Football: Third-year starter Wornham leads Tigers’ offense

It is the second year of a new system for offensive coordinator James Perry, senior quarterback Tommy Wornham and the rest of Princeton’s offense. Coming off a forgettable 1-9 season, with a new coaching staff that included two new coordinators and new systems on offense and defense, the Tigers look to put last year behind them and take advantage of a third-year quarterback and a fast-paced system that has now had a full year to take root.

“It’s been a great preseason,” Perry said. “Year two, as far as installation, is kind of a breath of fresh air — it’s a lot smoother.”

Last year, the Princeton depth chart was riddled with injuries to key players on both sides of the ball. In 2011, the Tigers will benefit from the return of Wornham, who went down with a broken collarbone last season against Brown. While returning a starting quarterback would normally be major news in the preseason, especially a quarterback who was ranked 12th nationally in total offense last season at the time of his injury, Wornham is flying under the radar this year, as all eight Ivy League football teams return their starting quarterbacks this season.

Wornham, who had three different quarterback coaches in three seasons, is gelling in Perry’s spread offense and has the potential for a breakout season.

“All winter long, [Wornham] just worked very hard and did a great job, so by the time the spring came around he was stronger than ever,” Perry said. “Equally important for him, at that position, is mental development. [With] how much time he’s spent in the film room and on the chalkboard with me, he’s made huge steps, and hopefully that comes together on the field.”

Wornham will line up behind a veteran offensive that features blockers who have all had game experience as starters for Princeton, which is key for a spread offense that emphasizes both speed and physicality.

Seniors Matt Allen at left guard and Kevin DeMaio at right tackle both started all 10 games last year. Highly regarded junior Kevin Mill will return at left tackle after an offseason knee injury cost him the 2010 season. At right guard, senior Mike Muha, senior Chris Grous and sophomore Taylor Pearson are still competing for a starting job that may feature a rotation of all three players to take advantage of some depth at that position. Sophomore Joe Goss will line up directly in front of Wornham at center after starting seven games last year as a freshman.

“The center position is like a second quarterback, and the faster we play, the better communicator he has to be,” Perry said. “For a freshman, he did a very good job, but it’s not a good thing to have your second quarterback be a freshman. Now, he’s not your typical sophomore, so it’s good for us to have a guy with experience.”

The Tigers will surround Wornham with a bevy of new faces at the other skill positions, having to replace wide receivers Trey Peacock ’11 and Andrew Kerr ’11 and running backs Jordan Culbreath ’11 and Matt Zimmerman ’11. Junior Akil Sharp is a first-time starter at tailback after gaining experience in the final three games of last season, while sophomore Brian Mills provides a speedy complement to Sharp. Sophomore Jason Ray will provide the power in front of Sharp and Mills at fullback after switching sides from linebacker.

“At [running back], you’re definitely going to play more than one guy — that’s just the nature of football today,” Perry said. “At the same time, you’d love to have a guy who can get in rhythm at the tailback position. [Akil] has shown himself to be a guy who can do that.”

Senior Isaac Serwanga and sophomore Connor Kelley will open the first game at wide receiver for the Tigers. Serwanga has been plagued by injuries and inconsistent play, but he has shown potential to be dangerous. Kelley was originally recruited at the quarterback position and played there in five games last year, but with the return of Wornham, he has been split wide to take advantage of his athleticism.

“It’s not uncommon in the Ivy League; you recruit a guy at the position, and then you switch positions,” Perry said. “He’s just a good football player, so it was great for him to develop that way.”

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Complementing the two starters will be junior Shane Wilkinson, who has made strides in the offseason and will be a favorite target in the slot. Princeton is very inexperienced at tight end, but juniors Mark Hayes and Des Smith will be key for the offense to maintain its speed and physicality.

This season, Perry will look for balance on an offense that was lacking last year. The Tigers have multiple options in running situations, as Wornham can use his feet with the ball as well as his arm to provide another threat alongside Sharp and Mills. If the wide receivers can quickly adapt to their new starting positions, Princeton should find an effective air-ground balance.

“When Tommy got hurt, obviously that hurt our passing game tremendously, and what was a balanced attack became a little harder to produce every week,” Perry said. “Right now, we should be very balanced. Tommy’s doing a great job, we have more depth at quarterback, the line’s doing very well and we’ve got Akil and a couple others who are on pace to carry the ball well.”

This year will be key for Perry and head coach Bob Surace ’90, who are in the second year of implementing their spread offensive scheme. This time, they hope to showcase their offense without a plague of injuries.

“We talked a lot about doing things the way Coach Surace wants them done, and then you talk about schematics; you’re doing a lot of talking,” Perry said. “You’re just trying to get the basics down, and when we looked back at the film, we weren’t very happy with some of the techniques that were being run. That’s the nature of the first year. Now that we’re in year two, we can clean some of those things up.”