Gunter, Ploszek changing positions for football team
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Whether or not Pete Ploszek and Kenny Gunter see significant time in Saturday’s opener for the Princeton University football team, their selfless attitude is an indication that the Tigers are off to a solid start to the 2007 campaign.
Both Ploszek and Gunter were asked to change positions. Both have done so without hesitation, as have many before them.
”We’ve been very blessed with some decent athletic classes over the last three years,” said PU head coach Roger Hughes. “Sometimes we end up with some good athletes in the same spots. It’s a fun problem to have. We’ve changed recruiting now so that we’re trying to find the best athletes. We tell them when we’re recruiting them that they have to check their ego at the door.
”We tell them we’ll find best place where they can help us. We’ll start you where you want, but we might find another place you can help us. Pete and Kenny have been outstanding in their attitudes.”
Gunter was asked in the spring to move from quarterback to running back due to several injuries at the tailback position. Gunter figures to add insurance for returning rushing leaders R.C. Lagomarsino and Rob Toresco while Jordan Culbreath has returned from a spring injury to step into the rotation. Gunter is now an option as well.
”He did so well in his first three or four practices, we felt like let’s see how he can do at it,” Hughes said of the sophomore. “He has a long way to go in terms of experience. But he’s used to holding the ball. We’re really pleased so far with his progress.”
Said Gunter: “I wouldn’t have switched if I wasn’t going to contribute to the team. It made it easier to switch knowing I’d help the team out rather than sitting on the bench.”
Ploszek has had even less time to adjust, yet could have the better chance to play when the Tigers host Lehigh 6 p.m. Saturday in the season opener on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium. Hughes phoned him just weeks before the start of the fall preseason camp to ask about him moving from the suddenly crowded running back stable to the experience-lacking defensive backfield.
”Coach Hughes called and explained they could use my skill set on the defensive side of the ball and it would help the team,” Ploszek recalled. “Once I heard that, that’s what sold it to me. Anything to have the success we had last year, I was all for.”
By putting the team first, the Tigers are a small step closer to their goal of repeating as Ivy League champions. Ploszek, who saw time early last season at running back and also as a kick returner, didn’t mind the move even after spending his first two years on the offensive side of the ball.
”A lot of the success we had last year was derived from the whole selfless sense the team carried, no matter what, putting the team ahead of personal goals and desires,” explained the junior. “The success I saw from that helped me push aside any personal desires I had and offer myself up to what the team needs.
”I enjoy playing offense. But since I moved, it brought back the nostalgia of playing in high school. It reawakened the fun I had playing defense in high school once my head stopped spinning from trying to learn everything. I’ve been having a blast playing defense. I’m very content with switching.”
So is Gunter. He acknowledged the impact of switching positions for the good of the team rather than his own person benefit.
”It’s got to be hard on some level for anyone to give up playing a position they have all their life,” said Gunter, who was an all-league and second-team all-state quarterback at Arlington (Wash.) High. “But it’s such a great group of guys, it’s turned into a situation where everyone really puts the team first.”
In Ploszek’s first three years at St. Charles East in Illinois, he made his mark as a free safety. As a junior, he earned all-conference and all-area accolades and appeared on the radar of several colleges as a defensive player. When a new coaching staff came in for his junior year, he became a feature back and gained over 1,500 total yards, which showed his offensive potential. Ploszek was willing to play either side of the ball, and it turns out at Princeton, he likely will do both.
”I’ve never played corner before, it was always safety,” he said. “Being out on an island on a receiver has been a challenge. I feel that I’ve been able to keep up with the receivers. We have such a great corps or receivers with Brendan (Circle), (Will) Thanheiser and (Adam) Berry. It helps you condition yourself to get ready for game speed. My comfort level has only increased over time as well as my confidence level. It helps with being in 1-on-1 coverage.”
The Tigers have been impressed with what they have seen from Ploszek. His learning curve has been swift considering that he did not get the spring repetitions at defensive back of many of the players he is competing with for playing time.
”We’re trying to find the best three or four guys,” Hughes said. “We’ve been playing him at corner. He’s physical enough to play him at safety. He’s gotten better every day. I didn’t know he’d be able to play a cover type corner. He’s done some things to allow us to use him more extensively. And he’s only a junior.”
Gunter is only a sophomore and is adjusting to playing running back. It is a definite change from being the signal-caller.
”Because I was quarterback, I got a very good understanding of the whole scheme,” Gunter said. “I know where I should be or where I should end up. It’s definitely different. Reading blocks, using techniques to block, it’s taken me time to make the adjustment. It’s completely different from playing running back.”
Finding the holes used to be Ploszek’s job. His role now involves being a part of stopping the offense. He has had to learn a new set of terms, new footwork and a new job.
”Camp has been tough because it’s taken a lot to learn the defensive side of the ball,” he said. “It’s been a lot to process. It’s a day-by-day thing. If I can learn one new thing every day, I’m happy. It shows I’m making progress.”
In the progress shown by Gunter and Ploszek, the Tigers too are moving toward their ultimate goal. The two join a growing list of Princeton players who have found success at a new position while helping improve the Tigers.
”Tim Strickland did it,” Hughes said. “We had a shortage at defensive back and asked him to move. He started all 40 games of his career and was an All-Ivy safety. I utilize him as an example.
”We try to recruit competitive kids. Tim was all-state wide receiver. Brett Barrie moved from starting noseguard to center. Ben Brielmaier moved from starting noseguard to guard. It’s worked out because of the kids we’ve had. We try not to ask them to move unless it will help them get on field.”
Gunter and Ploszek may get their chance this Saturday, or their chance could come later in the season or later in their careers. Either way, they think it will work out for the Tigers as it has for the aforementioned Tigers, as well as current PU contributors like Tim Boardman (linebacker to defensive line and back to linebacker) and Dan Kopolovich (quarterback to defensive back).
”It’s a credit to the type of athlete Princeton recruits,” Ploszek said. “They want to get on the field to help Princeton. It’s worked out in the long run.”
And both Gunter and Ploszek are committed to the Tigers for the long run. They have embraced their switches.
”When I initially made the switch, it was still up in the air if I’d move back to quarterback after this year,” Gunter said. “I think it’s for good though. I’m really loving playing running back. It would definitely be OK if I ended up staying here the next three years. I played both ways in high school. At quarterback, you don’t get touched in practice. I forgot how much I loved contact. Right now, I’m having a lot of fun playing running back.”

