Cates, secondary ready for Citadel challenge
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
The Princeton University football team’s season opener is an unenviable matchup, except for those Tigers who want their biggest challenge first.
The Tigers open on the road 1 p.m. Saturday at No. 22 The Citadel, which is led by All-American junior receiver Andre Roberts, who is on the Walter Payton Watch List for the top player in Football Championship Subdivision. One of the biggest questions facing Princeton is its untested secondary with three new starters to go with cornerback Cart Kelly.
”I would much rather start with the biggest there is and be able to adjust from there,” said Wilson Cates, who will make his second career start when he suits up at strong safety Saturday. “That’s not saying the receivers in our league aren’t capable of being All-Americans. We face good receivers week in and week out. But this first week is very exciting because we’re facing this All-American status guy. He is very fast. He is very good. He looked fast against Clemson. To me, there’s no better way to start off a season with something to prove, almost with a chip on our shoulder.”
Roberts had nine catches for 153 yards and a touchdown in a 45-17 loss two weeks ago to a Clemson team ranked 21st in the Bowl Championship Series division. The Bulldogs are 1-1 after opening the year with a 54-7 win over Webber International.
”He looks fast against Clemson, which is scary to me because I know how fast Clemson is,” said Princeton linebackers coach Don Dobes. “He’s special. I’d be shocked if he wasn’t an NFL player someday soon.”
The Tigers have defeated nationally ranked teams in each of the past two seasons, and to upset The Citadel, the secondary will have to come together quickly. Cates is confident that Princeton has the playmakers it needs to counter Roberts and the Bulldogs.
”I was there on the (2006 Ivy League) Championship team and I saw Tim Strickland and Kevin Kelleher and J.J. Artis and those guys play at a level that Coach (Eric) Jackson wants the secondary to play at,” Cates said. “Last year, it was obvious we weren’t there. We were young and inexperienced. I think Kelleher and Joe Cereta were the only people left from the championship secondary.
”This spring, I was able to see us on that level, on that type of level that we need to be to be able to compete, to be able to make plays. People have continued to make plays in the secondary all throughout camp, all throughout the spring. People have worked hard in the summer. Everybody is on the same page. Everybody understands what it takes.”
The secondary isn’t the only spot that The Citadel will test on a Princeton team that is looking to bounce back from the 4-6 season of 2007. Princeton also has Brian Anderson making his second career start at quarterback. He won his only start in the Tigers’ season finale at Dartmouth last year, but he won’t be the only one taking snaps Saturday. Dan Kopolovich, a former all-state quarterback, has moved back from cornerback to the offensive side of the ball.
”Dan is one of the best athletes we have,” said Tigers head coach Roger Hughes, who is in his ninth season at Princeton. “It would be crazy for us to stand around and have him standing by us on the sidelines and not have a chance to have him exude his athletic ability on the field.”
Kopolovich could find himself on the field defensively as well, or even on special teams. The strengths of the Tigers figure to be the defensive line, which starts three seniors who all have at least two seasons of starting experience, the offensive line that also has five players with starting experience and a wide receiver corps of Adam Berry and Will Thanheiser.
Jordan Culbreath will see the bulk of the carries after playing significantly as a sophomore last year. His backup, senior R.C. Lagomarsino, the leading active rusher on the team, may not play this season, Hughes said Wednesday, due to the effects of a concussion. Culbreath will be running behind fullbacks Matt Zimmerman and Ryan Smith.
On the defensive side, the linebackers are John Callahan, Steven Cody, Scott Britton and Collin McCarthy. Under Dobes, the linebackers figure to be solid again. It’s behind them where there is less certainty.
Joining Cates to start are free safety Carlos Roque, who played some in the beginning of last year, cornerback Barry Newell, who is coming off a knee injury suffered in 2006, and Kelly, who started every game last year and figures to be matched up on Roberts early.
”That’s why we’re excited to go down there and play,” Cates said. “We’re ready to get the season kicked off so we can start proving people wrong.”

