BY JAY GREENBERG
Both quantitatively and emotionally, the Tigers’ glass
measured exactly half-filled in 2012.
The same coach who engineered a huge improvement to 5-5 remains haunted
by how much bigger the season still could have become.
After five consecutive losing years and consecutive 1-9
records in Bob Surace’s first two seasons, the rational hopes for Year Three were
for a move to the middle that, as it turned out, didn’t exist. In an Ivy League
even more balanced than usual, Princeton, which defeated presumed powerhouse
Harvard, which let eventual champion Penn escape in the second half, turned out
to be as talented as anybody and didn’t get a share of the title.
“It kind of hit me Monday night,” said Coach Bob
Surace. “There were so many good
things but the big errors by the team and the coaches haunt me.
 |
| Bob Surace '90 |
“There was a terribly unfortunate play against Penn where a
tipped pass gets knocked back to a defensive lineman who runs it in (for the
game-tying score). There were 50-50 (officials) calls, five or six of them that
went against us in three losses (in the last four games) or we would be sitting
here talking about a championship.
“You don’t get rings for beating Harvard and Yale. You get a
bonfire, which was awesome celebrating with students and alumni, but for a team
the ultimate goal is winning the title.
You want to win both and we didn’t. And when you see how close it was, that’s
why you have sleepless nights, thinking about what I could have done better.”
In the end, the Tigers made too many mistakes.
“I harp on decisions with the players,” said Surace. “So after almost any turnover I think back on how I could have presented something
better to better get through to them.
“For two years we had been playing from behind. This year we
played from ahead and a few times didn’t finish out what we could have
done. We were much better in the
red zone (62 per cent touchdown conversions) and on third (40 per cent) and
fourth (64 per cent) downs and now we have to improve in the red zone and on turnovers
even more.
“We were minus-23 last year and minus-one this year,
essentially even, and our record was even as a result. In our last four losses,
the three league games and Georgetown, we had 15 turnovers and only created
three. In the three league games it was 11-1. So how do we get to being a
double digit plus, where you have a much better chance of winning the league?
“Penn was able to go from a big hole in turnovers in non league
games (eight in a loss to Lafayette) and learn from that and be pretty clean in
their league games.
“We had them 21-14 and had two chances inside the 35 to get
a two-score lead against a team that wasn’t throwing it too effectively against
us and we didn’t score. Then we had chances to stop them and didn’t.
“You can’t second guess the ball bouncing the wrong way, but
[Connor Michelsen’s end zone] interception was our error. We have young players
and you try to hit every situation possible, so it’s my fault for not building enough
good habits. (Mike) Catapano, (Andrew) Starks, Mandela (Sheaffer) (Mark)
Hayes, those seniors built habits over four years. We had lots of guys step up. And I’m looking forward to
building habits (with underclassmen) in such a way that we limit our errors.”
Seven freshman and sophomore starters were a reflection of a
deepening talent base that now must replace stars and leaders. Most of them are
on defense, but four starting-level players graduate from the offense, too.
WR Shane Wilkinson, who caught 62 passes the last two seasons;
TE Hayes, who emerged as a dependable receiver in addition to providing perhaps
the best blocking services of a tight end in the Ivy League; RB Akil Sharp,
whose ankle problem basically made him the backup running back behind sophomore
Will Powers, graduate in June. So will
Kevin Mill, a potential all-conference OT who missed the entire second half of
the season.
Mill’s ACL tear, which necessitated the move of Taylor
Pearson ’14 from guard to tackle, and forced more underclassmen to play significant
snaps, had the silver lining effect of bringing back a practically two-deep veteran
offensive line for 2012.
 |
| Max Coale '14 |
“When I first got here we were taking defensive guys like
(Kevin) DeMaio, and (Mike) Muha and trying to have just five offensive linemen
with ability,” said Surace. “We have built depth.
“It’s unfortunate Kevin had that (knee) injury, that was
hard because of what he put into the program and (backup sophomore guard Jack)
Woodall went down, too. But
(Britt) Colcolough, (Tom) Yetter, (Joe) Tull, (Mike) Ramos, and (Ryan) Peloquin
made big jumps (as underclassmen). Next year Joe Goss will be a four-year starter and Max Coale and
Spenser Huston three-year starters.
