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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton Football's Changing Of The Guard
February 08, 2000 | Football
Hamin Abdullah will spend his senior football season as the Tigers' center of attention. It's a role he is more than equipped to handle.
Hamin Abdullah was a senior at The Bolles School in Jacksonville when he decided he was coming to Princeton to play football.
Princeton, however, didn't know a thing about the then 240-pound, all-state guard.
"We didn't even know about Hamin until we got pretty far down the line with [current Princeton senior and Bolles classmate] Gerry Giurato," Princeton offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Joe Susan recalls. "We had a change in staff, and I took over that area. And while visiting Gerry, he said, 'Are you guys recruiting Hamin?' I said, 'We don't even know about a guy named Hamin.' He told us that Hamin was real interested in coming. I went by the school, then the house, one thing led to the next, and then he was here."
Princeton is still reaping the rewards as Abdullah, a first-team All-Ivy League selection at guard last season and a second-team selection the year before, prepares for his final season in the Orange and Black. His teammates voted him one of three captains this year. It is a distinction he began earning when he became the first Princeton freshman to start a game on the offensive line, against Bucknell in the fifth game of the 1996 season.
"Obviously in a very short period of time he was able to show us that he was going to be a quality lineman," head coach Steve Tosches says. "He was ahead of other guys in his class, and when the opportunity presented itself that year-injuries, guys not playing well-all of sudden here was a freshman who through practice and a jayvee game or two we saw something. He's been in the lineup ever since."
Abdullah missed two starts last season due to an ankle injury, but he still will have the opportunity to close his collegiate career with 34 starts, more than any other lineman in Princeton history.
But before he leaves, Abdullah could become the first guard since Greg Bauman '79 in 1978 to earn back-to-back first-team All-Ivy honors. It may surprise Princeton fans, then, to see No. 57 not at his familiar left guard position but lined up at center in the September 18th opener against Cornell.
And while nobody doubts that Abdullah is talented enough to make the switch, it means that the 6-3, now 275-pounder will be replacing another senior, Bernie Marczyk, who started the last 24 games. The move could test more than Abdullah's skill. It could test their friendship and, as the chemical engineering major knows all about, disrupt the veteran line's chemistry.
"We have always been close since freshman year," says Abdullah. "I would say I'm closer to him than anyone else on the team. I always roomed with him on the road. That made it a lot more difficult. Halfway through spring practice they said they wanted to try something different. I didn't know how to approach it. But they think that might be the thing to put us over the edge. I only had the last six practices, and I actually gained a lot of respect for Bernie. I used to give him a lot of flak for bad snaps, but it's not easy.
"I had to focus less on being physical right away. The defense looks completely different lining up just two feet over. There is a lot of timing I have to work on. I had some difficulty with the shotgun snap. But I feel like if this move is good for the team, I want to do it. The bottom line is we hope to win. I just wish I didn't have to switch so late, but I guess it will improve my chances later."
After graduation Abdullah wants a shot at the National Football League, where he might be better suited to play center anyway. He benches 405 pounds, can squat 630 pounds and recently hang cleaned 330 pounds thanks to diligent lifting that continued this summer when he stayed on campus to manage Tiger Rental Student Agency. He embraced a program from new strength coach Matt Fleming that involves just 45 minutes of intense lifting and another hour and 15 minutes of running. It has Abdullah feeling stronger and quicker than in any other season.
"It's actually pretty interesting," Abdullah says. "Freshman year it was considered the weakest part of the team. Sophomore year it was considered OK. And junior year it was considered a strength. Now we're considered deep, and we're considered the leaders of the team. As we go, the team will go. Playing the center position puts me in the supposed leader position of the main point of the team, and I'm ready for that, I think."
In addition to changing positions on the field, Abdullah will increase his leadership role as a team captain, which could be as big a challenge as any to the normally reserved 21-year-old. But Abdullah is a proven leader on and off the field. This academic year he will serve as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, an organization that promotes school spirit, addresses campus problems and improves community ties, and he will also remain active with the National Society of Black Engineers.
"I would say I'm more a leader by example," he says. "Now, being a captain, everyone's looking to you, and you have to show them the things that will win games and tell them. It's something I'm excited about, even though I'm quiet by nature."
Abdullah is almost too quiet about injuries, Susan says. Abdullah only sat out last season's Harvard and Columbia games because he physically couldn't walk. Then he played the last three games on a weak and painful ankle. Sophomore season he admits he could barely get in his stance because of recurring tendinitis in his knees, but he refused to tell anyone.
"He's not a sprinter," Susan says. "He looks real ugly running. But he's as good as there is at drive blocking in a five-yard area. Hamin so wants the offense to succeed and our ability to be a good football team will be related to scoring when we have to score. A lot comes down to the offensive line."
Abdullah agrees. "It all comes down to how we do. I came here and thought we were going to be near the top of the league. That hasn't really happened and it's been disappointing. Now it's my last year, and I'll do whatever we need to win."
by Justin Feil