POSITIVE OUTLOOK: Princeton University football head coach Bob Surace is all smiles as he fields a question at the program’s media day last month. With Princeton returning starters at 19 positions, Surace is confident that the Tigers can take a leap forward after going 5-5 overall and 4-3 Ivy League last fall. Princeton starts its 2024 campaign by playing at Lehigh (2-1) this Saturday. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Reflecting its rich history, the Princeton University football program will be commemorating the anniversary of three of its greatest teams this fall — the legendary undefeated 1964 Ivy League champions along with the 1969 and 1989 league winners.

Princeton head coach Bob Surace, a star center on the 1989 squad who bonded with members of the 1964 team while working their 25th reunion, is hoping that his battle-tested 2024 crew will join the pantheon of Tiger champions.

“It is very experienced, it is the opposite of last year,” said Surace, who guided the Tigers to a 5-5 overall record and 4-3 Ivy in 2023. “We literally have starters at 19 positions plus the specialists back.”

The Tigers, who lost three games in overtime last fall and another by two points and one by three points, have shown a resolve as they have prepared for the 2024 season which starts when Princeton plays at Lehigh (2-1) this Saturday.

“They have been great, it is really good energy,” said Surace. “They have been that way in the spring and the offseason. They have been really good with that.”

Losing a really good player in two-year starting quarterback Blake Stenstrom, the Tigers have three players vying to succeed him in junior Blaine Hipa, senior Blaine McAllister, and junior Kai Colon.

“Blaine Hipa got some reps last year as the year went on, in the Yale game he threw a touchdown and had a run for one,” said Surace. “Those three all had a really good springs. They came to camp ready, they have been sharp.”

The trio of QBs showed good maturity as they led offseason work with the Tiger receivers.

“They do a great job of organizing, they are working around their work,” said Surace. “We are not involved. It puts leadership on them, it has really helped us with the new quarterbacks. It puts them in positions where they have to grab the guys, they have to organize it and they have to structure what plays they want to run.”

The Tigers boast some big-play receivers, led by the senior one-two punch of Luke Colella (47 catches for 620 yards and six touchdowns in 2023) and AJ Barber (42 receptions for 582 yards and three TDs).

“It is a very experienced group, there is a lot of competition, which has been great,” said Surace noting that senior Tamatoa Falatea (20 catches for 244 yard and 2 TDs), sophomore Roman Laurio (1 catch for 18 yards), senior Matthew Mahoney (17 catches for 140 yards), and senior Jalen Geer are in the mix. “Luke and AJ were were both All-Ivy.”

At running back, Princeton will feature the trio of senior John Volker (447 yards rushing for 7 TDs in 2023), junior Dareion Murphy (115 yards rushing for 2TDs), and sophomore Ethan Clark.

“Volker looks great,” said Surace. “Last year we had him, Dareion and Jiggie Carr and it was like two of them were healthy every game. Thank God, it was like one of them was out almost every week but we always had two. Ethan will bump and be the three and hopefully all three of them will be healthy.”

The offensive line will be anchored by a core of veterans, including senior Blake Feigenspan, senior Tommy Matheson, junior Scott Becker, and junior Nicholas Hilliard.

“We have seven guys with starting experience, which is a record for us,” said Surace. “There is a lot of experience and some pretty good depth there which is encouraging.”

The quartet of senior Jack DelGarbino, senior Collin Taylor, senior Ryan Ives, and sophomore London Robinson will be spearheading the defensive line.

“They are probably the top four, they all return from last year,” said Surace. “Those four will be better than they were, all of them will be second-year starters. Behind them we will see — it is a little younger.”

At linebacker, the Tigers suffered some big graduation losses with the departure of All-Ivy performers Liam Johnson, Ozzie Nicholas, and Will Perez. Surace believes the Tigers have the talent on hand to fill that void in junior Marco Scarano, senior Jackson Ford, senior Carson Irons, junior Sekou Roland, junior Will Beasley, and sophomore Chase Christoper.

“Marco started the last four games when Will got hurt, he is pretty solidified at one spot,” said Surace. “Inside it is a good competition right now, Jackson and Carson are practicing really well. Sekou and Will are also practicing really well. Chase has to be more assertive in his communication but he is very talented.”

In the secondary, junior Nasir Hill, junior Tahj Owens, senior Payton Tally, and sophomore Kavon Miller will be leading the way.

“Nasir is a guy that really came on last year, he ended up being All-Ivy,” said Surace. “He got so much better. He is such a good leader, he took so much ownership. When Payton suffered an injury, Tahj stepped in. We have three guys there that can play at a really high level. Kavon was a freshman who ended up filling in at a really high level.”

As Princeton looks to improve on its 2023 season of near misses, Surace is emphasizing attention to detail and gaining separation from foes, especially in an Ivy League that is in an era of parity. In the last two seasons, 16 of the 28 league games were decided by a single possession with eight games determined by a field goal or less last fall.

“We have to do a better job being detailed,” said Surace. “We are way more veteran this year, those things happen when you are first time doing them. When you have seven returning offensive linemen who started, you go into camp and you are further along with what we can do with them. I think a little bit of it is you try to avoid being in close games and getting a few games where at the very tail end you are not completely sweating.”

If this year’s team achieves those goals, they may develop bonds similar to the storied 1964 squad.

“The ’64 team is so tight, I am on an email chat with them,” said Surace. “That group e-mails me before every game with some words of wisdom. It is just stay grounded with humble confidence. They are so connected.”