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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Football Friday: Surace Reviews Camp, Talks New QBs, Def Line, Lafayette
September 18, 2015 | Football
PRESEASON VIDEO PREVIEW SERIES: Defensive Line l Linebackers l Defensive Backs
Offensive Line l Quarterbacks l Offensive Skill l Special Teams/Wrap-Up
MORE LINKS:
OutSports.com Feature On Mason Darrow
TigerCast features DiAndre Atwater and John Hill
Meet The Seniors: Who was your favorite athlete growing up?
Each Friday during the football season, head coach Bob Surace will join GoPrincetonTigers.TV to give an update on the Tigers and look ahead to the upcoming game. This weekly piece will also include the game preview, which will include key links for the upcoming game.
It's been 42 weeks since Princeton last played a football game in the Western Hemisphere. Sure, the win over Kwansei Gakuin University in the 2015 Legacy Bowl was fun, as well as a terrific opportunity for several younger players, but it didn't quite have the feel of an autumn Saturday.Princeton will have waited longer than any team in Division I, including each of its Ivy rivals, to begin its 2015 season when Saturday's 6 pm showdown at Lafayette begins. Assuming you didn't fly to Japan last March, you've waited more than nine months to see your Tigers back on the field.
The wait, finally, ends this weekend.
Football season is here.
| Princeton Tigers (0-0) at Lafayette Leopards (0-2) |
| Game Time/Location | Sept. 19 • 6 pm • Fisher Stadium |
| Game Coverage |
Video: Lafayette Sports Network l WPRB 103.3 FM l Live Stats l @PUTigers_Live |
| All-Time Series | Princeton leads 40-4-3 |
| Last Meeting |
PRINCETON 42, Lafayette 26 (10/12/13) |
| Last At Site | Princeton 35, LAFAYETTE 14 (10/6/12) |
| Last Five Years |
Princeton 3-0 |
| Current Streak |
Princeton 7 |
| Princeton Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| Lafayette Links |
Game Notes l Roster l Schedule l Stats |
| Next Week |
Sept. 26 • 5 pm • Lehigh at Princeton (Community & Staff Day) l Tickets |
And Then There Was One
With every other Ivy League game kicking off by 3 pm Saturday, the final Division I football team to begin its season will be Princeton. There will be a free live stream on GoLeopards.com (a link can be found on GoPrincetonTigers.com), and it can be heard live on WPRB 103.3 FM.
Slow Starts
Princeton has lost its last eight season openers, as well as 13 of its last 16. Last year, Princeton led for only 8:28 in the third quarter of an eventual 39-29 loss at San Diego. The year before, the Tigers led for more than 50 minutes, but Lehigh rallied in the final three minutes for a 29-28 win.
On The Road Again
Princeton has two opening-day road victories over the last 22 seasons, and both came with the same starting quarterback. In 2005, Jeff Terrell '07 made his starting debut and led Princeton to a 23-21 win at Fisher Stadium over Lafayette; one year later, Terrell threw for 205 yards in a 14-10 win at Lehigh. That victory was the first of nine in the 2006 Ivy League championship season.
Prior to those two games, Princeton had not won a road opener since 1992.
Seventh Heaven
That 2005 victory began Princeton's current seven-game win streak over Lafayette. One of those wins was a double-overtime victory in 2010, the first win for Bob Surace as the head coach of his alma mater. The last meeting between the two teams at Fisher Stadium came in 2012, when
Princeton scored the first 29 points of the game en route to a 35-14 victory.
Patriot Games
Over his five seasons as the head coach at Princeton, Bob Surace has a 4-8 record vs. Patriot League teams. Princeton played only one last season, Colgate, and suffered a 31-30 road loss.
Oh What A Night
Saturday's game begins a stretch of three straight night games to open the season. Princeton will host Lehigh (Sept. 26, 5 pm) and Columbia (Oct. 2, 7 pm) before playing seven straight day games. Under Bob Surace, Princeton is 5-4 in night games.
