.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Tom Methvin Claims Football's Third Defensive Player Of The Week Honor
October 16, 2006 | Football
For the third time in five weeks, the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week wore Orange and Black. For the first time, though, it wasn't a defensive back. After Tim Strickland and J.J. Artis claimed consecutive honors to open the season, sophomore defensive lineman Tom Methvin claimed the honor for Week 5 of the Ivy League season after leading the Princeton defense to a dominant performance against Brown. His six-tackle, three-sack, three-pass breakup performance against the explosive Brown offense was the highlight of a 17-3 win for the Tigers.
The Princeton football team, ranked No. 21 in the latest CSN Coaches' Poll and No. 22 in the latest Sports Network media poll, is currently 5-0, 2-0 in the Ivy League. The Tigers will welcome No. 15 Harvard (5-0, 2-0) to Princeton Stadium this weekend, with the winner assured a share of first place in the league at the end of the weekend.
The Tiger defense has played a major role in Princeton's fast start. The Tigers lead the Ivy League in total defense (250.4 yards per game), pass defense (161.2 yards per game) and scoring defense (11.8 points per game), and they rank second in rushing defense (89.2 yards per game). Methvin has been a big part of the success, and defensive coordinator Steve Verbit sees an even brighter future for his sophomore lineman.
"Tom Methvin has improved consistently during the first five weeks of the season," Verbit said. "As he continues to gain more experience, the game will start to slow down a bit for Tom, which will allow him to even better use the physical tools that he possesses."
The entire Princeton defense will need to be at its best on Saturday when the explosive Crimson come in for another nationally televised game (12:05 kickoff, YES Network, DirecTV channel 622). Harvard ranks at or near the top of all major team offensive categories in the Ivy League, including its top-ranked scoring offense (32.2 points per game). Leading the way for the Crimson is Payton Award candidate Clifton Dawson, the senior running back who averages 195.7 rushing yards and 2.7 touchdowns per game against Princeton in his career.
GoPrincetonTigers.com will be your premier source for pregame information heading into Saturday's showdown between two of the sport's most historic program. The weekly notes packet will be available tomorrow, and later in the week there will be a look back at the famous 1922 showdown between Princeton's "Team of Destiny" and the also-undefeated Crimson; that was the last time both teams were undefeated (minimum of five games) heading into their annual clash.