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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Tim Boardman
September 19, 2007 | Football
In 2004, Zak Keasey led Princeton with an eye-popping 127 tackles. He went on to play the next two seasons in the NFL, including a year at fullback last season with the San Francisco.
In 2005, Justin Stull led Princeton with 86 tackles to complete his third straight All-Ivy season. Several months later, he was dressed in burgundy and gold, competing for a linebacker position at the Washington Redskins mini-camp.
Last season, Tim Boardman led Princeton in tackles. He had 52. He already has an employment offer in New York next year, but it won't be with either the Giants or the Jets.
Prior to the magical 2006 Princeton football season, media members and fans alike wondered who would replace the likes of Keasey, Stull and Abi Fadeyi? Who would dominate opposing running games and become one of the most feared defenders in the Ivy League? Who would help lead this rising program to an Ivy League title.
The answers, in order, were nobody, nobody and Tim Boardman.
“We knew going into the season that we had lost some great players,” linebackers coach Don Dobes said during preseason camp. “We knew our team would have to be a no-name defense in personality. We would have to bring energy and be in terrific shape. We had to have guys who could run for four full quarters.”
Boardman was just one of several players who fit the mold. The likes of Brig Walker, Doori Song, Jon Stem and 2006 co-captain Luke Steckel didn't inspire much fear around the league. In fact, they were a major reason that Princeton was picked to finish sixth in the league, despite having won eight of its last 11 games heading into the year.
“We took it as a challenge last year,” Boardman said. “We believed we were good and knew we could step up. People talked about replacing the guys before us. We didn't want to replace anybody. We wanted to set our own era.”
It's an era that won't be defined by personal statistics. Boardman's 52 tackles were 30th in the Ivy League. Columbia had six players alone with more tackles. Dartmouth had five. Most teams had at least four.
Of course, none of those players ahead of him ended the season getting sized for an Ivy League championship ring.
“Tim has developed into a leader on the defense,” head coach Roger Hughes said. “He came in as a linebacker, moved to nose guard because we needed him that year, and he moved back to linebacker. He has done a great job for us.”
The coaches point to his tenacity and work ethic as reasons he has been so successful on the field. But don't let any statistics mislead you. Boardman can play, and when he hits you, you feel it.
His athletic career, like most others, began in the youth leagues. He always loved football and dreamed of playing at the top collegiate level. It sounds like the typical story of a kid from Alabama or Texas or Ohio.
Boardman grew up in Staten Island, which has never been confused as a hotbed for college football. But he loved football, and he always had a goal to work for. When he was in Pop Warner, he thought about high school. While a player at Poly Prep in Brooklyn, where he earned team MVP honors and was selected to the All-Metro squad, he kept his focus on the college game.
Princeton doesn't have more than a couple players from New York on its roster, so the Staten Island standout had to get the ball rolling. In this case, a ball-playing Boardman made the first move to Princeton, although it was neither Tim Boardman nor football in this case.
Russell Boardman is Tim's older brother, and he came to head baseball coach Scott Bradley's camp during the summer of 2001. When the family was in town, Tim walked the campus and checked out the facilities. His parents pushed for a strong academic school, and Tim was a top student who thrived on challenges. He signed up for the football camp next summer, and once he had met the staff, he was convinced.
“I only sent in one college application,” Boardman said. “Life was easy for my guidance counselor. I trusted what the coaches were telling me, and everything they said came true.”
When Boardman arrived on campus, the aforementioned Keasey, Stull and Fadeyi were all established linebackers in Orange and Black. The coaches saw potential in Boardman, but they also knew he wouldn't fit into the linebacker rotation for two more years. Hoping to get him on the field, they asked him to put on weight and work his way into the defensive line rotation.
The prospect of playing time as a freshman was exciting, and Boardman took on the challenge. He worked his way up to 240 pounds and became a reserve nose guard behind Pete Kelly. He didn't set the world on fire, but he impressed enough people to earn the Harland “Pink” Baker '22 Award as the team's top defensive freshman.
His reward for such an accomplishment? A quick diet and a year on the bench.
