 November, 2021

10:21 AM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY MATTHEW KIM NOVEMBER 11, 2021 Ben Mathiasmeier has never been the biggest player on the field. In fact, the fifth-year strong safety is not even the biggest player in the Lions' secondary. Standing at 190 pounds and 5-feet-10-inches, Mathiasmeier is not a prototypical Division I defensive back. For Columbia football, it might be a good thing that he isn't. "Thank God he isn't two inches taller," head coach Al Bagnoli joked. "He'd probably be somewhere in the Big 12 or something." While Mathiasmeier may not tower over opposing players, the Katy, Texas native has never let his size limit him. From his days playing peewee football to his time as a letterman at Cinco Ranch High School to his illustrious career as a Lion, the preseason First-Team All-Ivy selection has always been fueled by a desire to compete. "It doesn't really matter if it's playing pingpong against my brother at home or strapping up the pads and playing football," Mathiasmeier said. "I just love competing." Mathiasmeier still recalls the feeling of getting his flag pulled at the half-yard line in a double overtime game in his first season of peewee football. He remembers his rivalry games against perennial Texas Division 6A powerhouse Katy High School, matchups that would draw crowds upward of 10,000. More recently, he thinks of the Lions' March Madness-style pingpong tournament during fall camp where he took down senior long snapper Parker Lefton in the championship round, earning Mathiasmeier the unequivocal title as the best pingpong player on the team. According to defensive backs coach Andrae Murphy, Mathiasmeier's competitiveness is what separates him on the football field. "He doesn't turn anything down," Murphy said. "When he gets to you, it's gonna be violent." Growing up with a father who played defensive end at Texas Tech University, Mathiasmeier was introduced to football at a young age. His first memory of the sport is playing catch with his father in his family's backyard. Once his junior year of high school arrived, Mathiasmeier had put together film that was strong enough to interest college coaches. Mathiasmeier was not a blue-chip prospect, but he was still sought after by numerous prestigious institutions, including several Ivy League schools and military academies, and was offered preferred walk-on opportunities at the University of Texas and the University of Notre Dame. With no shortage of options, Mathiasmeier chose Bagnoli's Lions. "It was a program that I thought was on the rise in one of the greatest cities in the world at a phenomenal institution," he said. "That mix drew me here." Mathiasmeier quickly earned the trust of his coaches, appearing in all 10 games as a first-year, mostly on special teams. During his sophomore season, he started three games, and by the time he was a junior, he became the Lions' full-time starting strong safety. That season, he led the Light Blue in tackles with 67 and interceptions with two, earning Columbia's Most Valuable Defensive Player award and All-Ivy Honorable Mention honors in the process. "He's been as consistent a defensive player as we've had," Bagnoli said. When the Ivy League canceled fall athletics last year, Mathiasmeier, a "huge college football fan," was thrown for a loop. While the Lions would not see the field for at least another year, Mathiasmeier was stuck at home watching other schools compete in full seasons. "It was a test of my patience, a little bit," he said regarding the break from football. Hoping to play one final season with the Light Blue, Mathiasmeier delayed his graduation and took the spring 2021 semester off. Despite the uncertainty at the time of whether a fall Ivy League season would even occur, "it was a risk [he] was willing to take." The risk paid off. Now, as one of the team's 10 fifth-year "super seniors," Mathiasmeier is the heart and soul of a Light Blue defense that, before last Saturday, had held opponents to 19 points per game. A self-described "instinctive playmaker," the captain has carved out another impressive season for the Lions, ranking second on the team with 40 tackles and tied for first in the Ivy League with three interceptions. As a Lion, Mathiasmeier has been a part of several program-defining moments. During his first-year and sophomore campaigns, the Lions recorded back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1961-62. This year, Mathiasmeier gave Dartmouth quarterback Derek Kyler his first interception of the year as the Light Blue blanked the Big Green 19-0 for the Lions' first-ever shutout against a nationally ranked opponent. Out of all the big plays Mathiasmeier has made in his career, one in particular stands out to Murphy: Mathiasmeier's walk-off interception to give the Lions an overtime victory over Harvard in 2019. Trailing 17-10 in the extra period, Harvard needed to score a touchdown on its next possession to keep the game alive. Crimson quarterback Luke Emge faked a handoff to the running back and rolled out to his right. Looking to his receiver, Emge launched a pass toward the end zone. Mathiasmeier sprinted to the sideline, diving to snag the ball midair. After landing out of bounds, Mathiasmeier