“I thought a lot of the sacks early in the year – maybe this
is an old O-lineman talking -- were quarterback driven. They held onto the ball too much,
there was a process [sophomores
Connor Michelsen and Quinn Epperly] had to go trough. Once the timing got right, we were operating at a tempo and
rhythm, even while using six receivers and two quarterbacks.
“When we were 0-2, it would have been easy for the
quarterbacks to say they weren’t getting enough reps or Wilkinson to say ‘I’m
not getting my catches.’ But they bought into everything. And there was a
combination of creativity and utilization by our offensive staff that had to
think quickly with our no-huddle.
“I was really pleased. If the league had allowed (its
coaches) to vote for somebody named Qunner Micherly, he might have been the
All-Ivy quarterback. The play at
that position in this league is really high and I don’t remember a game where I
said ‘their quarterback is better than our quarterback.’ As good as (Harvard’s Colton) Chapple
was against us Connor and Quinn played equal to Chapple that day, and Connor
wasn’t outplayed by (Cornell’s Jeff) Mathews."
Using two quarterbacks in packages that played to their individual
strengths proved to be a coach’s dream and a tribute to offensive coordinator
James Perry’s touch. But as Michelsen showed running ability and Epperly’s throwing
velocity and accuracy improved, the differences between them became blurred. So
even if the system isn’t broken, Surace still is fixing to make Michelsen,
Epperly and Kedric Bostic ’16 compete to never leave the field.
 |
| Kedric Bostic '16 |
“I told all three of them this: If there is separation that is clear on video and at
practices and it shows that it should be one guy, it will be,” said Surace. “But if it is not clear, lets see how we can utilize the guys so we are the best
team possible.
“Even if one guy is the starter, I foresee us continuing to
have packages where you have multiple quarterbacks in the game at the same
time. When Quinn and Kedric were
in the (Dartmouth) game together, our success rate on those plays was
extraordinarily high. I’m
not going to live and die with that, but if it will mean a 10-20 play package
each week.”
That will impact somewhat the situation at running back
where, despite consistent yardage and highlight plays by Will Powers ‘15, plus some
promising early bursts by DiAndre Atwater ‘16, the depth was tested by injury
and of course, the absence of Chuck Dibilio, who plans to re-enroll in spring semester
and hopes to return to the playing field.
Dibilio, who in January suffered a blood clot and a stroke
of still-undermined cause, has been taking medical tests and gathering opinions
of specialists who may disagree about the level of risk in what is an almost
unprecedented situation. When Tedy
Bruschi returned to the Patriots, the problem that caused his stroke, a hole in
the heart, had been corrected.
“I was so glad to see Chuck at the bonfire,” said Surace.
“You grab him by the arm to give him a hug and he is rock solid, just in great
shape.
“But other than to tell him I will support him, I have removed
myself from the process in favor of doctors who can tell us whether we are
putting any of our players, not just Chuck, at risk. I’m not going to let my selfishness to see this young man
run again influence that.
“We all want to see him play. If not, we will put him on
staff or have him do something to be part of the team.”
If Dibilio returns, he will have missed a year, making an
immediate resumption of his old workhorse role problematic.
“There was a
known quantity that Chuck would carry 25 times a year and would get somewhere
in the 150-yard range,” said Surace.
“That put more work on the coaches to specialize things, like putting
Will Powers on special teams.
“Will is a very good special teams player, so it would be
hard to give him the ball more than 15 times and see him last as a strong
runner through the year. We have
to be cognizant of the number of reps we are giving guys and the contributions
they can make elsewhere.
 |
| Will Powers '15 |
“Will was going to get 10-14 carries a game and maximize
every one. He pass blocked well
and underrated was how well he caught the ball and what he did after catching it.
“There was that play against Cornell a swing pass on
third-and-eight where two guys had him boxed in and he got ten yards to keep a
drive alive that we scored on. He had one where he beat a guy to get a first
down on the winning drive against Harvard, and then the spectacular one against
Penn where he broke two tackles and dove into the end zone. And I would have
told you last year at this time I didn’t see that part of his game, another
example how players can grow.
