Football: Cody vital for defense

What can help the newly minted 2010 football team turn over a new leaf? Turnovers.

As senior tri-captain and inside linebacker Steven Cody pointed out, the new coaching staff has brought a fresh look to the defense, and one key aspect of this new system involves forcing more fumbles and making more interceptions than in recent years.

“I think that’s the biggest advantage of the new scheme: that it puts us in a position to get more turnovers,” Cody said.

But that’s not the only difference-maker for the defensive unit this year: Greater speed and physicality became the hallmark of preseason camp. Sophomore defensive lineman Caraun Reid may have only just finished his second preseason with the Tigers, but he can certainly tell the difference between this fall and last fall.

“We’ve definitely been moving the ball faster, hitting harder than we have before. From what I’ve seen — and what I’ve felt in some cases — we’re more physical than before,” Reid said.

“I really feel that our coaches have come into this camp saying that we’re never going to have a 4-6 season again,” Reid added. “They’re pumping up the defensive players to play better than last year.” Princeton has churned out 4-6 seasons for the past three years.

With head coach Bob Surace ’90 at the helm of the program, there are fresh faces across the board on the coaching staff. New defensive coordinator Jared Backus spent three seasons as linebackers coach at Temple, where he helped the formerly downtrodden Owls reach the EagleBank Bowl — their first bowl game since 1979.

Cody said Backus brings a high energy level to practice.

“All the guys love him, he basically won’t allow you to sleep — he’s always screaming at you. He’s hilarious though. He can be yelling at you, but at the same time, he’s still funny,” Cody said.

The defensive line is shaping up to be a great asset to the team this season. Senior Matt Boyer will be the most experienced lineman: He posted 40 tackles last year, more than doubling his total from 2008, and was especially dominant in the last half of the season, recording a pass breakup or quarterback hurry in five of the last six games.

Although Boyer may be the only senior starting on the defensive line, he will be joined by an experienced — and rapidly maturing — duo in Reid and junior defensive end Mike Catapano.

The linebacking corps is strong as well, boasting a second-time All-Ivy honoree in Cody. Ranked fifth nationally and first in the Ivy League last season, Cody recorded 11.6 tackles per game. When the Tigers go up against Lehigh this Saturday, they will be reminded of one of last season’s biggest plays, when Cody returned an interception 77 yards into the Mountain Hawks’ end zone. It was the first defensive touchdown for the Tigers in four years.

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“He’s a tremendous player, and he’s done huge things for us this season,” Boyer said of Cody.

The defensive backfield suffered the biggest loss to graduation last year and will feature three new starters. However, there is reason to be optimistic: Junior Matt Wakulchik finished third on the team with 60 tackles last season after moving from cornerback to safety, despite missing the game against Cornell and sharing time with co-captain Wilson Cates ’10. Senior Glenn Wakam will be returning as a starting cornerback. And, in an unorthodox twist, sophomore Mandela Sheaffer will move from wide receiver to the defensive backfield.

“Our defensive backs are the most inexperienced position, but that doesn’t make it the weakest,” Cody said. “Once they get some snaps under their belt, I think they’re going to be fine.”

This summer, about 70 players stayed on campus to work on conditioning.

“We worked out with our strength coach at 6:30 in the morning Monday through Friday,” Cody said. “Twice a week we had seven-on-seven drills, where we had all the defensive players and the offensive skill players and they’d run routes against us for about an hour.”

This kind of dedication in the offseason might seem astonishing, but according to Cody, it’s par for the course for division I-AA teams.

“We’ve done that with Coach Hughes,” Cody said, referring to Roger Hughes, who was fired last year after 10 seasons as head coach. “A lot of Division I teams do that. I don’t think that really separates us, but it gives us a good chance to win,” Cody said.

What does separate Princeton from the pack this year, according to Boyer, is an attitude adjustment.

“The biggest difference [between this year and last year] is that we have a new attitude, a tougher attitude,” Boyer said.