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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Veach Hopes Hard Work Will Pay Off As Tigers Aim to Get Winning Feeling
By Bill Alden
Jon Veach came to Princeton University in 2001 used to winning football games.
During his high school career in Mt. Carmel, Pa., Veach was an all-state running for a program that won two state titles and was runners-up another season.
Veach hasn't experienced that kind of success at Princeton as the Tigers have struggled to an overall mark of 11-18 in his first three seasons.
As one of the co-captains of the 2004 Tigers, Veach is determined to help create a winning spirit starting with Princeton's season opener this Saturday against visiting Lafayette.
"I know what it's like to win championships," said Veach, who ran for 7,100 yards in his high school career. "I've been in that atmosphere. I know what it takes in the locker room and what it takes off the field."
The earnest Veach will tell you that an unwavering work ethic is a key ingredient underlying the success he has experienced in football.
"There are a lot of guys on this team that are more physically gifted than I am, bigger and things like that," said the chiseled 5'10, 190-pound Veach whose physique looks as if it were carved from granite.
"I've gotten to the point where I'm at by hard work. I think that is one of the reasons I was made captain. I put in all the extra time I need to."
The honor of being named captain along with junior linebacker Justin Stull has prompted Veach to ratchet up his already rigorous training.
"I trained harder in the offseason," said Veach, who comes into this fall with 1,088 yards rushing in his Tiger career.
"I find it harder to make mistakes. I feel like I don't want to do anything wrong. I'm trying to lead by example."
Princeton offensive coordinator Dave Rackovan believes that Veach is setting a sterling example for his teammates.
"Jon works so hard, he's such a technician," said Rackovan in assessing Veach who led Princeton last fall in rushing with 642 yards on 141 attempts.
"He's become a very good football player. He's brought the attitude from the community he's from and he's tried to bring everybody up to those expectations."
Veach, though, acknowledges that his apprenticeship under former Tiger star tailback Cameron Atkinson helped him realize that he still had a lot to learn coming out of high school.
"When I came in my first and second year, I really didn't realize how much I had to learn about the offense," explained Veach, who backed up Atkinson and saw the speedy back end his career with a stellar 1,028 yard effort in 2002.
"The thing about Cameron is that he did all the little things right like pass blocking and running to landmarks on the field. He was a very good student of the game and he left no stone unturned. Now finally as a senior, I see what he was doing."
The bitter experience of going 2-8 last fall has left Veach and his teammates with the desire to leave no stone unturned in their quest to get back on the winning track.
"We thought we were going to be a lot better last year," said Veach, who provided one of the major individual highlights for Princeton last year when he exploded for 285 all-purpose yards against Harvard (205 yards rushing, 46 yards receiving, and 34 yards returning), the sixth-best single game total in program history.
"We were really disappointed with the season. We came out and worked our butts off in the offseason. We really worked hard."
Veach is confident that hard work will pay off as he tries to make his final fall of college football as magical as some of the championship autumns he enjoyed in high school.
"The fact is that after this fall, I probably won't play football any more," said Veach, an economics major.
"I've got 11 weeks to end on a good note. I went out as a winner in high school. It's great to put in the hard work for weeks and weeks and come out on top like that. Everyone around here is thirsty for a winning season. There is a sense of urgency because we know everything is in place. I feel like our chances are good."
With Veach setting the tone with his work ethic, the Tigers could recapture that winning feeling.
