Personal Growth: Nicholas Sanker

By Craig Sachson, PrincetonTigersFootball.com

Nicholas Sanker has trained a lifetime for his role on the Princeton football team this season, as well as a role he is now trying to take on for younger athletes on their own collegiate pursuit.

That training goes far beyond his role as rush linebacker for what has been a dominant Tiger defense early this season. If you ask head coach Bob Surace, he is just as impressed with Sanker's role off the field.

"Nic has been incredible to coach," he said. "He has made a jump in his pass rush every year while continuing to fill out and get stronger to play the run. In addition, he's an outstanding leader and his commitment to help and mentor younger athletes to reach their potential is exceptional work."

Mentoring younger teammates is not a chore for Sanker. The oldest of seven siblings, Nicholas relishes being a role model.

"I've always been the big brother, responsible for all my little siblings," he said. "I always try to take the younger ones under my wing and help them become the best they can be."

As the oldest, he was the one who had to blaze the trails for his younger siblings, which included being the first to go through the recruiting process. He was a two-time first-team all-state wide receiver and linebacker at The Covenant School, which was so small that it couldn't actually field a full 11v11 team his junior year.

Without the quality of competition to provide useful film, Sanker knew he needed strong showings at summer camps, and he hit it off with the Princeton coaches following his junior year. Education had always been a focus in his life — his father George, formerly a Colgate football player, is headmaster at The Covenant School — so he jumped on the opportunity to attend the top university in the nation.

It was a challenging process, but he learned along the way. He is now trying to pass along those lessons, because that's what Sanker has done his whole life.

"I was the first one in my family to go through the process, so I didn't know what I was supposed to do," he said. "I started helping my little siblings, and then some of their friends, and then I figured we should make a business out of this. It's cool to see how this can help in so many areas, like skill development and helping with confidence."

Along with teammates Marco Scarano and Lance Reaves-Hicks, as well as track and field senior Nia Mosby, Sanker is working to create a platform for high school and middle school athletes to get mentorship from college athletes and try to help them with training and recruiting. As his father and other coaches and trainers were for him, Sanker is hoping to mentor others.

"I'm big into personal growth, and helping people reach their full potential," he said. "A big reason I got to where I am is because of people who helped me throughout my life, and now I want to do that for others. I want to try to make it a smoother, more enjoyable process, because this should be some of the best years of your life."

Sanker's freshman year at Princeton probably won't fall into the 'best of his life' category, as the COVID pandemic forced him to spend his freshman year at home, isolated from his new teammates and trying to navigate the first year of his Princeton education from his house. One bright spot was extra training time with his closest brother in age, Jonas, who now plays football at the University of Virginia. The two played together on teams throughout their lives, and while they will compete as brothers often do, they consistently pushed each other to be the best they could be.

He used the time to build both strength and technique and would earn snaps in four games as a sophomore, playing both defensive end and rush linebacker. He continued to focus on technique and tried to soak up every bit of coaching and mentorship he received from some of his older teammates. It didn't hurt that his reps would often come against the likes of Henry Byrd, one of the best offensive linemen Princeton has produced during its recent run of four championships in nine seasons.

Sanker saw more time as a junior, even if the rush linebacker position was loaded. He recorded an interception against Lehigh, and then three weeks later posted his first collegiate sack against Cornell. The momentum from that play would be short-lived though; a few plays later, Sanker suffered an injury that cost him the rest of his season.

"That was frustrating, but you can only control what you can control," he said. "I tried to look at the positives from the season and do what I needed to do to get ready for this year, like being proactive to take care of my body so I can be on the field all 10 weeks."

Three weeks in, Sanker has been a constant force on a defense that has been one of the standout units in the Ivy League. The Tigers currently lead the Ivies in total, passing and rushing defense, and they rank second in scoring defense. They have allowed one scoring drive all season of more than 50 yards, and they pitched a shutout in last week's Ivy-opening win over Columbia (the Lions' lone points came on a defensive touchdown).

"There is always room for improvement," Sanker said. "During the preseason, we really started to develop a chemistry. I think this is the closest of any team I have played on. Guys trust each other, and they know their jobs and what they need to do. We're going to keep getting better every week."

He knows a good leader when he sees one, so he was quick to highlight the leadership of co-captains Liam Johnson and Ozzie Nicholas on the defensive side, but Sanker has been leading from his position as well. He has seven tackles and a sack over the last two weeks, and he continues to push himself to grow each week.

Personal growth is Sanker's thing. He believes in it for others, and he believes in it for himself.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Henry Byrd

Liam Johnson

Ozzie Nicholas

Lance Reaves-Hicks

Nicholas Sanker

Marco Scarano

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Princeton University Athletics