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PU football finally opens pre-season camp

Captain Koch looking forward to final season

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Not quite one week after his 21st birthday, Matt Koch received the best present he could get.
   Football practice started for the Princeton University senior.
   Koch remained on campus this summer to condition and prepare for the upcoming season in which he will be one of three Tiger captains. He has stayed at Princeton the last three summers, not that it makes waiting for the start of preseason any easier.
   ”The summer just drags on,” Koch said. “It’s just a pain. But you’ve got that light at the end of the tunnel.”
   Of course, the first light of practice teases defensive linemen like Koch, who hasn’t hit anyone since spring practices ended in April. The Tigers didn’t get the chance to go full pads until Saturday.
   ”We go at it without the pads,” Koch said. “It’s hard after the summer after not hitting anybody to come back and be gentle. You always look forward to actually being able to suit it up and put the pads on.”
   The first four days of practice are like a cram session for an organic chemistry test. The Tigers put in the great majority of their offense and defense in those days when they don’t have pads.
   ”You have to tone it down and make sure the periods when you do work with offense and defense, you protect each other,” said Princeton head coach Roger Hughes. “We’ve worked on our passing game. We’ve tried to minimize those incidental collisions. Right now, we get them lined up and they find out where they have to go. They don’t have to worry about the hits yet. Now they just have to concentrate on their assignment.”
   After four years in the program, the first four days are review for Koch, a chemistry major who spent his summer doing research toward his senior thesis, volunteering in a hospital and studying for the MCAT that is required for admission to medical school. He has already started those daunting applications. In addition to staying up on his future plans, he kept his teammates up on their workouts this summer.
   ”As a starter the past couple years, on the D line I’ve been the one to talk to everyone,” said Koch, who comes from Ponte Verda, Fla. “I checked to see that everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing.”
   Hughes is pleased with the way that players like Koch who stayed on campus have returned. Some others will have to be brought up to speed after not doing as well as the Tigers had hoped in their strength and conditioning tests.
   ”For the guys who were not here, it’s a mixed bag,” Hughes said. “The incoming freshmen, they don’t understand how to do the test. They don’t do as well as the upperclassmen. When guys are off campus, it’s hard to push yourself as much as a strength coach and your teammates can. I was a little disappointed with the conditioning. We’ll have to work on that some.”
   Good thing that Koch lists running as one his enjoyments. Keeping his motor running has never been a problem. The 6-foot, 255-pounder might seem a tad undersized for a defensive tackle, but it didn’t stop him from earning All-Ivy honorable mention while leading Princeton defensive linemen with 37 tackles, including 12 solo tackles.
   Koch would have traded in his fine individual effort for a better performance by the Tigers, who answered their 2006 Ivy League championship with a 4-6 season, 3-4 in the Ivies. One week later, Koch and his teammates were in the weight room preparing for this year.
   ”We don’t get much down time,” Koch said. “I think it’s better we start back at it with it fresh in our minds. None of us are happy with how we played last season.”
   Princeton was ranked among the worst teams in the nation in turnover ratio last season. The Tigers haven’t wasted time in addressing that problem. They also had problems scoring offensively in the red zone and preventing touchdowns for opponents that reached the red zone. Opponents got there too often because the Tigers weren’t as proficient at stopping third downs, something that is motivating Koch this year.
   ”We had a lot of trouble on third down last year,” Koch said. “Their completion percentages were way higher. One thing we’ll work on, two years ago, every third down we were getting them off the field.
   ”I just think it’s the first thing we need to work on. We’re doing turnover circuits in practice every day. We’ve already started into that.”
   Princeton will have a pre-season test when it hosts Yale in a scrimmage Friday evening at Princeton Stadium. The Bulldogs are picked to be one of the co-favorites to win the Ivy League this year.
   ”We’re really excited,” Koch said. “All the freshmen I’ve seen are ready to go. They’ve been playing well. And the guys that came back are ready to go. There’s more of a sense of urgency you didn’t really feel last year.”
   Koch and fellow captains Adam Perry and Brian Anderson have tried to set the tone for the season early. Perry is a wide receiver while Anderson is a quarterback. They are just the second trio of captains that the Tigers have had in program history.
   ”I think it’ll work out really well,” Koch said. “We all bring different things to the table. Adam is the overall organized guy. Brian and I are with the guys a lot. It helps split up our duties. I think it’ll work out really well.”
   Said Hughes: “I’ve seen great leadership. I see leadership by example. They’re taking a lot of the burden off the coaching staff in terms of policing the team. It’s great because it allows the coaches to keep their attention on what does require attention.”
   Koch got an early start on his duties as one of the players who remained on campus. He worked out with teammates and kept them motivated as he prepared for his final year with the Orange and Black.
   ”I’ve stayed every summer since I was a rising sophomore,” Koch said. “It’s been really important. As a captain, it was that much more important. It’s what I’ve been doing. It’s worked out well for me.”
   Except for the wait. Matt Koch is into the light now, however, and now looking forward eagerly to the start of the season, Sept. 20 at The Citadel.