Making Music

Walking through the A level of Frist, it's not uncommon to hear the sound of piano music coming from the grand piano that sits in the far corner of the building. Many students play there — some may be music majors composing their senior theses while others may just be checking to see if they remember anything from the lessons they took in junior high.

Somewhere in the middle of this spectrum is junior Cleo Kirkland. He was taught to play by a friend during his freshman year and has continued to make his way to the piano bench ever since. He plays nearly every day, the music carrying softly through Frist or the Mathey common room. He has even begun composing his own songs.

What may surprise many is the other activity that Kirkland takes part in every day, the activity that most likely precedes most of his trips to the piano: carrying the ball for the Princeton football team.

As the Tigers' season kicks off against Lafayette on Saturday, Kirkland is positioned to be one of the key contributors in an offense with very few familiar faces in the backfield — head coach Roger Hughes named him the starter at tailback earlier this week.

Last season, Kirkland carried the ball just twice, gaining 14 yards in the only game in which he appeared.

"I'm sure a lot of freshmen come in thinking that they'll be given a spot," Kirkland said. "But you've got to work at it, and I'm glad I have my experience with that."

The bulk of the rushing duties last season were split between Jon Veach '05 and Branden Benson '05, who gained 653 and 625 yards, respectively, and scored 10 touchdowns between them. But with both of them graduating, the position was left open for the 2005 campaign, and Kirkland beat out a number of other young running backs for the opening day job.

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In person, Kirkland is disarmingly laid-back, seemingly always at peace. But beneath that calm spirit lies a competitor who has always thrived on the gridiron.

Kirkland graduated from Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, N.J., where he played football his junior and senior years after transferring from Saint Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia. Primarily a running back, Kirkland played five snaps on the defensive side of the ball, but after injuring himself on the fifth, he went back to offense for good.

At Saint Joseph's his team went all the way to the parochial finals before falling to a team led by Kevin Jones — the same Kevin Jones who is now the running back for the Detroit Lions.

Though Kirkland is not taking carries for an NFL team, he is ready to step into his increased role in the Tiger's offense.

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Easing that transition will be the highly experienced offensive line, led by senior co-captain Ben Brielmaier and four other seniors.

"The thing with an experienced offensive line is that they can help me out a lot more because I'm not that experienced," Kirkland said.

Kirkland is not the only inexperienced player in the backfield that the offensive line is charged with protecting: neither sophomore fullback Rob Toresco or junior quarterback Jeff Terrell has ever started before at the college level.

Despite his recently elevated role, Kirkland remains humble, deflecting suggestions that he is the number one runner on the team and instead focusing on the Tigers' depth at the running back position.

"[Camp was] tough because you're rotating in with guys and not getting as many reps, but it's also reassuring because there are so many guys," he said. "If one guy gets hurt, there's so much depth on the team. That's reassuring because the bottom line this year is that we want to win; it doesn't matter who we get it done with."

Of the running backs on the roster, Kirkland has the most in-game experience. And though his new role will be quite a break from his position on the team the last two years, he is ready to take over whatever running responsibilities are given to him.

"I try to take every play whether it's practice or in the game with the same type of attitude," Kirkland said. "Whether it's fourth down or first down, I think that if I stick with the same type of attitude and thinking, then I'll do my best."

Perhaps it's that consistent demeanor, whether running the ball up the sideline or his fingers over the ivory paino keys, that allows Kirkland to excel.

Always calm, always cool, always collected — and always making music.