Courtesy: Princeton Athletic CommunicationsTwo members of both the Princeton offense and defense will serve as captains for the 2009 season, it was announced by head coach Roger Hughes prior to the annual Spring Game. Linebacker Scott Britton, safety Wilson Cates, running back Jordan Culbreath and offensive lineman Mark Paski will lead the Tigers into their 141st football season; it will be the first time Princeton will have four captains for one season.
"It means a lot to me to be elected captain by my teammates for the upcoming season," said Paski, who became the only freshman in Princeton football history to start all 10 games on the offensive line, a feat he accomplished during the Ivy League championship season of 2006. "It's a real honor and a real privilege, and it's something I want to share with the rest of the senior class, because it's full of leaders."
"It's an honor being elected with these three other great guys," said Culbreath, one of two unanimous first-team All-Ivy selections after leading the league and ranking ninth nationally with 120.6 rushing yards per game last season. "We made a lot of progress in winter conditioning, and I think we carried it into spring ball. I think our offense is really maturing and growing stronger as a team."
"Being elected captain means a lot to me," said Cates, who ranked third on the team in tackles last season and has been a leader among the Class of 2010 since his freshman season. "It means I will be in a position of leadership, but really, I don't want to see things change from how we've been doing them. As long as we all keep doing our roles, everything will work out, whether you are a captain or not."
"To be considered a leader by my teammates is something that is really special to me," said Britton, one of the emotional leaders on the defense and one of the Top 10 tacklers in the Ivy League as a starting insider linebacker last season. "I think we've had a great work ethic this spring, and now we need to keep that up. We have a bunch of guys staying this summer, and we need to keep pushing each other to get better each day."
Hughes was pleased by both the selection of the captains and the progress made by the team throughout the spring season and during Saturday's game, which was played during a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Princeton Stadium. The day began with drills and situational scrimmages at 2 p.m., with a short break prior to the actual White vs. Black game at 3 p.m. The team was split in half, and the White team finished with a 17-2 victory; the highlight play came on a deep connection between rising sophomore quarterback Tommy Wornham and rising junior wide receiver Trey Peacock for the game's final touchdown. Opposing starting quarterback Harrison Daniels also engineered a couple of drives and nearly scored on a keeper, but his knee was ruled down just short of the goal line. The fourth-down stop kept the Black off the scoreboard temporarily, but a strong surge by the defense caught running back Kenny Gunter (who had a touchdown of his own) in the end zone for a safety.
"I'm happy, but not satisfied," Hughes said afterwards. "I think we got a lot better in the offseason. We expanded the offseason to get stronger and bigger, and I think we did that. I think we got tougher."
Hughes will give a much more detailed impression of the team during his annual Spring Chat, when he will put the finishing touches on the 2008 season, discuss both sides of the upcoming team and some of the additions to the coaching staff. Check back with GoPrincetonTigers.com in the next two weeks to see the first part of his seventh annual chat.
