Song looks to turn up the volume

For a player who's always been about speaking softly and making the big stick, the transition to team leader hasn't come naturally for senior inside linebacker Doori Song of the football team.

A punishing run-stopper, Song ranks second among returning Tigers in total tackles and tackles for a loss registered last season. The six stuffs for negative yardage were the kind that give rival running backs nightmares — Song drilling them into the turf while their fingers still scramble to secure the handoff.

But Song's talent and technique have never been issues for his coaches. The biggest struggle linebackers coach Don Dobes and the rest of the Princeton staff have faced with Song is convincing him that a large part of his job on the field is to communicate with his teammates and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Asked about how Song has responded, senior co-captain and wide receiver Brendan Circle laughed and recalled a light moment from last season.

"At one point, Doori came up to me and said, 'You know, Circ, the coaches like me to be vocal, but sometimes I have to fake my enthusiasm,' " Circle said. "My response was, 'When did you ever fake it?' "

Universally described as taciturn but polite, Song's vocal chords are not typically shot on Sunday mornings. Once he steps onto the gridiron, however, his presence becomes anything but quiet.

"If you see him off the field, he is kind of a quiet guy," senior defensive back Kevin Kelleher said, "but on the field he seems louder than anybody else. Third and short, fourth and short, anytime you need a big tackle, anytime we need a big play, he's always in the right position."

Song has a calm energy his coaches recognized from the day he first stepped onto campus for a football camp four summers ago. Hailing from Coshocton, Ohio, Song had several offers from Division I-A colleges, but he chose to attend Princeton because he felt its academically rigorous curriculum would better prepare him for medical school.

Song joined the Tigers despite being fully aware their roster already included a full and established linebacking crew. For his first two years, Song saw most of his playing time on special teams while learning from starting linebackers Justin Stull '06 and Rob Holuba '06. Growing as a player under that veteran leadership, Song recorded a special teams fumble recovery as a freshman before earning time as reserve linebacker in 2005. By last season, Song's coaches were ready to unleash him on the Ivy League.

"He's an unbelievable run stopper," Dobes said. "From tackle to tackle he's ferocious."

Slowly but surely, Song is also testing out the role of vocal leader.

"My role is to lead by example, keep the defense excited," Song said, "pretty much get the play called out, let everyone know, let everyone be on the same page."

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For all that, Song has never needed to say much in order to motivate his teammates and keep their spirits up. Circle pointed to Song's humorous practice rivalry with senior fullback Rob Toresco, who is forced to be on the receiving end of Song's thunderous tackles when the Tigers scrimmage.

Song, on the other hand, pointed to another rivalry as his personal favorite.

"There's one offensive lineman in particular, [senior] Brendan Swisher, that I always joke around with," Song said. "We take turns making fun of each other, and just basically try to enjoy practice."

According to Kelleher, Song's jokes, quips and wry one-liners — whether directed at Swisher, Toresco or even a coach — are a constant during Tiger practices.

"The other day the defense had a pretty good practice, and the offensive line got together right after," Kelleher said. "So they are all huddled up getting yelled at or critiqued on the day's practice, and Doori sort of calmly walks through the middle of their entire huddle — I don't remember what words he used but he just made some little comment to a coach or an offensive lineman. He does that every day. He just makes you laugh everyday."

Looking forward to Saturday's game against Lehigh, Song and his fellow linebackers have a wealth of experience. Senior Tim Boardman, Princeton's top returning tackler, joins Song on the inside, while senior co-captain Jon Stem, the Tigers' best linebacker against the pass, moves to the outside this season.

"The nice thing is that they can feed off each other; it's not just one of them that has to have the role of being the man," Dobes said. "We expect [Song] to continue to have a great season against the run, and we'd like to see him get better in passing situations, become a better pass defender."

With his Princeton teammates and coaches already getting used to a more loquacious Song, it looks like receivers around the Ivy League might be hearing from him next.