Trust, Passion And The Highest of Standards: Carson Bobo

By Craig Sachson
PrincetonTigersFootball.com

Carson Bobo will begin his fourth and final journey through Ivy League competition this Saturday at Columbia, and he'll do so with trust, passion and the highest of standards. Those traits have been cultivated during a successful career in Orange and Black, and have been shown in both personal honors and team awards.

But he'll bring a chip on his shoulder, one that has served him well throughout his Princeton career.

He plays with love because Princeton wanted him. He plays with trust because of the relationships he has formed with both teammates and coaches. He plays with high standards because you don't go 27-3 over three seasons without them.

The chip? Well, that doesn't have anything to do with his current team. It isn't there because Princeton wanted him.

It's there because nobody else did.

• • •

Bobo grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and spent most of his life watching his beloved Crimson Tide competing for — and often winning — national championships. Like most young players in the state, he had dreams of running out on Bryant–Denny Stadium and playing for Nick Saban.

Despite being a North/South Alabama All-Star Game selection and an all-county honoree, he accepted that an undersized tight end wasn't a high recruiting focus for Alabama or other SEC schools. He received interest from the likes of Troy, Jacksonville State and other smaller Alabama schools, but it wasn't until an unknown number called him following an Oak Hill High School basketball practice.

The caller was Mike Willis, then the Princeton tight ends coach and now the offensive coordinator. His message was simple. We're interested.

The feeling was mutual, especially as the late recruiting push took place.

"I loved how unbelievably transparent and honest the coaches were, Coach Willis in particular," Bobo remembered. "I really liked their recruiting style, and I felt like I knew them and how they were going to do things. I really respected them."

Less than a week before Signing Day, the official offer came. It was the only one to come from an Ivy League school.

"Princeton was the only Ivy League school that gave me a chance, so whenever I get to put on that Princeton uniform, I get to go against a coach who didn't want to give me a chance," Bobo said. "I have a little chip on my shoulder."

Four years later, that chip is still there. But now it's joined by two championship rings on his fingers.

• • •

Bobo was a freshman during the historic 2018 undefeated season, and while he didn't see much time on Saturdays, he learned everything he needed to know about the standards and possibilities of Princeton football.

He made his way into the lineup as a sophomore and caught 23 passes for 229 yards, good enough for second-team All-Ivy League recognition, but the ultimate team standard wasn't met. Princeton lost twice in November to fall one game short of the Ivy League title. It provided a lesson that would serve he and his teammates well two years later.

Princeton didn't play any football in 2020 due to COVID, but the relationships between teammates grew immeasurably. Bobo watched older teammates forgo the possibility of graduating that summer and instead return for one more season, one more championship run.

"It was such a sense of pride," he said. "We had guys who put off a year of their life to come back here and play football, because they weren't satisfied with how we left it. They wanted to have that year, win some football games, and spend time with their best friends. They wanted to do it the right way. They wanted to be a Princeton Tiger, and I was honored to be part of that team."

Princeton lost an early November game in Dartmouth last season, just as the Tigers did two years earlier. Instead of feeling sorry for itself during the practice week for Yale, Princeton refocused and maintained the standard it expected of itself. Two dominant performances later, Bobo was celebrating yet another Ivy League title. A few days after that, he was named the first-team All-Ivy tight end.

His impact on the offense can be felt all over the place. Heading into this weekend, Bobo has played in the last 22 games and has caught at least one pass in 21 of them. His role requires as much mentally as it does physically, although it demands plenty of both.

"I can be a force in the blocking game, a force in the pass game," he said. "It stems a lot from how much I had to learn. I have to know the receivers' job, the offensive line's job. You have to know what the quarterback is doing, and which holes the running back is going to hit. Coach Willis loves having a versatile tight end, and we'll put 2-3 tight ends on the field in different areas. It's so fun to be part of a team that will experiment and try out where you fit best."

Despite his two All-Ivy honors, Bobo knew he had to be even better this season, especially in the pass game.

"Last year I had a very solid season, but there was room to improve in terms of physicality, violence, being a little more twitchy with the ball in my hands, and making more plays in the pass game," he said. "If you can be the guy who can block the defensive end and make the defensive back miss, you're the defensive coordinator's worst nightmare."

Head coach Bob Surace, a former All-Ivy offensive lineman for Princeton, has always appreciated Bobo's performance as a blocker, but he is enjoying his improvements in the pass game this season.

"Carson has been an outstanding tight end for us since his freshman year," he said. "His versatility is a great strength for us. He blocks on the line, on the perimeter, and he has been strong in the intermediate pass game. He has become an additional vertical threat for us this year."

When you combine that threat with the likes of Andrei Iosivas and Dylan Classi, you imagine how this offense could develop. There have been some warning signs over the first two wins of the season, even if neither has been as clean as the team would like.

"We like to correct off of a win," Bobo said. "We had a lot of things to correct, and we know what the standard is. We want to put things together as fast as possible, but it's usually about laying bricks over time and building that bond of trusting the guy next to you. We understand our potential, which is great."

Bobo trusts that the offense will get there, because he believes in his teammates. That trust, and the standards he learned early on, have provided the foundation for Bobo throughout his Princeton career, and he hopes they can be the same for an NFL career moving forward. The Operations Research and Financial Engineering major has his current focus on this team, but he plans to continue his training for a shot at Sunday football next year.

If one NFL team gives him a shot, they'll get the best from him. Just ask Princeton.

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