ran up the field victoriously, holding the ball up as the officials confirmed the interception. "I remember catching the ball and being like, 'Well, I'm just gonna keep running because I don't really know what else to do,'" he recounted. As the Lions went into that week-eight game with only two wins, "it would have been easy for our guys to just pack it in," Murphy said. Despite the Lions' losing record, Mathiasmeier always believed his squad could overcome the Crimson, uplifting his teammates ahead of the game and diligently preparing to respond to the specific play Harvard ran at the end of the game, according to Murphy. "For him to make that play in that moment, just seeing how he works day in and day out, was an awesome feeling," Murphy said. Mathiasmeier has proven his value on the field not only through his game-saving efforts but also through his dependability. As the Lions' strong safety, Mathiasmeier must often cover the other team's best receiver in the slot, an assignment Murphy is happy to give him. "It doesn't matter who he's playing against, who he's matched up against. He's one of the few guys who I've coached where going into a game I'm never worried about who that matchup is," Murphy said. A "natural-born leader," as Murphy put it, Mathiasmeier is never quick to take credit when his team succeeds. "I'm one out of the 11 out there," he said after a two-interception performance in a 35-24 win against Georgetown earlier this year. While Mathiasmeier may not boast about his own performance, Bagnoli recognizes the value the fifth-year brings to the Lions' secondary. "He's everything you want in a safety," Bagnoli said, praising Mathiasmeier's ability to defend both the pass and the run. Mathiasmeier, a "student of the game," according to Murphy, also enjoys watching college and professional football. Mathiasmeier said he studies film of Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker and Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu, both of whom have similar physical builds as him, and he admires their ability to cause turnovers despite their lack of size. Mathiasmeier has excelled off the field, too. For the second straight year, he was named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy. Named in honor of Columbia football alumnus Bill Campbell, the prestigious award recognizes "the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership," according to the National Football Foundation. Given Campbell's rich history with Columbia football, the honor was particularly special to Mathiasmeier. Whenever he enters the Campbell Sports Complex to work out, he sees the former Intuit CEO's name all over the walls, a reminder of Campbell's contributions to the University. The news of Mathiasmeier's nomination was not a surprise to Murphy, who had no shortage of praise for the captain's work ethic and character, calling him the "epitome of what you want at Columbia football." "It is already challenging being a student at a place like this," Murphy said. "For him to excel academically and for him to be involved with all the things he does in the community and back home with his family, it's awesome to see all that get recognized outside this building." While Columbia football fans mostly see him ferociously bringing down opponents on Saturdays, Mathiasmeier said he is a family-oriented person who cares deeply about his loved ones, who he believes have made him a better person. "I'm not always the guy who's flying around with a football trying to hit someone as hard as I can," he said. "I can be a softie sometimes." If he plays in the Lions' final two games against Brown and Cornell, Mathiasmeier will join a small group of players who have played every game of their career as Lions, and by the time it is all said and done, he will have finished his collegiate career with a winning record, regardless of how the next two games play out. "More than anything, I wanted to establish a winning culture at Columbia, and I wanted to have a winning record when I left here," Mathiasmeier said. "Just historically with how the program's been, I really do think it's on the rise, and I wanted to leave it in a better place than when I came in. I think I've done just that." After graduation, Mathiasmeier will join Raymond James Financial's investment banking team as an analyst for the company's diversified industrials group. He will miss being a Lion; equally, Murphy will miss Mathiasmeier's presence in the program. "I've had the ability to coach some really talented players. He's without a doubt the best one," Murphy said. "If you told me that I can take a team with 10 Ben Mathiasmeiers, I'd take that 10 times over." What Bagnoli will miss most about Mathiasmeier is his leadership. "When he talks, people listen," Bagnoli said. "But more than just talk, he does it with action." Before saying his final goodbyes, Mathiasmeier will have one final task: closing out the season with two victories. He will play in his final career home game against Brown this Saturday in the Lions' second to last game this season. Deputy Sports Editor Matt Kim can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @matt_kim9. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.