Princeton football will take to Powers Field on Saturday for its first game in more than 300 days. Against the 2025 opener against San Diego (1–2 overall, 0–0 Pioneer Football League), the team will look to exorcise the demons of their last season — which saw a mere three wins — and earn a tally in the win column with a victory over the Toreros.
Rewriting the script
Princeton’s 2024 opener was nothing to write home about. With their opening match against Lehigh, the Tigers never held a lead and snapped their eight-year opening game win streak. The next week, the Tigers had a strong showing with a home win over Howard, but failed to continue the streak, suffering back-to-back double digit losses.
After this stretch, Head Coach Bob Surace told The Daily Princetonian that the team “did some positive things, running the ball, but need[ed] to finish drives better.” He added that the Tiger defense was doing a good job at forcing turnovers, but the team struggled to put points on the board. This year, the team hopes to put these pieces together to develop a stronger offensive threat.
That said, the offensive leadership still seems to be up in the air.
When the team announced its captains last week, many Princeton football fans were quick to notice that two senior quarterbacks, Blaine Hipa and Kai Colón, were named among the team’s four leaders, leaving the picture of who would receive the first snap on Saturday unclear.
Hipa, who started nine games for the Tigers last year, saw glimmers of success with 1,665 total yards and 10 touchdowns, but suffered from turnovers, accumulating 15 interceptions. Although Colón saw minimal time on the field in 2024, he brings a new athleticism to the tea that may serve as a new threat within the Princeton offense.
Both Hipa and Colón acknowledged the importance of being strong leaders for their team.
“I strive to bring out the best in everyone,” Hipa wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “Regardless of the ‘C’ on my jersey, I will always give my love, passion, and effort to my brothers and to this team.”
“To know that my teammates trust me in this role is one of the greatest honors I’ve ever had,” Colón said. “It’s a responsibility to lead by example, to push myself and others to be better every day, and to represent the values of our team on and off the field.”
The team’s other two captains, senior linebacker Marco Scarano and senior defensive back Nasir Hill, come from the defensive unit. Both boast impressive resumes from 2024, each being named second-team All-Ivy with 68 and 59 tackles, respectively.
“Being a captain means leaving the program better than I found it in some way, shape, or form,” Hill told the ‘Prince.’ “I want to set a foundation for my teammates and future players that come through the Princeton football program.”
“We have a team full of captains and guys who care,” Scarano said. “It’s easy to be a leader with a group like this and I’m excited to show everyone the work we’ve put in together throughout this season.”
Offensive turnover
Although the quarterback position is notably unresolved, it is not the only offensive position that has the potential to see significant changes this year. In fact, much of the Princeton offense will have new players seeing big minutes in the early weeks.
At wide receiver, both Luke Colella ’25 and AJ Barber ’25, who accounted for exactly half of the team’s receiving touchdowns last season, have graduated. Behind the duo, however, the Tigers still maintain now-senior Charley Rossi, who put points on the board last season with two receiving touchdowns against Cornell.
Aside from Rossi, at the receiving and tight end positions, Surace will look to utilize his new upperclassmen and perhaps experiment with his newcomers. Players to look out for include senior Jalen Geer, who had 13 catches last season, and juniors Jack Comeau and Joey Wassler at tight end, who each saw time against Harvard in 2024.
In the running back position, the Tigers remain relatively stable, returning junior Ethan Clark, who had a standout game against Mercer last season — rushing for 117 yards against a ranked Bears team that had until that point limited their opponents to less than 100 total rushing yards per game. With a graduated John Volker ’25 now serving his fifth year at Michigan, Clark will look to lead the Princeton offense on the ground with help from senior running back Dareion Murphy.
Finally, the Tiger offensive line lost two key players in Tommy Matheson ’25 and Will Reed ’25, who each transferred for their fifth year of eligibility to Boston College and Georgia Tech, respectively. While the incoming starters for the line still remain ambiguous, the center position is likely to be taken by the likes of senior Scott Becker or junior Phil Eichelzer. Additional protection should be found by senior Cooper Koers who started each game in 2024 at left tackle.
Defensive front
Plagued by injuries in 2024, the Tigers have sought to rehabilitate a healthy defense for 2025. Aside from captains Scarano and Hill, senior Aaron Richard is a force on the defensive line that started every game last season and recorded 14 tackles. Alongside him, junior Rocco Marcelino moved around the line, tallying 19 tackles. Additionally, returning from injury is junior London Robinson, who averaged nearly 2.7 tackles per game before getting hurt.
The linebacker position will be led by Scarano and honorable mention All-Ivy recipient Chase Christopher. A young talent, sophomore AJ Pigford will look to replicate his successes, starting all 10 games last season and earning 22 tackles and 4.5 sacks. The Tigers will be without senior Tahj Owens, who recorded 65 tackles last year but unfortunately tore his ACL in practice. In the secondary, juniors Torian Roberts and Evan Haynie moved to starting positions by mid-season in 2024 and accounted for three interceptions and five pass-breakups, respectively. The duo should see significant field time this season.
On special teams, junior Esteban Nunez Perez will likely lead the kicking unit for the Tigers, with junior Brady Clark at punter.
With a lot of turnover on both the offensive and defensive fronts, the Tigers are lucky to retain several impactful players at their core. Princeton will attempt to start their season on a positive note against San Diego noon this Saturday at Powers Field.
Lily Pampolina is an associate Sports editor and assistant Audience editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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