Veteran rushers will carry early load

Facing fourth and goal at the one-yard line in double overtime against Penn last year, quarterback Jeff Terrell '07 handed the ball to then-junior running back Rob Toresco. Met by a blockade of Quaker defenders at the goal line, Toresco pitched the ball back to Terrell, who ran in for what would prove to be the game-winning score.

This flash of offensive creativity, which earned the title of "Top Play" on ESPN's "SportsCenter," was just one page of the epic story that resulted in Princeton's 2006 Ivy League Championship.

Plays like Toresco's toss were not written up beforehand, though — they were spur-of-the-moment improvisations, and this year, the creativity factor may take up a few more pages in Princeton's offensive playbook.

The inventiveness begins with Terrell's projected replacement at quarterback, senior Bill Foran. A speedy and versatile athlete, Foran has been a sprinter on the University track team for the past three years. Head coach Roger Hughes sees Foran as a player who can change the look of the Tigers' offense this season.

"He is an athlete becoming a quarterback," Hughes said. "Our offense allows for a lot of creativity that way."

Foran's athletic ability creates a threat that opposing defenses must address. Last season — while subbing in for Terrell or coming out of the backfield — Foran used his speed to gain significant yardage in the open field, averaging 8.4 yards per carry on 14 rushing attempts.

While Foran is a unique weapon, he is not Terrell — whose golden arm earned him a preseason stint with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.

"With Jeff, we were a big three-step-drop team, and we went no-huddle and ran two-minute things," Hughes said. "Jeff was a good runner and a great thrower. Bill is a great runner and a decent thrower."

Though his running resume might outshine his passing prowess, Foran has already shown that he is capable of leading the offense for a few snaps. In last season's 31-28 win over Harvard, Foran replaced an injured Terrell for one drive, staking the Tigers to a touchdown and a 24-14 lead at halftime.

While monitoring Foran's progress in the pocket, the coaches will tweak their playbook to continue utilizing Foran's speed on the perimeter. Hughes has even entertained the possibility of lining up two or three quarterbacks simultaneously, with Foran serving as a running option next to some combination of junior Brian Anderson and senior Greg Mroz.

Of course, any of those signal-callers will need a set of solid blockers. As it did at the beginning of last season, Princeton has a small, young offensive line.

While, offensive coordinator Dave Rackovan acknowledged his linemen's inexperience, he thinks the offense has coped with this situation before.

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"We were very young last year," Rackovan said. "Generally, in this league, you aren't playing on the offensive line until you are a junior. We survived last year because [Terrell] got rid of the ball and these guys just fought."

Hughes acknowledges that this season's less-experienced quarterbacks will need to be given more time than Terrell in order to make their reads. For this reason, what little experience Princeton does have on the offensive line will be crucial. Before the beginning of last season, senior Brendon Swisher was moved from tight end to left tackle to fill a much-needed hole. He enters this season as a relative veteran.

Sophomore right tackle Mark Paski, meanwhile, is the only offensive lineman in Princeton history to have started every game of his freshman season. With one year of experience under his belt, Paski is expected to only get better.

Much of the offensive line's success is inextricably linked with the performance of Foran, who can be expected to mature more quickly as a quarterback if the line can buy him time to go through his progressions.

As Foran finds his comfort zone, Princeton will rely more heavily on a pair of tested weapons in the backfield, Toresco and junior running back R.C. Lagomarsino. Both players can be used as tailbacks and as fullbacks.

With Lagomarsino often carrying the load early in games and Toresco taking over late to bury weary opponents, the Tiger duo combined to put up some impressive numbers. Toresco reached the end zone five times, and Lagomarsino gained 451 rushing yards in his breakout season.

The receiving corps that will surround Foran with this season is less proven. With the graduation of Brian Brigham '07 and Brian Shields '07, the overall success of the passing game rests as heavily on the shoulders of senior Brendan Circle as it does on Foran's. The Tigers' sole returning first-team All-Ivy selection, Circle enters this season as a co-captain, looking to help turn juniors Adam Berry and Will Thanheiser into potent components of the passing game.

Hughes and his staff also expects big things from senior tight end Jake Staser, now fully recovered from a shoulder injury.

"Not to jinx him," Hughes said, "but he could be every bit as good as [former Tiger tight end and current Pittsburgh Steeler] Jon Dekker ['06]."

With an offense that could be in flux well into the Ivy schedule as it searches for its identity, Hughes can't be blamed for craving a trustworthy old face.