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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
First-Teamers Boardman, Coyle Lead Six Football All-Ivy Honorees
November 19, 2007 | Football
Tim Boardman led Princeton in tackles for a second straight season. Ryan Coyle led the Ivy League in punting in his first season as a starter. Both earned first-team All-Ivy honors, it was announced Monday by the league office. They were among six Princeton players named to the All-Ivy team, as Rob Toresco secured second-team honors and Pete Buchignani, Brendon Circle and Matt Koch all received All-Ivy honorable mention.
"I'm very pleased and excited for Ryan and Tim, and I feel that both deserved first-team honors," head coach Roger Hughes said. "Ryan led the league in punting and did a great job stepping in for a four-time all-league punter. He continues our legacy of All-Ivy punters and had a great year in his first season as a starter. Tim has a strong work ethic and brought great energy to our defense. He changed positions twice in his time here and deserves this honor for both the player he was and his leadership to our team."
Boardman ranked sixth in the Ivy League with 8.4 tackles per game. He recorded 4.5 tackles for loss and added a pass breakup as one of the premier run stoppers in the league. He had double-digit tackle performances in two Ivy League games, including a 12-stop effort at Penn. He led Princeton in tackles for a second straight season, although he had 32 more stops in 2007 than he did last season.
Coyle, a former Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week, averaged 43.1 yards per punt in 10 games and 43.2 yards per punt in Ivy League games. He averaged more than 46 yards per punt in four of seven Ivy League games, including an impressive 47.0-yard average in seven punts at Harvard. He had a long punt of 69 yards in the 20-14 win at Lafayette and pinned the opposing team inside the 20-yard-line 13 times.
Toresco, who became the eighth Princeton player and only the second running back to catch 100 passes in his career, led Princeton with 41 receptions this season. He averaged 38.8 receiving yards and 34.6 rushing yards per game while redefining the fullback position for the Tigers. He scored 14 touchdowns in his career, including the Ivy-clinching score in the 2006 finale, and he ran for a touchdown in his final game, Saturday's 17-14 overtime win against Dartmouth.
Circle, who suffered an injury that limited him in the final three games, caught 27 passes for 47.5 yards per game in his final season. A 2006 first-team All-Ivy selection, he showed his talents when he was healthy. He caught eight passes for 140 yards in the win over Cornell and added a 39-yard touchdown pass at Brown. His late third-down conversion helped Princeton defeat a ranked Lafayette squad early in the season, and he even ran a fake field goal 22 yards for a touchdown against Cornell.
Buchignani was a 2006 All-Ivy honorable mention recipient as well. The junior defensive lineman recorded 34 tackles, including 12 solo stops, and added three tackles for loss and a sack. He also had a fumble recovery and a quarterback hurry on the season.
Koch led all defensive linemen with 37 tackles, including 12 solo stops, and 3.5 tackles for loss. The nose guard also recorded two fumble recoveries, two pass breakups, one interception, one forced fumble and one quarterback hurry on the season.