Poll Position
Princeton was picked to finish fourth in the 2015 preseason media poll, which matches where the Tigers finished in the 2014 standings. In the last decade, only three teams picked to finish below third in the preseason poll ended up winning the Ivy League title. Princeton had two of the three (2006, picked sixth; 2013, picked fifth).
Oh Captain, Our Captains
Seniors Matt Arends and Seth DeValve were selected co-captains for the upcoming season. Arends earned a starting job during his freshman season, and he has played both cornerback and safety before being moved to linebacker during the past offseason. DeValve has 89 career receptions for 999 yards, but he played only two games last year due to injury and was granted a fifth season.
American Hero
Seth DeValve earned Preseason Third-Team All-America honors by the Sports Network this year. In his last seven games (the final five of 2013 and his two games of 2014), DeValve averaged 92.7 yards on 8.1 catches per game. He had four touchdowns during that stretch, and he recorded at least 100 receiving yards in each of his last three games.
Yard Marker
Seth DeValve has 999 career receiving yards at Princeton; while he is one positive catch away from the 1000-yard mark, he is 110 away from the all-time Top 15 at Princeton. He also has 89 career catches; he needs 11 more to become the 12th Princeton player with at least 100 career catches.
Ex-perience
Princeton graduated two quarterbacks last season who left their names scattered through the Princeton record book. Either Quinn Epperly or Connor Michelsen started 31 straight games for Princeton, and the Tigers went 18-13 during that stretch, including the 2013 Ivy League championship season. They combined to account for 89 Princeton touchdowns (passing or rushing); the three quarterbacks currently listed on the depth chart have combined for two rushing touchdowns total.
| Epperly/Michelsen | Bostic/Kanoff/Lovett | |
| 1,213 | Attempts | 18 |
| 750 | Completions | 11 |
| 7,784 | Passing Yards | 101 |
| 51 | Passing TDs | 0 |
| 38 | Rushing TDs | 2 |
| 31 | Games Started | 0 |
Writing His Legacy
Junior Chad Kanoff was the starting quarterback for the 2015 Legacy Bowl, when Princeton played the Kwansei Gakuin University Fighters to complete both its international trip to Japan and its 2015 spring practice season. He completed 15 of 20 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns during Princeton's 36-7 victory, and he was named the MVP.
Touch-Down & Out
Exactly two-thirds of Princeton's touchdowns last season (24 of 36) were scored by players who graduated last June. Members of the current roster have combined to score 30 touchdowns in their respective Princeton careers, with Seth DeValve leading the way with six. In comparison, Quinn Epperly rushed for seven touchdowns in the first three games of the 2015 season, and he ran for 38 in his career.
Front Of The Line
Four of the five projected starters on the offensive line have started at least 10 games in their careers. Three of them (RT Mitchell Sweigart, RG Britt Colcolough and LG Jack Woodall) started every game last season, while two (Colcolough and LT Spenser Huston) are former All-Ivy League recipients. The lone new starter on the offensive line is senior Tom Yetter, who will play center.
DiAndre The Giant
Despite playing only six games last season due to injury, current senior DiAndre Atwater led the Tigers with 484 rushing yards, and he led the entire Ivy League with 7.4 yards per carry. In his first game of the last three seasons, he has averaged 94.3 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns.
Shut The Dor-ian
Junior Dorian Williams earned second-team All-Ivy League honors last season after ranking sixth in the Ivy League with 7.6 tackles per game. After playing nickel cornerback as a freshman, Williams is in his second year as the starting free safety. He had three games with at least 12 tackles last season, including one against the Tigers' only Patriot League opponent (Colgate).
Checking Into The Hylton
Junior Rohan Hylton earned All-Ivy League honors last season after ranking seventh in the Ivy League with 7.5 tackles per game. He moves into the starting position held last season by Mike Zeuli, the 2014 Ivy League Co-Defensive Player of the Year. In his game at Colgate last season, Hylton produced a career-best 18 tackles, as well as 1.5 for loss and a sack.
