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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Football Ends First Full Preseason Week Meeting Yale, Media
September 01, 2006 | Football
While most college football teams will kick off their 2006 seasons this weekend, the Princeton football team will be finishing its first full week of preseason - a week that included a scrimmage with Yale and the annual Media Day.
Thursday's scrimmage, played on the new FieldTurf in Princeton Stadium, began with situational drills and moved into a 5-quarter scrimmage with a mostly running clock. Both teams played their ones throughout most of the first half, and each side found the end zone twice. Both teams also held out several starters for precautionary reasons, but Princeton fans were able to see several players who will likely play prominent roles this season. Highlights for Princeton included:
• a first-quarter interception by senior defensive lineman Mike Meehan on Yale's first drive
* on Princeton's first possession following the interception, senior quarterback Jeff Terrell found sophomore wideout Will Thanheiser on a deep post to put Princeton inside the 5-yard-line
• the Tigers completed that drive with a fourth-down plunge by sophomore tailback R.C. Lagomarsino
* junior Bill Foran blocked a punt that was recovered on the Yale 1-yard-line
* sophomore tailback Pete Ploszek scored on the ensuing possession for Princeton's second touchdown
The Princeton coaches were also encouraged by sophomore kicker Conner Louden, who drilled a 42-yard field goal during the situational drills. Louden is a potential replacement for Derek Javarone, the Ivy League all-time leader in field goals.
One day later, the Princeton coaches and players met with the media to discuss the upcoming season. One thing head coach Roger Hughes spoke about was the varying confidence he had at certain positions.
"We have experience in some places and less in others," he said. "For instance, I feel good about our quarterback situation. Jeff Terrell had a good season and improved over the summer, and both Bill Foran and Greg Mroz also got a lot better in the offseason, so we have good depth there."
Hughes also talked about the depth at running back and wide receiver, as well as the inexperience at offensive line. He was pleased with the work being put in by his players, but knows there will be some rough spots along the way.
Defensive coordinator Steve Verbit handled the questions on that side of the ball and praised the work of his defensive linemen during the preseason. He talked about the "strength in numbers" at linebacker position, noting that there isn't a Justin Stull or Abi Fadeyi on the roster, but there are 7-8 players who could see significant time.
"We might not have superstars, but we'll play solid team defense," Verbit said. "We have guys like Tim Strickland, who played great the final five games of last season, and we think we have a very good front line. We'll use a lot of people to try to bring out their strengths, and we will play good defense as a team."
Princeton opens its 2006 season Sept. 16 at Lehigh, a team that opens its season this Saturday and will play twice before serving as Princeton's first opponent.