Podsakoff sets the tone for the Princeton defense

The play went to the right, and Nathan Podsakoff was there. The opposition, Ben Davis High School — the No. 1 team in the state of Indiana — had been denied.

The stage had been set up for a dramatic comeback victory. In a game it was supposed to run away with, Ben Davis had scored on the final play of the game. Instead of attempting the extra point which would have sent the game into overtime, it elected to go for the win.

"I remember standing over the guy we had just stopped," said Podsakoff, now a senior defensive end. "I couldn't believe we just won — I took off my helmet and just threw it and started running down the field. My coach, who's kind of a short guy, jumped up in my arms. We were going nuts."

It was the first game of Podsakoff's senior year of high school, and he was on top of the world. Now, the day before the first game of his senior year in college, Podsakoff believes the football team can take a step back in that direction.

"In past years I think sometimes our execution and mental toughness was in question. As a player I hate to say that because I played on all those teams," Podsakoff said. "Coach Hughes has brought a new attitude. He wants us to be a physically and mentally tough team. I feel like we're moving up with everything we do."

In a year when the offense has been overhauled and coaches have been canned, head coach Roger Hughes has relied on Podsakoff and the senior class to lead the way in such a transition.

"If you convince Nathan of your plan, everyone is going to follow him," Hughes said.

The football team is full of young players. Players such as Blake Perry, a safety starting in his freshman year, need upperclassmen to set an example.

"We all kind of look to him to make big plays," Perry said. "He's really supportive in his leadership role."

Just as he serves as an example for the underclassmen now, Podsakoff had his own mentors in high school.

One of his mentors was a six-foot, five-inch, 280 pound All-American defensive and offensive lineman named Bo Barzilauskas. As a 5-11, 195 pound freshman, Podsakoff learned a few lessons from him.

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"This guy would literally pick me up and throw me into the backfield," he said.

The other was his coach, Moe Moriarity. The coach who would end up in his arms senior year reintroduced Podsakoff to the game.

"He taught me so much about leadership and technique. The team my freshman year was exactly what I needed at the time. Every game under him was like an adrenaline rush."

Podsakoff had left football for soccer after his seventh grade year. He had played on a traveling team in Indiana and while with his father during a seven-month stay in France.

Then freshman year, his father introduced him to the football coach, who wanted him to try out for the team. He started on the freshman team and worked his way onto the varsity roster by the time the team was playing for the state championship in the Hoosierdome. It was in the moments following the game when he knew what he wanted to do.

"It was the electricity of the moment and the place. I was standing in this monument to football, on the field where hundreds of the world's greatest athletes had played. It was the fans, the noise. I could never write down the ingredients.

For me, it was the same type of feeling you get when you finally understand what college you want to go to. When I decided on Princeton, I just knew it was the right thing. That was the feeling I had on that field, that football was the right thing for me to do."

The maturing process had to continue when Podsakoff reached college. Only this time, his mentor was on the same side of the ball.

Mark Whaling, a defensive lineman, helped introduce Podsakoff to college football.

"The first game I started, against Brown, I was freaking out trying to think of the play and he's in my ear talking about songs, the crowd, whatever," Podsakoff said. "He was intense, foaming-at-the-mouth intense sometimes, but he could always have fun and made sure the team was never too uptight. I didn't get to thank him, but he had a great impact on me."

Now as a senior defensive lineman, Podsakoff does the instruction.

"I do try to help guy with technique, but you don't want to push it too much. You want to let guys grow up on their own."

The team has a little time — two games against Patriot League opponents, to grow up before the Ivy schedule begins.

"I want this team to come out and surprise people," Podsakoff said. "And when people look at their tapes I want them to say No. 59 is a guy you have to go hard against all the time or he's going to beat you."