Football excited for successful season under talented core

After a 2015 campaign that saw the Tigers start 4-0 before dropping close games late to Yale and Dartmouth, Princeton football will look to further their successes this season.

The Tigers (1-0, 0-0 Ivy) have already gotten off to a strong start, vanquishing touch out-of-conference foe Lafayette 35-31 while displaying a potent combination of offense and defense. Nevertheless, head coach Bob Surace emphasized the toughness of the Tigers' 2016 slate and the work ethic necessary for this squad to continue its success.

“This is very much like the NFL, where the worst team in our league can beat the best team,” he commented. “We play a non-conference schedule where Lafayette’s got 60 scholarships, Lehigh’s got 60 scholarships, and we have an Ivy League schedule where the difference between the team that wins the championship and a team that comes in at the bottom half is very minimal. It’s one or two plays in that game. So each week is going to present an opportunity for us to be at our best.”

Surace emphasized a commitment to details throughout the season.

“We wanted to practice fast, to keep it high tempo, and have a lot of energy and enthusiasm in practice,” he explained. “I wanted to just see our guys locked in, and it’s something that I’ve always believed in from day one, and I think — I think that it was Michael Lewis who first used the phrase, “do your job.” Focus on the job at hand, focus on the play. And when we do that, I think we have a really serious group of guys that way.”

Princeton's preseason training has also focused on such a combination of fundamentals and preparation.

“This year, every practice I’d go out and each position group, before we start practice, while they’re getting loose, we’d start working on specific skills,” he added. “That’s a really professional approach, and I’ve really enjoyed watching that. The number one thing is to have a great training camp, and I felt that we did a really good job taking advantage of all our opportunities — our practices, our meetings, play-by-play. I felt our guys had a great mindset through all that. The focus — every day, on the day at hand, the team we’re playing. If we take care of business every day, getting ready for all of those situations and opportunities, all those other things take advantage of themselves.”

The Tigers enter 2016 with several losses from graduation and the NFL draft, including former captain Seth DeValve, who now plays for the Cleveland Browns. In describing the roles fulfilled by last year's departed players, Surace reflected on the impact of these athletes.

“In college, obviously, you’re limited to the four seasons,” he said. “Seth [DeValve] is fortunate that he can keep playing football for the Browns. But those [players] were just tremendous leaders and effort guys. We’ve also had two corners who started over 30 games each, and when you start adding all those things up, you have a lot of good football players who contributed over the four years.”

However, Princeton will retain an experienced core cast on both sides of the ball. In discussing his team, Surace noted several team leaders with the potential to leave a strong mark on the season.

“Both [senior] Chad Kanoff and [junior] John Lovett at quarterback have had great preseasons,” he stated. “[Senior] Joe Rhattigan — he was an all-Ivy guy last year, [senior] Scott Carpenter was an All-Ivy guy at tight end…[senior defensive back] Dorian [Williams], one of our captains, has started 30 games, so he’s got a chance to be one of those guys who does it for four straight years.”

Offensively, the Tigers offense will rely on upperclassmen, with Kanoff, Lovett, and Rhattigan all looking to improve on the 3,000 total yards they amassed last year.

Williams, who finished with 91 tackles last season, will look to anchor a young secondary and lead the Tigers defensively. Last weekend, Princeton allowed only 60 yards rushing and 416 yards overall, and the Tigers will look to improve upon those successes.

Football will continue its season on Saturday against Lehigh. The Tigers will commence Ivy play when they host Columbia the following week.