PU lineman in fast forward

Buchignani is a top defender

By: Justin Feil
   Peter Buchignani moves very well for a 6-foot-3, 265-pounddefensive lineman.
   He never, however, expected to move this quickly in the Princeton University football program. He enters his sophomore season with big expectations on his broad shoulders after starting the final five games of the 2005 season.
   "Being a freshman, I wasn’t expecting much out of myself," said Buchignani, who earned the Tigers’ Harland "Pink" Baker ’22 award as the top defensive freshman. "Now, it’s time to accept some leadership for this D-line unit. We understand we’re bringing some experience back to help this defense."
   Buchignani is on the move again. After playing nose guard last year in the Tigers’ 3-4 alignment, he has been pushed out to one of the defensive end spots. Though just a sophomore, he will be one of the leaders of a defense that saw its first test of the preseason in a scrimmage against Yale on Thursday.
   "On the defensive side, the guys who have stepped up in the preseason are some of the big guys up front," said PU defensive coordinator Steve Verbit. "Peter Buch has come back bigger and stronger than he was last year. He started (five) games for us. I think he’s had a good preseason and has stepped it up pretty well.
   "Then Jake Marshall, being a veteran and a senior, he’s a leader of the defense. There’s no question about that. He didn’t play (Thursday) but he’s been a leader all summer, he was a leader in the spring and we expect a lot of good things out of him and fellow senior Mike Meehan."
   Behind the three linemen who all were starters at points throughout the 7-3 campaign last season will be an entirely new linebacker corps. Gone are four graduated seniors — Abi Fadeyi, Rob Holuba, Justin Stull and Nate Starrett.
   "Last year, we definitely looked up to those guys," Buchignani said. "They were senior leaders. It’s a different role this year. We have younger guys on the defense but we still have a lot of confidence in these guys. We still look to each other to make plays and put responsibility on ourselves to make plays too."
   When it comes to playmakers, no one was a bigger loss from last year’s defense than Jay McCareins, who is expected to make the Arizona Cardinals practice squad. The unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection had nine interceptions last year.
   "We’re always looking to be opportunistic with turnovers," Buchignani said. "It’s obvious that Jay was an exceptional player. It’s hard to replace somebody like that. I think it’ll take a whole team effort to keep that turnover ratio as high as it was pretty much by himself last year."
   The Tigers have just two starters back from their defensive backfield, Tim Strickland and J.J. Artis. The Tigers will have to replicate their 28 takeaways of a year ago with a slightly different formula, one that relies on their experience and skill in other areas.
   "Up front," Verbit said, "we may be able to get a little more pass rush this year than we have in the past because of the size we have which will also help us. Not just turning into particularly sacks, but also disruptions, forcing the quarterback to step up, changing the launch point, throwing it a little sooner than he’d like to throw it or a little higher than he’d like to throw it. So we have to look at a little better pass rush up front and then Strickland and J.J. Artis both being in position to make plays for us."
   Buchignani showed with each passing week last year that he could be one of the Tigers playmakers. He recorded 27 tackles, including 10 solo stops. Two of those tackles went for losses. He even recorded one takeaway when he recovered a fumble in the season-ending 30-0 win over Dartmouth. Princeton finished one game out of first place in the Ivy League when Yale outscored it, 14-0, in the fourth quarter in the ninth game of the year, Buchignani’s fourth career start.
   "It was an exciting year," he said. "I wouldn’t take it back for anything. We had a lot of success. It was a really exciting to be part of the college football experience. It was a lot different from high school.
   "I had a really good feeling after the season, not that it was the way we intended it to be. We wish we could have won that (Yale) game. That’s what we were working so hard in the offseason to do this year, so we can come back and win the Ivy championship."
   To do so, Princeton will have to lean more heavily on returning starters like Buchignani while the inexperienced players get up to speed. Princeton will need plays from young and old to contend again.
   "Mainly individually, we want the kids to make plays," said Tiger head coach Roger Hughes. "Teams that win games have players that make plays. As a younger player, you tend to wait for someone else to do that. We have to make sure they have the mindset that, it’s on me and I can’t wait around for someone else to do it."
   Being opportunistic on defense should help ease the pressure off a new offensive line early in the season. Princeton opens Sept. 16 at Lehigh. The Tigers have plenty of depth at the offensive skill positions, but could rotate offensive linemen early to find their best combination. Giving the offense a few extra chances via turnovers will be the defense’s duty.
   "I think we’re going to be very much a ball-control offense," Hughes said. "We’ll have to hang onto the football. The games we won last year, I think we were plus-three in turnovers; the games we lost, we were about minus-three. That’s going to be crucial. And we’re going to have to be very good on special teams. We’re going to have to create some opportunities with short fields doing those types of things."
   Twice in Thursday’s scrimmage, Princeton did just that. After an early interception, it took the Tiger offense just three plays to score. And after a blocked punt, Princeton took just one play to punch it in. The defense and special teams were solid early.
   "It’s definitely a lot of fun to hit some different jerseys every once in a while," Buchignani said. "I think we saw some positives things, but there’s definitely room for improvement. We just have to watch the tape and get better.
   "We have to work on just our intensity, and running to the ball hard. We have to shore up things because we graduated a lot of players so we’re not all there yet. We’re all working hard. We’re all trying to be the best defensive player we can be. We’ll be OK once we get a few more practices under our belt and find our team identity."
   The Tigers may have different pieces, but the goal remains the same. Princeton is chasing its first Ivy crown since 1995. They were never closer than last year.
   "They’re pretty hungry," Hughes said. "Not to bring up bad things, but that Yale loss last year still sticks in our mind. They’re still upset about it. It’s a driving force into how they worked this summer and what they’re going to do this season."
   Buchignani needs no other motivation. He was thrilled to be a part of the chase in his freshman year, but disappointed to have come up short. Now a year older, stronger and faster, he hopes to keep Princeton on the move upward to the top of the Ivy League.