Princeton Tigers
Overall Rank: #40
#2 Ivy League
Princeton had their first perfect season in 54 years. The Tigers dominated nearly everybody on their schedule. The closest contest was against a Dartmouth team that ended up 9-1 overall. It was an epic season for Princeton and they will hope to ride that momentum to another Ivy League title.
2018 Record: 10-0, 7-0
2018 Postseason: None
Coach: Bob Surace (48-42 at Princeton, 66-45 overall)
Offensive Coordinator: Andrew Aurich
Defensive Coordinator: Steve Verbit
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Collin Eaddy, RB, 663 yards
Passing: Kevin Davidson, QB, 386 yards
Receiving: Tiger Bech, WR, 186 yards
Tackles: Delan Stallworth, DB, 56
Sacks: Samuel Wright, DL, 4.0
Interceptions: TJ Floyd, S, 6
Other Key Returnees: RB Ryan Quigley, TE Graham Adomitis, OL Reily Radosevich, OL Alex Deters, DL Jay Rolader, LB Jeremiah Tyler, DL Joey DeMarco
Key Losses: QB John Lovett, RB Charlie Volker, WR Jesper Horsted, WR Stephen Carlson, LB Tom Johnson, LB Mark Fossati, LB Mike Wagner
Offense:
The offense will look a lot like it did in 2017. In 2018 John Lovett returned from injury and threw for 1,833 yards and ran for 894 yards. In total he accounted for 31 touchdowns. Senior Kevin Davidson will take over and Princeton will again run a more pro-style offense. The top pass catchers are gone too and they will need to rebuild around wide receiver Tiger Bech and tight end Graham Adomitis. The ground game is in good hands with Collin Eaddy returning for his junior campaign. Eaddy was behind Lovett and Charlie Volker when it came to getting carries last season, but he was very productive and rushed for 663 yards and four touchdowns. Ryan Quigley should be a solid secondary running back. Princeton is not going to rush for nearly 300 yards per game again this year, but they should not have any trouble establish the run.
Defense:
Only Harvard and Yale managed to score more than 14 points against Princeton last season. This was a unit that dominated week in and week out. They should take a step back this year though with many of their leaders in the middle of the field gone. Tom Johnson and Mark Fossati were the team’s top two tacklers and Mike Wagner tallied a team high 5.5 sacks and 7.0 tackles-for-loss. Replacing those three linebackers will prove to be very difficult. Defensive linemen Samuel Wright, Jay Rolader and Joey DeMarco will continue to be productive against the run. Delan Stallworth and TJ Floyd are the playmakers in the secondary. Stallworth tallied 56 tackles and Floyd intercepted six passes.
The Bottom Line:
The Tigers get both Harvard and Yale at home. Princeton will hope that the contest against Yale on November 16th will determine the Ivy League champion. That would mean the Tigers managed to get past Harvard in late October and Dartmouth at Yankee Stadium on November 9th. By then, Coach Bob Surace should have his offense moving along nicely and that may be enough to claim another conference title.
Projected Postseason: None
2018 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 295.5 (6th in nation, 1st in conference)
Passing Offense: 241.3 (41, 2)
Total Offense: 536.8 (2, 1)
Scoring Offense: 47.0 (1, 1)
Rushing Defense: 96.1 (5, 2)
Pass Defense: 201.2 (40, 3)
Total Defense: 297.3 (10, 2)
Scoring Defense: 13.0 (4, 2)
Turnover Margin: 1.40 (3, 2)
Sacks: 2.90 (19, 2)
Sacks Allowed: 1.00 (15, 2)
HERO Sports 2019 Recruit Rankings:
| 36 | Cole Aubrey | |||||
| 55 | Jojo Hawkins | |||||
| 92 | James Stagg | |||||
| 141 | Reece Hite | |||||
| 167 | Alex Cherry | |||||
| 193 | Jonathan Boyd | |||||
| 249 | Jayden Wickwire | |||||
| 259 | Luke Gibson | |||||
| 274 | Anthony Corbin |
