Wisdom: A Story On Princeton's Secondary And How Experience Shapes It

Experience.

You look at the Princeton secondary and see almost every player is at least a junior. Most of them made serious contributions on the 2018 10-0 Ivy League Champion squad.

They've been around the block.

Last Saturday's contest against Harvard would even throw the most veteran group off its game.

"We have a lot of guys who have been in these moments before," said senior captain Trevor Forbes. "Even through the early part of this season, we were humbled by Brown, put through the mud with Monmouth, had two shutouts, we've been through it all this year. All of the experiences from this season and the past came together to help us stick it out through the Harvard win."

Forbes knocked away the Crimson two-point try in the fifth overtime, helping Princeton keep its perfect record intact and preserving its spot at the top of the Ivy League standings.

"When you have a bunch of guys who know what it takes and have seen what 10-0 looks like and seen what it's like to come up short, all of it comes together to make us successful," said Forbes.

Princeton's defense sits among the best in the NCAA FCS, allowing just 250.3 yards (fourth), 15.5 points (ninth), 4.0 sacks (fourth) and 8.2 tackles for loss (sixth) per contest. All three units on the defense (defensive line, linebackers, secondary) have stood out.

"It goes hand and hand," said Princeton secondary coach and co-defensive coordinator E.J. Henderson. "You look statistically, and our defensive front has done a great job getting to the quarterback. The linebackers are doing a great job of running to the football. We're not letting a lot of passes go over our heads so that means either the quarterback doesn't have time, or no one is getting open."

"It's a lot of guys, Delan [Stallworth] has always been an outstanding corner for us, there's Christian [Brown] who's been a starter," said Forbes. "We have so much depth with Sultaan [Shabazz], who led the team in interceptions in 2019 and Matthew [Winston], who's been a stout rotation guy. There's not a lot of drop off when one of our guys goes down. When I see a starter go out, there's not a doubt in my mind that someone will step in and understand the standard we have."

"The standard is always doing things the right way on and off the field," said Henderson. "If a guy wants to play, he's going to do all the things he needs to do from learning his playbook, lifting weights, meeting coaches, and when the younger guys see that, and they realize that they need to do all of these things to play."

Next to Forbes in the secondary is usually junior Michael Ruttlen Jr., who started as a corner but moved to safety. "Safety is a hard position because you have to make all the calls and make sure people know where to go," said Forbes. "Being able to step into that role on a short notice, that transition has been very smooth for him."

"He's blossomed and been in the mix with all of these seniors," said Henderson about Ruttlen. "It's the first time he's starting in a new position and he's doing very well. You talk about some of these young guys coming through the ranks and seeing how the older guys practice and carry themselves, these guys are doing the same thing. It's hard to getting playing time when you have so many seniors."

There were 17 players who took a gap year when it was announced that the 2020 season would be cancelled to due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The year off allowed Forbes to develop professionally, athletically, mentally, and physically. He was able to work remotely for OnPrem, a technology consulting firm that strategizes, advises, designs, develops, and integrates innovative solutions. Forbes stayed in Dallas and Nashville with a few teammates. One of the founders of OnPrem is Frank Leal '90, himself a former Princeton defensive back and member of the 1989 Ivy League championship team, where he was a teammate of current head coach Bob Surace.

"It's a brotherhood," said Forbes about the bond among the team, alumni, and recruits. "It's a real family feel here with your positional groups, your unit, and your team. When you're brought together with football, it becomes more than that and you fight harder on the field."

When the entire team got back to campus for the 2021 training camp session, Forbes was named one of six captains with Cole Smith, Nikola Ivanisevic, Collin Eaddy, James Johnson, and Jeremiah Tyler.

"I was grateful, and it was humbling to be named captain," said Forbes. "We have a lot of great leaders, upperclassmen, and seniors. It could have been 10 captains, or I could have very easily not been one of the six chosen. I would have been perfectly fine with that. That's how great our leadership is."

Not much changed with Forbes after the honor. Everyone on the team has the same goal. So, what does he preach as one of the senior leaders on the team?

Perseverance.

"It can be really hard as a young guy. Everyone comes in as the top guy on their high school team, and you come here and you're at the bottom of the totem pole and specifically with this year and the super senior class that came back," said Forbes. "There are a lot of guys to sit behind and it can be discouraging. I encourage everyone to persevere through it. Everyone is important. Your value and what you bring to table, whatever your role is very important for all 120 guys on this roster. You got to push through it and see it through. Everything we do is for a reason, and it will pay out in the end."

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