“Will does all the things you need to be reliable as a three-down
back. But if we are going to continue to rely on him on special teams, you have
to watch how much we extend him. And it’s a good group behind him.
“(Freshman) Di Andre (Atwater) showed really good ability. Unfortunately he
sustained injuries two different times. He has to prove he is durable but Di
Andre is a worker. I’m confident he will attack the off-season.
“At times in practice, Dre Nelson looked terrific. We never
got him out in the open field as much as we would have liked but for a freshman
he had a terrific year so I can foresee him being in a role where he starts to
make plays. Using two quarterbacks in the game at once against Dartmouth took
up a little bit of his role. And when Akil came back healthy enough to
contribute, I felt he deserved the opportunity.
“Going into camp (sophomore Jonathan) Esposito, was a guy
who had a great off-season and we thought was going to emerge. He had a foot injury that he battled
back from and a couple of ball control issues; we gotta get him back to where he
was because when he was confident he looked really good. And I think (freshman) Zach Smith led
the world in JV rushing yards; he had to have 500 in four games.”
“With (junior) Brian Mills, I will chalk up (a lost season) to
me thinking that he could be an every down corner. I think if we had put him there from every day as a freshman
he would have been fine but he struggled some. We moved him back (to running back) because we were so banged
up and tried to get him up to speed but there is only one football and it was
just so hard to get it to him.
“Brian will have a role in the offense next year. If he is healthy he can play a big
role. But if not (Mills was
plagued by back issues in 2011), we are going to manage it.
“Roman Wilson added a dimension to the run game that was
really positive, helped us spread the ball around. And I think that kept Powers
and the quarterbacks strong.
 |
| Jonathan Esposito '15 |
“But we want to go from an above-average rushing team to a
being really good one again and improve the number of explosive plays. Will had a couple, DiAndre had a couple
and Roman had one, but five (of 25 yards or more) isn’t enough. The year before
we were in the mid-teens. I think we can get there again, especially with the linemen
coming back.”
If the Tigers were going to make a significant improvement
in 2012, it was presumed a defense with two NFL-potential defensive linemen and
a veteran linebacking crew anchored by seniors Andrew Starks and Tim Kingsbury
would have to be the team’s strength while an inexperienced offense grew. Essentially that happened. Going into
2013, it is the defense that has the greater question marks.
“In the last 27 years, as long as (assistant head and
defensive line) Coach (Steve) Verbit has been here, Mike Catapano had as good a
season on defense as Princeton has had.” said Surace. “Twelve sacks, one of the
nation’s leaders, 15-and-a-half tackles for losses, five pass breakups and three
caused fumbles.
“His effort was unbelievable from every practice to every
game. He, Caraun (Reid), Starks and Kingsbury are high motor guys and that’s
what we have to replace.
“(Junior) Greg Sotereanos hasn’t had to do that yet because
he had Cat and Caraun. (Junior) Alex Polofsky and (sophomore) Garrit Leicht
haven’t because they had Starks and Kingsbury and (junior) Phil Bhaya hasn’t
because of (senior) Mandela Sheaffer. Andrew took his intensity from being really good to obsession
and what these guys brought to the locker room and the practice field became
contagious.
“Even in games where we didn’t stop teams like we wanted,
you still saw guys hustling to the ball. Harvard was up and down the field but
we just kept playing and eventually we got a pick, made a stop, tipped the ball
or got off the field. We don’t
win that game if we didn’t have the leaders we did.”
With Reid’s return uncertain, linebacker is the position
definitely hardest hit by graduation.
 |
| Luke Merrill '15 |
“We tried to build depth and should have done more of it
earlier or we would have been further along than we were,” said Surace. “(Sophomore) Luke Merrill when he had
opportunity would grade very well. (Sophomore) Jess Patton played a lot when
Garrit was out and did very well.
I think (freshman) Wes Moon is going to be highly competitive at SAM; he
reminds everyone of Starks, a high school safety who is now up to 228 and
probably will be 235 like Starks.
