Football: Sidelined Tigers return for ’09 season

There are many interesting stories surrounding the 2009 Princeton football season. Will the Class of 2010 return the Tigers to the glory of 2006? How will the quarterback situation pan out? How will senior running back Jordan Culbreath perform coming off one of the greatest seasons ever posted by a Princeton running back?

But one of the most intriguing developments to watch will be the progress of the handful of key players who will be returning from injury and could be poised to make significant contributions to the team. On the defensive side of the ball, senior outside linebacker John Callahan returns from an ACL injury to bolster a pass rush that led the Ivy League in sacks last season. And on the offensive side, junior wide receiver Jeb Heavenrich and junior fullback Kenny Gunter will help bolster the offense.

Callahan was a heavily recruited linebacker out of Highland Park High School in Dallas. After seeing only minor action his first year, Callahan burst into the starting lineup and put up big numbers in 2007. He finished with 60 tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss, four sacks, three forced fumbles, and three broken-up passes, and his sack total was good for third in the Ivy League. Perhaps his biggest play last season came when he caused a fumble in overtime in the final game of the season at Dartmouth. The Tigers recovered the fumble, then drove deep into Big Green territory before kicking a game-winning field goal.

It wasn’t the first time Callahan had stepped up to the plate with the game on the line. In 2006, he teamed with defensive end Tom Methvin ’09 on a game-saving tackle on a two-point conversion in overtime at Colgate.

Callahan received first-team all-state honors in what is perhaps the state with the strongest high school football.

Heavenrich is also poised to step in and contribute right off the bat. After being away last fall, he returned in the spring and transitioned smoothly back into the team. He will start this Saturday against The Citadel at the “X” receiver position opposite fellow junior Trey Peacock. Additionally, he will return kickoffs alongside junior tailback Meko McCray.

“Any time you have Jeb Heavenrich, he’s a big playmaker both in the return game and as a receiver,” head coach Roger Hughes said. “It’s good to have him back.”

Finally, Gunter returns after being away last fall. Like Heavenrich, Gunter returned in time for the spring and should contribute out of the backfield from both the fullback and tailback positions. Formerly a high school quarterback, Gunter parlayed his chiseled physique into a male-modeling job in the year he took off.

“Kenny is a little bit unknown — he just found his own as a sophomore and then had to miss last year,” Hughes said. “[He and Heavenrich] have been a little bit hampered with nagging pulls of [hamstrings], and they’re just both coming back. Clearly, both are very good athletes.”

Gunter was originally converted to tailback because of his good speed and great size. Currently, the six-foot, two-inch, 220-pounder is listed at fullback.

The contributions of these three players will be paramount to the team’s success this season. Callahan will be called upon to steady a pass rush that lost both of its starting outside linebackers. Heavenrich will play two positions, and he brings another experienced player to a position that will not see many seniors used. Gunter will help take the load off Culbreath and junior fullback Matt Zimmerman, the players who saw most of the reps at their position last season.

“With Kenny around last year, we could have taken some of those carries away from Jordan,” Hughes said. “Now that might be crazy to say, ‘Take the ball out of Jordan’s hands,’ but I thought that he wore down as the season went on — most notably the Penn game, where he got a little bit nicked up, and it started to take its toll.”