Princeton’s Lovett, Ivy Offensive POY, to miss part of season
During Princeton’s 2016 Ivy League championship football season the play of John Lovett and Chad Kanof was one of the team’s biggest strengths, and the return of that pair put the Tigers as co-favorites heading into the upcoming campaign.
The Ivy League media poll was released on Tuesday and Princeton and Harvard tied for first. They are followed by Penn, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia and Cornell.
The two Princeton standouts both play the quarterback position, but Lovett also caught 26 passes, ran for 411 yards and scored a combined 21 touchdowns to earn the distinction of being the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year.
However, a nagging injury of an unspecified nature from the season forced Lovett to have surgery on Monday and he will miss a part of the season.
“We had hoped with some rest and rehabilitation that he’d be fine,” said Princeton coach Bob Surace. “But he suffered a little setback and surgery was performed. I’m sure he’ll be attacking his rehab and we look forward to getting him on the field soon.”
During Tuesday’s media conference call, Surace was unable to give a definitive date of Lovett’s return, but he did not expect him to miss the entire season.
The situation does get eased some as Kanoff is coming off an exceptional season and ready to assume more duties.
Kanoff threw for 1,741 yards on 272 attempts and six touchdowns as the Tigers earned a share of the Ivy title with Penn.
“Chad Kanoff will lead the skill group this season,” said Surace. “Chad played the game at a high level last fall and his leadership has been outstanding. We are excited to see him take his game up to the next level.”
Surace is entering his eighth season at the helm of the Tigers, and has a 33-37 mark with a pair of shared Ivy championships.
The only major change in the coaching staff has Sean Gleeson taking over for the departed Steve Perry as Offensive Coordinator. Perry left for the head job at Bryant.
Charlie Volker returns at running back after a team-high 574 yards and four touchdowns.
The receiving corps will be led by Jesper Horsted, who hauled in 30 passes for 413 yards and a TD in 2016. The Tigers are going to need to develop some depth at the position as several other top receivers have graduated.
Maybe the biggest strength for the Tigers will be the offensive line as they return of nine of the 10 that played in the two-deep system.
“All those guys saw time last year,” said Surace. “They are led by Mitch Sweigart, who has been an outstanding anchor at left tackle the last three seasons.”
Heading into the season with some young receivers a strong offensive line will be a plus as more skilled players strengthen their game.
Princeton has a young defense, having lost six All-Ivy players the last two years.
The Tigers are led by All-Ivy performer Kurt Holuba on the line. Holuba was a runner-up for the Ivy Defensive Player of the Year.
He has some help from Chance Melancon returning to the secondary.
“We are excited to get going and get back to practice in a couple weeks,” said Surace.