Glue Guy: Carson Irons '25

By Craig Sachson
PrincetonTigersFootball.com

For two seasons, Carson Irons could at least sympathize with what plagued Ivy League offensive coordinators during their respective Princeton weeks. It didn't mean he felt bad about their challenge — or even about his own — but he understood.

Liam Johnson and Ozzie Nicholas were dominant inside linebackers.

Johnson and Nicholas combined to record 352 tackles over the 2022 and 2023 Princeton football seasons; the former was named the Ivy Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, while the latter was a two-time first-team selection and is now the second-leading tackler for a Duke team that is 6-2 and facing No. 5 Miami this Saturday.

They were the ultimate obstacle for opposing offenses over those two seasons, but they were also an obstacle for Irons, a former all-league linebacker in California who was self-aware enough to realize the truth about his two older teammates at the time.

"They are great players, some of the best I've ever been exposed to in my life," Irons said. "They're great role models, great leaders, and being under them, I can realistically see that there is no reason to take them off the field if you don't have to."

Unfortunately, that meant if they were on the field, Irons was likely on the sideline. It can be demoralizing for any player who once dominated the high school scene, but it also can highlight the character of the player who would do anything for a chance to help the cause.

Irons chose to help the cause, and that led him to a significant role this season.

• • •

Football is big in the Irons household. His father Cameron played at Cal State-Fullerton, and his younger brother Connor is currently a freshman on the Air Force football team. Carson played multiple sports growing up, but by the time he was a junior recording 186 tackles for Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton, Calif., he realized that he had the potential to play football at the next level.

Irons was selective about where that might be, though.

"The academic piece was always going to be a big component for me," Irons said. "Finding a place where I could have a good academic experience and get a good degree was important. The Ivy League was a balance of great academics and high-level college football."

Irons received multiple offers, both inside and outside the Ivy League, but it was the unique relationship he had developed with the Princeton coaches, especially his future position coach, that sealed the deal.
"I felt a strong connection with [inside linebackers] Coach Mike Weick, and I had great faith that he would be the best person to lead me both on and off the field over my four years," Irons said. "Obviously, Princeton has a very high standard of football, and I felt at home in terms of my visits."

Like most of his freshman teammates, Irons spent his first season adapting to both the academic and athletic rigors at Princeton. He earned some JV playing time and focused on being a bigger contributor during his second season.

That second season happened to be the first of Johnson and Nicholas' two-year reign of inside linebacker terror. It wasn't an easy reality for Irons to deal with, but it also wasn't something that was going to make him less of a teammate.

"Anybody would be lying if they said it isn't tough at first when you come from an environment where you are the guy and you're playing a position you have grown to love," he said. "Moving on to the next level and seeing that everybody was the guy at their high school, and seeing these two guys above you who are the epitome of what a Princeton linebacker should be, it can be difficult. I was able to find a role on special teams late into my sophomore season and especially my junior year and find a way to contribute to the team."

That role got him on the field, and it earned the respect of his head coach.

"Carson is one of the best 'glue guys' I've coached here," said Bob Surace, who is in his 14th season as head coach at Princeton. "He has been a terrific 'core four' special teams' player the past year and a half. He brings speed and physicality to the defense at linebacker."

No football player enters a season hoping to mainly play on special teams, but Irons found that the proper perspective kept him focused and engaged.

"I looked at the position I was in from a perspective of gratitude," he said. "My coaches and teammates gave me a chance to be part of Princeton football and this amazing opportunity that millions of people would dream to have. I was going to find whatever way I could and contribute in whatever way I could."

• • •

Winter workouts aren't pleasant, especially when you trudge through the early morning snow to face tough lifting sessions. Early-morning summer sessions, followed by full days of an internship, can be challenging as well.

You didn't need to motivate Irons to go through either over the past nine months. His time at the position he loved was on the horizon, and he was going to make the most of it.

"I owed it to the guys before me who put the defense in the best place to win, and to my teammates and coaches to do everything I could do to elevate my game as much as possible," said Irons, who focused on both the physical and mental components of the linebacker position he has taken over this season.

He has 18 tackles on the year, including 12 solo stops, and he has had multiple games with at least four tackles. Like his teammates, Irons is fighting for a strong finish for this, his final season.

"We're here playing for the logo on our jerseys, for Princeton football, for our teammates, coaches and those who came before us and set the standard here," said Irons, an ORFE major who is interested in software engineering and looking at potential careers in the field of technology.

"The only way to honor that is to play as hard as possible."

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