Keasey, Mueller, McCareins return from academic ineligibility

As painful as last year's 2-8 debacle was for the football team, it may have been even more trying for three teammates who were unable to even suit up.

After all, if those three players — senior linebacker Zak Keasey, senior safety Brandon Mueller, and junior cornerback Jay McCareins — had been in uniform instead of academically ineligible, things might have gone quite differently. Perhaps the defense would have been a tiny bit better, just enough to swing the balance of three games the Tigers lost on the last possession.

But Keasey, Mueller and McCareins could only watch, helpless, forced to take a year off from Princeton for academic reasons. So as their Tiger teammates went through hell on the field, they experienced their own purgatory far, far away.

"Watching the team struggle was the worst aspect [of the year off]," McCareins said. "I knew I let down all my friends on the team."

Now, back at school to resume their Princeton careers — on the field and in the classroom — the three returning defensive stalwarts are reluctant to dwell on the past. Instead, they talk about what they learned from their mistakes and how it will help them in the future.

They know that, while they will never erase the blemish, the final chapter of their Princeton story has yet to be written. So far, at least, they all claim to be headed for a happy ending.

"Sometimes mistakes are made — it's how you handle them and respond that counts," head coach Roger Hughes said. "Obviously I wasn't pleased with what happened, but I'm very pleased with how they've responded to it."

According to Hughes, responding meant taking classes, getting jobs and working out. It meant, he says, learning "how precious time at Princeton is." And, as the players themselves point out, it now means making sure their younger teammates don't fall into the same traps.

"We made the younger guys aware of the mistakes we made, the pitfalls we can fall into," Keasey said. "Balancing academics and football is tough, so academics has to come first. They take things real seriously here, so you can't slip up, or it will cost you."

Indeed, in the spring of 2003, a number of high-profile Tiger athletes were felled by academics. Beyond Keasey, Mueller and McCareins, former star wide receiver Chisom Opara '04 and former star basketball player Spencer Gloger '05 both were forced to leave school for a year for academic reasons. The five high-profile cases, announced over a six-month period, left many unanswered questions about the manner in which the athletic and academic communities interact.

But after making it through 2004 without off-the-field controversy, Hughes and the football team are ready to move on. Above all, they're glad to have the trio back on the field.

Keasey, who was named first-team All-Ivy League in 2002 after leading the Tigers in tackles for a second straight season, reclaims his spot at middle linebacker. After bulking up to 235 pounds and still getting faster — he claims he can now run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds — Keasey is ready to stake his claim as the Ray Lewis of the Ivy League.

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In truth, the impact of Keasey's absence was minimized by the development of junior linebackers Justin Stull and Abi Fadeyi into stars last season. Princeton did not, however, have such a luxury in the defensive backfield — they were forced to start two freshmen for most of the year. The results were less than pleasant.

But with McCariens and Mueller, both second-team All-Ivy in 2002, back and the class of '07 now experienced sophomores, the Tigers' formerly porous pass defense should be much improved. McCariens, whose brother Justin plays for the New York Jets, will also look to give Princeton a spark returning kicks — and possibly even at wide receiver.

"I'm excited to be part of a hungry bunch of guys," McCareins says, his eyes twinkling with 21 months of pent-up excitement.