“It was the night of the awards dinner when [defensive coordinator Steve] Verbit asked me what I thought about moving to linebacker,” he said. “I thought he was kidding at first, but he wasn't. The next year, I had to relearn the position while watching Stull, Fadeyi and those guys. It was a humbling experience.”
Still, it was a change that the coaches knew was necessary. Not only was there going to be a need for linebackers soon, but the freshman class that season was loaded with linemen. Three of them ? Pete Buchignani, Tom Methvin and Matt Koch ? started every game last season and could potentially start every one this year.
“We loved his explosiveness on the field,” Dobes said. “We loved his quickness, and we knew he had the type of personality you love having on the field. He plays the game with joy and passion. He also had the size to make the move once he got down from his defensive lineman weight.”
Boardman had a choice to make that sophomore season. He could bemoan the fact that the team's top defensive freshman last season was being underused, or he could take the time to learn the position. He worked hard in the weight room and the film room, and he studied with Stull and Rob Holuba, both of whom played in the middle of the 3-4 defense during the 2005 season.
“I knew that season that I needed to become a smarter player,” Boardman said. “I watched the things that our starters did right, and I tried to learn from it. I saw what they did wrong and tried to learn from that also. I knew I could reach my physical potential, but I had to also become a student of the game.”
The self-proclaimed team defense was 3-0 when the student began to turn heads. It was in Hamilton, N.Y., when Boardman led a defensive charge against Patriot League power Colgate. He made 12 tackles in the game, including two solo stops, and had two tackles for loss. The game went to a dramatic overtime session, and a final tackle by both Methvin and John Callahan completed a 27-26 win.
The defense would shine next week on ESPNU. It kept Brown out of the end zone for the first time in more than 100 games in a 17-3 victory. Princeton moved to 6-0 a week later by knocking off preseason Ivy League favorite Harvard.
The first taste of adversity came one week later, when Princeton fell 14-7 at Cornell. Boardman did everything in his power to keep the game close, making a season-best 15 tackles. He was growing into a reliable run-stopper, and Princeton was growing into a reliable defense.
Then came three really ugly quarters.
Ahead 24-10 in the fourth quarter against Penn, Princeton gave up two late touchdowns to allow an overtime session. One week later, Princeton gave up 28 first-half points at Yale and entered intermission with a 14-point deficit. If there was ever a time to push the panic button, this was it. But instead of being overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation, the student remembered everything it takes to be successful.
“I think we were so caught up in the hype, we didn't pay attention to the details,” Boardman said of that memorable November afternoon. “We knew what needed to be done. We couldn't forget our assignment or miss our gap. We were not going to lose that game.
“I get chills right now just thinking about it.”
Busloads of Princeton fans at the Yale Bowl and thousands of students, alums and fans were the ones who got goosebumps that day. Yale, which gained 355 offensive yards in the first half, managed just 59 yards and three points in the second half. After Jeff Terrell connected with Brian Brigham on the 57-yard, go-ahead touchdown, the defense was fired up enough to keep the Indianapolis Colts out of the end zone.
“Nobody pointed fingers in the locker room,” Boardman said. “We fed off each other. We pulled it together as a complete team.”
One week later, Princeton defeated Dartmouth 27-17 to win the 2006 Ivy League title and complete the program's best season in more than 40 years. The unknown Boardman ? one of the major reasons people thought Princeton couldn't compete for a championship ? became the leading tackler for one of the program's most historic teams.
“Just seeing the looks on faces of alums at Reunions was special,” he said. “They searched me out. It was crazy. When I have kids, it will be nice to show them what we did.”
But that's for the future. Boardman is greedy now. He wants to end his career with another Ivy championship. He and Song are now established run stoppers in the league, but Boardman has continued his development by focusing on pass defense.
“He is the kind of kid that, the more I stress him, the more he grows,” Dobes said. “He loves to be challenged. He has that nasty toughness that you get from a Staten Island kid. He comes from a tough area, and he knows what the real world is like. He brings that toughness every game.”
Boardman won't be seen on the back of an NFL jersey next year, and he's fine with that. There has always been a future football goal, but the 2007 season is about the present. It's about not replacing heroes of the past, but being a better player than the championship one of last year.
And next season, people will wonder who will replace Tim Boardman.