Turn The Paige
Though somewhat overshadowed by the play of fellow linebackers Mike Zeuli and Rohan Hylton last season, RJ Paige ranked fifth on the team with 54 tackles in 2014, including 6.5 for loss. He is moving to inside linebacker this season, and is projected to start next to Hylton, his classmate, Saturday at Lafayette.
On The Move Again
Matt Arends moved into the starting lineup during Week 5 of the 2012 season, and he has been a fixture there ever since. What has changed, however, was where he played in that lineup; after playing six games at cornerback as a freshman, he spent the last two seasons as the strong safety. A terrific run defender, he was moved to the strongside linebacker position in the spring, where he is slated to start this weekend.
End To End
In 2012, Princeton's resurgence from back-to-back 1-9 seasons was led by defensive ends Mike Catapano '13 and Caraun Reid '14, both of whom would be selected in the NFL Draft. While they aren't asked to match that exact production, the defensive coaching staff is excited about the return of its new defensive ends, junior Ty Desiré and sophomore Rob Holuba.
Desiré earned second-team All-Ivy League honors last season after recording 21 tackles, including five for losses. He was the most consistent presence on the line throughout the season, though Holuba may have had the most spectacular finish. He ended his rookie season with 26 tackles, including 6.5 for loss, and he posted an eight-tackle, two-sack finale against Dartmouth.
Backs Are Back
Princeton returns a defensive backfield with significant starting experience. Senior Anthony Gaffney has started every game of his Princeton career, and he is a three-time All-Ivy honoree at the position. Classmate John Hill, the reigning Ivy League 100 meter champion in track, has started every game the last two seasons opposite of Gaffney.
Sophomore Dorian Williams was the starting nickel cornerback as a freshman, and he earned All-Ivy honors last season in his first year as the starting free safety, while Khamal Brown, who started 14 games at cornerback early in his career, has been moved to the strong safety position.
Just For Kicks
Senior placekicker Nolan Bieck is Princeton's lone returning first-team All-Ivy League selection from last season. Bieck was 13 for 14 on the season (his lone miss hit the upright), including 4 for 4 on kicks from 40 or beyond, and he had two 46-yard field goals over the last month of the season. Prior to those, no Princeton kicker had made a field goal of more than 43 yards since 2001.
Coach Speak
Bob Surace, one of two men to win an Ivy title as both a player (1989) and head coach (2013), won only two of his first 22 games at Princeton. He has won 18 of 28 since, including eight in a row during the 2013 championship season. He was a 2013 finalist for the Eddie Robinson Jr. National Head Coach of the Year award.
The Crystal Ball
Princeton will make its home debut Saturday, Sept. 26, against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks during Community and Staff Day at Powers Field. Lehigh has won four straight in the series and 12 of 15 over the last two decades. Their last meeting on Powers Field was a thriller; Princeton raced out to a 22-3 lead over the 22nd-ranked Mountain Hawks, but Lehigh scored 26 points in the final 21 minutes and held off a final Princeton drive in a wild 29-28 comeback win.
A Family Fun-Fest will take place before the game on the Princeton Stadium concourse and Weaver Track beginning at 3:30 p.m. There will be children's activities, music, and food along with special displays from University departments and local community groups. Children ages 5–12 are invited to participate in a free Youth Sports Clinic from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. where they can meet with, and learn from, Princeton's student-athletes. Immediately following the game there will be a fireworks show.
Free football game tickets are available to all faculty and staff. The game begins at 5 p.m.
Faculty and staff can reserve up to eight free tickets now online. In addition, tickets will be available Monday, September 21, through Friday, September 25, at the Office of Community and Regional Affairs, located at 4 Mercer Street (Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.).
Tickets can be ordered on GoPrincetonTigers.com, or by calling 609-258-4TIX (4849).