What has been the most memorable part of your high school football career?
Beating Loyola was definitely the most memorable moment because last year we had all the talent in the world, and we couldn’t pull out a victory, but this year we came in as the underdog, weren’t expected to beat them, but we did. We introduced a revamped offense where instead of passing the ball 30-40 times a game, we were running the ball 30-40 times per game and that caught them off guard. That win has been the most memorable just because so many people doubted us and didn’t believe in us, and we let that fuel us to come out and win.
What helped you make your decision to commit to Princeton University?
It was a very tough decision between Princeton and a few of the other schools I was considering; I loved the campus and the academics are great, but what stood out about the school was the coaching staff. When I went to visit over the summer, I got to meet Coach Surace, Coach Morrissey and Coach Verbit, and they are phenomenal coaches. Their recent success in Ivy League play, undefeated right now, proved their football team to be a successful program. Also, talking to Chad [Kanoff ’13] and Henry [Schlossberg ’13], who are freshmen at Princeton this year, helped me make my final decision and made it feel like the perfect fit for me.
How long have you been playing football and what made you decide to pursue it?
I started playing football for Harvard-Westlake in eighth grade. I decided to pursue it because my dad played in college, and I grew up watching the sport and hearing about it from him, so as soon I got the opportunity, I wanted to play.
How do you think injuries have affected the team this year?
Obviously it’s hard when your starting quarterback goes down. We have that next man up attitude, which is something you have to have in football. Guys have done a really good job of stepping up, especially because of the type of injuries we have had recently. We have had a lot of freshmen and sophomores step up which bodes well for the future of this program.
This season the team has had some incredible wins and some tough losses. How do you think that has affected the team’s mentality throughout the season?
We have been considered the underdog the whole season. With the graduation of guys like Chad Kanoff ’13, Thomas Oser ’13, Clinton Hooks ’13 and Henry Schlossberg ’13, people were counting us out and considering us an underdog , so we had to get used to that underdog mentality. We have had some tough injuries to guys like Garrett Robinson ’15, Marshal Cohen ’16 and Hassan Smith ’15, but we have just kept persevering and fighting through it.
