Daily Princetonian staff writer Thad Hartmann recently sat down with senior running back Cameron Atkinson of the football team. Below is the transcript of that conversation.
Prince: What do you think was different this week from last week?
Atkinson: We learn from our mistakes on Sunday when we watch the tape and we put the game behind us, but I think we had a different mentality this week in practice. When you go out for your first game, you're kind of, though you've worked all camp and everything, you're kind of unsure what things are going to be like for the team when you go out for that first game, and we had a feeling for that. When we came out against Lafayette, we knew what kind of team we were going to be. We were going to come out of the gates really hard, we just had to realize that we had to play hard for four quarters, and I think we took a step toward that.
P: Why do you think the team finished out the game better against Lafayette than against Lehigh?
Atkinson: I think we learned from our lessons in the Lehigh game. There were key penalties in the third quarter that helped Lafayette score 19 unanswered points before the fourth quarter. In the Lehigh game, things such as that stopped us completely, and I don't think we scored in the second half at all. Against Lafayette, the offense finally got clicking. We realized that we had to get things going to help our defense, and we just did it.
P: Did the coaches change anything in practice?
Atkinson: No, after the game they articulated to us that it's all mentality. We just have to know that we are going to play four hard quarters. In terms of structure of practice, anything else like that, things didn't change.
P: What's it like sharing the backfield so much now? You're sharing it with [sophomore running backs] Branden Bensen and Jon Veach a lot.
Atkinson: In the Lehigh game we did share it a bunch. Against Lafayette, we shared it a lot less because the way coaches are looking at it is, I'm the upperclassman; I'm used to the system, but Jon Veach and Branden Bensen are two very good, if not great, running backs. They will be great running backs. I usually start the game. They get plenty of plays in the first half. Whoever is in the flow of the game best, whoever is playing best will get the snaps in the second half, get most of the snaps in the game. I have no problem with sharing the backfield. I don't care who's back there; I just want to win football games.
P: Who do you think the best player on the offense is?
Atkinson: Best player on the offense? I don't know if I'm allowed to say that. In terms of what the person does to the team, I would have to say [junior quarterback] Dave Splithoff, because he is a threat to run or pass at any time. He kind of scares me when he scrambles out of the pocket.
P: It scares me too.
Atkinson: It seems better to me now that he lofted that ball to me in the middle of the field, I believe in the third or fourth quarter, and I got laid out, but I'd have to say Dave, definitely.
P: Then how do you feel about Matt Verbit getting those two series in the game?
Atkinson: That was actually a big surprise to me. I know that in practice, Matt gets a lot of the snaps with the rest of the first offense, just so we can have two quarterbacks ready to go. Matt's also a great player. I'm completely comfortable with Matt back there. He's also a great running quarterback, and he throws an unbelievable ball. It didn't bother me at all. It was fine.
P: Coach Hughes said that it was planned beforehand, but did it still shock you that he did it at a pivotal time in the game?
Atkinson: No, Coach Hughes is always full of surprises, so I really wasn't. I was surprised, but at the same time, I was like, OK, it's Coach Hughes.
P: Are you excited about starting Ivy League play?
Atkinson: We're very pumped. That's what we play for. We play for an Ivy League championship. We're not allowed to play in the playoffs, so all we have is the Ivy championship.
P: Who do you think the best team in the Ivy League is?
Atkinson: I honestly can't say at this point. It's way too early to talk about such things. Yale's number one in the country in total offense and fourth in the country in total defense, but I really don't have a feel for the teams they've played. Harvard, of course, is very good. They beat Lehigh, which we couldn't do. They're obviously a very good football team.
Brown has an unbelievable offense. We'll see as the season unfolds who's the best.
P: Where do you think you fit in, because you were picked second to begin the year?
Atkinson: I think we're the most experienced team, and we do have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. But the thing in the Ivy League is who gets on a roll and can continue to win. I just think we have to find our rhythm, and start winning league games, and I think things should fall into place for us.
P: What team do you want to beat the most this season?
Atkinson: What team do I want to beat the most? I love beating Yale because the alumni love beating Yale, but I'd have to say Harvard. I hate Harvard. With all my heart.
P: Whom do you try to emulate as a player?
Atkinson: I really don't try to emulate anyone. I just kinda do what I'm told and play hard every snap. If there's anybody I could say I was trying to emulate, it would have to be Barry Sanders. Not in terms of his running style, but in work ethic, and, you know, give the ball to the ref and hustle back to the huddle, working hard every play.
P: Who at Princeton has influenced you the most in football?
Atkinson: I'd have to say Coach Hughes. He's brought an unbelievable attitude to the Princeton football team. My freshman year, I really didn't know the seniors. I barely knew their names. They were just the guys who played on Saturday. But now it's much more of a family atmosphere. I know all the freshmen's names. I know everything about them. He's really changed what football has meant to me.
P: Who are the biggest leaders on the team?
Atkinson: The biggest leaders on the team are our captains, Chisom Opara and Drew Babinecz. Dave Splithoff is also a great leader, on the field and off the field as well. I'd have to say those are my three.
P: What kind of leadership role do you provide to underclassmen, other running backs, the offense, everything?
Atkinson: I feel as though I lead more by example, because I can remember times when we would run plays, and I would end up sprinting 40 yards downfield. Last year other running backs would do the same thing, and in meetings when we are watching the tape, coaches would point out how, "That's what we want. That's what we need. We need work ethic. We need people going hard every single play." And I think there are a couple of guys who picked that up from me and from other players as well. If I bring anything to the team, that's what I bring.
P: Coach Hughes was telling me that now you seem like you are more primarily a football player, whereas before you were primarily a track athlete.
Atkinson: He always says that! Actually, I think Charlie Thompson, the head trainer, might have coined that phrase. But, it's different. I definitely feel as though football is more important to me now than it when I was a freshman and sophomore. It all comes back to the off-the-field stuff — how much a family atmosphere the people have become. I really can't say if I'm more of a football player than a track athlete, but I don't want to disagree with my coach.
P: Do you have any funny stories or pranks you can tell me, because I asked [junior defensive back] Blake [Perry], and he gave me nothing. He said nothing was clean enough to tell in the newspaper.
Atkinson: And I'd have to agree with him: nothing you can print, nothing that I wouldn't be killed for.
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