Princeton QB Kanoff poised for senior season
PRINCETON » From the instant he found a shoulder injury would keep him out for the entirety of his sophomore season, Chad Kanoff knew he wanted the rare five-year Ivy League plan.
Now a senior, Kanoff is set to start at quarterback for a third consecutive season when Princeton takes the field in its opener on Sept. 16 against San Diego.
“Even last year, I knew I was going to come back,” Kanoff said. “All my friends were saying, ‘it’s last this or last that,’ but it wasn’t for me.”
Kanoff helped guide the Tigers (8-2, 6-1) to a share of the Ivy title last season, but he’s going to carry more of the load this year than he ever has before.
Princeton is unlikely to have Bushnell Cup winner John Lovett for the start of the season after he underwent surgery in the offseason. Coach Bob Surace had no new update on Friday other than to say “he’ll be back at some point when he’s healthy, and then he’ll play, and that will be determined by the medical staff.”
Lovett scored program record 21 touchdowns (20 rushing, one receiving) and threw for 10 more as a jack-of-all trades who gave defenses fits. He averaged 99.3 yards of offense per game and found paydirt 2.1 times per contest.
There aren’t any other players like him in the FCS, let alone the Ivy League.
“We try to get the ball in the best player’s hands and he was the best player in the league, not just the best player on our team,” Surace said. “In so many aspects, running the ball, catching it, he was a really good thrower . ... We’re working through the camp to figure out who is taking some of those reps as a ball carrier or receiver.”
Surace said he’s not concerned that the offense, which averaged 34.6 points per game, will slow down. Princeton plays fast — utilizing the popular no-huddle spread — and wants to run around 80 plays per game.
“It doesn’t change a ton,” Kanoff said. “We don’t have one of our best players, but we lost guys to graduation, so it’s kind of similar. He’s an additional guy that we’re losing.”
For however long Lovett is out, the responsibility falls directly on Kanoff’s shoulders to pick up the slack. The 6-4, 225-pounder out of Harvard Westlake in California threw for 2,295 yards (229.5 per game) in his first season as a starter, but took a step back statistically last year.
Kanoff posted a rather pedestrian 174.1 yards per game and tossed just six touchdowns that matched his six interceptions. In fairness to Kanoff, Lovett took a lot of the red zone opportunities.
“I wouldn’t say it puts more pressure on me,” Kanoff said. “Yeah, we lost one of our best players from last year. We need more guys to step up.”
Even if the even-keeled Kanoff won’t say it, his coaches know he’s ready for the responsibility.
“If you can soak up so much in four years time, and now having his fifth year, he’s a veteran of this offense,” first-year offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson said. “He’s a special intellectual quarterback where there are times in practice if things go awry or a particular protection is overwhelmed he almost never takes a sack or does something wrong with the ball.”
Kanoff stayed on campus this summer — he helped out a friend with a start-up company and worked with some of his wide receivers who were around — and he’s ready to go out with a bang. For real this time.
“His operational time for things, it’s better than we’ve ever been,” Surace said. “Our tempo in practice has been outstanding, he’s getting the ball out quicker than he ever has and it’s on the money . ... We do a lot of different things in our spread offense, but his ability to make the right decision, it’s been really fun to watch his development.”