“In the preseason I was using the name Leicht with Catapano,
Reid, Starks; that’s how well Garrit played in the spring. Unfortunately he was
hurt and it wasn’t until late in the year where we felt comfortable giving him
25 snaps a game. He and (junior) Alex
Polofsky will be in the middle, then it’s a matter of where we want to put (sophomore)
Mike) Zeuli, on the back end or is he a SAM backer?
“If Mike outgrows safety, he will make a heckuva SAM backer
because he is tough and physical and can cover. He came off a major knee injury and never missed a beat,
never missed a practice.
“Early in the JV games (freshman) Marcus Stroud stepped up
then he got hurt, then (freshman) Baxter Ingram stepped up before he got
hurt. And in the pre-season (freshman)
Andrew Ehrets was maybe the best in that bunch. Those guys are going to push.
We finally are going to have the 2-3 depth at linebacker I have always wanted.”
If Zeuli goes to linebacker, competition is wide open for
Sheaffer’s job at strong safety, next to Bhaya.
“(Sophomore) Jimmy von Thron did okay on special teams
(after coming back at mid season from a concussion) but didn’t get a lot of reps
on the back end, one of those unfortunate things,” said Surace. “We have Jimmy and
(freshman) Max Lescano as guys I feel comfortable about.
 |
| Taylor James '14 |
“We are going to have to make a decision on (freshman) Matt
Arends. He did very well at corner but there is part of me that says he will be
an exceptional safety.
“I’m told it will be 12-18 months before Khamal Brown will
be allowed to have contact, so that would take us to 2014 on him. (Junior) Trocon Davis struggled in
training camp with his tackling and as the year went along he got stronger and
stronger at it. And he was a special teams dynamo, too.
“I am super-enthusiastic on (sophomore) Jakobi Johnson and (freshman)
John Hill. They are guys who allowed us to make Mills a running back again. (Junior)
Taylor James probably was our best cover corner in the spring, granted (freshman
Anthony) Gaffney wasn’t there. Then Taylor tore his hamstring in camp and by
the time he got back it was too late. I anticipate he will have a really good
offseason, and we’ll see.
“The offseason is huge for everybody. I thought Bhaya would compete this
year, couldn’t have told you he would be as good as any safety in the league.”
 |
| Trocon Davis '14 |
Place kicker Nolan Bieck was more challenged in 2012 by snapping
and holding misadventures than by pressure kicks. After three field-goal misses against Georgetown, the Tigers
started scoring touchdowns, leaving the freshman no opportunities to win or
lose games in the fourth quarter.
That, of course will change.
“The history of freshman kickers in this league is that they
make a big jump,” said Surace. “I anticipate Nolan will make one with his kickoffs
too.
“These guys never admit weakness, but freshmen typically
wear down if they are playing all year and his kickoffs lost distance. It
probably was a little big technical, too, there were some mishits and Nolan’s not
one to mishit. After going through
the issues we had with our protection and snapping, I think he’s really
confident we will get everything fixed.”
Bieck had done nothing to warrant losing the job when (sophomore)
Brendan Sofen, who had suffered a leg injury during camp, became available
again by Game 7.
 |
| Nolan Bieck '16 |
“I told Brendan I want him to do all three -- kick, kickoff
and punt -- and he is the leader in the clubhouse as the punter,” said Surace. “When
he injured his leg he couldn’t kick deep but he was able to work on his drops
because they weren’t extending his leg. He became so much more consistent.
“There is only one Joe Cloud, a three time All-Ivy guy, a
borderline NFL prospect. So it would be hard to say we will replace a punter as
good as that. But we probably will
bring in somebody to compete with Brendan and be real solid there.”
Senior Tom Moak caught 13 passes this year and also threw
for two touchdowns off bad Jason Tiemeier snaps, demonstrating the value of the
holder, who will have to be replaced, perhaps with (junior) Connor Kelley or
Bostic. A long snapper to replace the graduating Tiemeier is also on the recruiting
list.
“We have guys who did it in high school,” said Surace. “And
we’ll look at them in the spring.”
jaygreenbergsports@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment