Splash Plays And Everything In Between: A Story On Princeton's Wide Receivers

Andrei Iosivas is wide open as Cole Smith throws a perfect pass to the five-yard line that Iosivas catches and walks into the end zone.

Dylan Classi runs to him, they shake hands, dab and stick one leg out as the rest of the offense joins them.

This has already happened quite often in the first two weeks of the season.

Iosivas, Classi and Jacob Birmelin have combined for all of Cole Smith's six passing touchdowns.They all provide different skill sets for the Tigers.

Iosivas is the home run threat, averaging 31.6 yards per catch.

Classi is the sure-handed receiver who never seems to drop anything.

Birmelin is the do-everything guy. He has four splash plays (plays over 20 yards) and leads the team in receptions and yards. He's also an All-Ivy punt returner.

The celebrations, most originating from Tik Tok, are fun, but it's not all fun and games to get to the point where you're part of an offense that is averaging 47.5 points and 486.5 yards per contest.

It takes hard work to get there.

"When the three best players in the room are the three hardest workers, it's real blast to be around," said Princeton wide receivers coach Brian Flinn.

Flinn, who has coached many all-conference wide receivers while at Villanova and Princeton, set the bar high heading into the season. "Expectations were high because I knew the group we had coming back," said Flinn "I'm pretty fortunate. To have three starters back is huge."

Princeton has shown an explosive offense so far in the first two contests of the year. The Tigers have had 13 splash plays with nine coming from the wide receiver trio.

For a team that went 665 days between games, that's been impressive.

"It comes down to Coach [Mike] Willis and the rest of the offensive staff putting together good game plans that we can trust and execute at high level," said Birmelin about the big-play offense. "We've also had really high quarterback play. Cole [Smith] has stepped into the shoes of a [Chad] Kanoff, [John] Lovett and [Kevin] Davidson and filled them perfectly."

"It starts in practice," said Classi. "Doing well in practice instils confidence in you to do it in a game so we treat every practice like it's a game day.

"It's a trust between the coaches and players that we'll execute and make plays," said Iosivas.

This didn't all just come together in summer practice before the season. It's been a process that was thrown for a loop with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The players found their own unique ways to get better in 2020.

"I had the pleasure of living with John Tracy, Delan Stallworth, Trevor Forbes and Jeremiah Tyler," said Birmelin, who took a gap year. "Every time we hit the field,it was extreme competitiveness. I was going against All-Ivy guys. Working with them each day, it gave me the confidence that I was doing the right things. Iron sharpens Iron and we made each other better."

"It was a little weird at first," said Classi, who was living with teammates off campus. "Being here now though, you're reminded of why you make the sacrifices, and it makes you appreciate it more being around teammates and your best friends."

Iosivas' 2020 was different than most. He was back home in Hawaii, not near teammates to train. He was essentially on his own.

"It was helpful," said the Princeton dual-sportathlete, who was named the 2020 Ivy League Most Outstanding Field Performer at the Heptagonal championships. "From football into track, I don't have a lot of time to do strength training and work on my body. I really took the time off with the gap year to lift and work on my football skill and foot work."

Their hard work has not gone unnoticed.

"Playing the position is about generating separation from the guy covering you and Jake is the best at that," said Flinn. "He also practices every day like it's the AFC Championship Game. We have to yell at him to slow down because he's diving for balls in practice and running through the walk-through."

"Dylan does everything well," said Flinn. "He wins the 1v1, creates explosive plays, is the best blocker in the room and carries himself with toughness and professionalism."

"You appreciate the progress that Andrei has made from 2019 when he was already a good player for us," said Flinn. He's hit some home runs for us this year, but he's a better blocker and runs great routes that help get other guys open."

Great wide receiver play at Princeton has almost become the norm. In 2016, Seth DeValve became the highest drafted player in program history when he was selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns. Stephen Carlson and Jesper Horsted followed. Those two went undrafted but caught their first career NFL touchdowns in 2019.

"When I got here, Jesper and Stephen were juniors and haden't proven yet to be the top dogs they've become," said Birmlein. "I witnessed the wide receiver room change and one of my jobs now is to continue the standard they set.

"Stephen was my mentor as a freshman." Said Iosivas "I wanted to be just like him in the way he carried himself, the way he played and the way he acted towards his teammates. I try to distill that on our younger guys now."

The trio understands that it's not just the individual that makes the team better, it's everything.

"We're a unit so we celebrate each other's successes," said Classi. "You constantly see 10 other guys running into the end zone after a score."

You can tell they believe that.

Both, Jake and Andrei, retweeted this from Coach Willis …

"Good things happen when you play hard for the guy next to you!" - @Dylan_Classi #FPT https://t.co/sN7qW0rT6P
— Mike Willis (@CoachMWillis) September 25, 2021

The next challenge is the biggest of the season to date, with the Ivy League opener against Columbia Saturday at 1.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results