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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Experienced Line Should Be Crucial To Success Of 2012 Football Offense
August 31, 2012 | Football
This is part three of a seven-part preview series on the 2012 Princeton football season. Thanks to Andrew Pearson for the video clips, as well as Dan Loney (the voice of Princeton football) and Jay Greenberg (PrincetonFootballTigers.com) for their insights.
Defensive Line l Linebackers l Defensive Backs l Offensive Line l Offensive Skill l Quarterbacks l Overall
With four returning starters from last season, the offensive line has a rare level of experience that Princeton hasn't seen from this position in years. The coaching staff hopes this will carry an offense that should play several underclassmen at the skill positions.
The leader at the position is Kevin Mill, who is hoping for a healthy senior season. After showing his potential in 2009, he missed all of the 2010 season with an injury. He returned last year and played six games before suffering a season-ending injury. Regardless, position coach Eddy Morrissey sees him as a leader both on and off the field, and he should be an anchor at the right tackle position.
When Mill suffered his injury last year, it opened a starting spot for freshman Spenser Huston. He started the final four games of the season, and he will carry both that experience and a strong offseason into a starting role at the left tackle spot. Both have gotten bigger and stronger, and either or both could vie for All-Ivy honors this season.
Junior Max Coale is the experienced returner at guard, and he will likely start on the right side of the line, next to Mill. Coale was part of the rotation throughout the season, but he broke into the starting lineup prior to the Cornell game and held that spot for the final four games. He came in as a defensive lineman, but the coaching staff loved his potential on the other side of the ball, and they think he can be a force this season.
The other guard spot had been held by Matt Allen '12 throughout the first two years of Bob Surace's tenure at Princeton, and junior Taylor Pearson or sophomore Zack Woodall are the two likeliest candidates for the job at this point of camp. Both are big and skilled, but whoever wins the job will likely be the only lineman without any starting experience.
Junior Joe Goss will provide plenty of help next to that starter. Goss returns with 17 games of starting experience at the center position; he took over the spot during the second game of his freshman season and played all but two games, which he missed with injury in 2011. At the center of the line, Goss will be depended on to be a vocal leader for both the line and the quarterback, the latter of which will have no more than one game of experience as a starter.
Depth will be important on the line, and the likes of Tom Yetter, Ryan Peloquin, Michael Major and Max Wardaki will be expected to provide a handful of snaps. Four freshmen (Britt Colcolough, Alex Dixon, Joe Graen and Caleb Slate) have already caught Morrissey's eye, and one or two could find themselves in the mix within a few games.