Canadian nose tackle leads Elis to Philly

Corwynne Carruthers will be breathing down Matt Rader's neck. Corwynne Carruthers is an athlete from Canada who is now making his mark in the United States. Carruthers anchors the unit that will spend Saturday afternoon trying to stop Penn running back Jim Finn. The captain of the Yale football team and the Elis' starting nose guard, Carruthers will have his sights set on keeping the Ivy League's leading rusher under control. "Jim Finn -- he's a a big boy. He likes to pound it in there," Carruthers said. "We'll try to wrap him up, but he's a big dude." In last year's matchup at the Yale Bowl, Finn ran for 187 yards, but Carruthers and other members of the Yale defense have worked hard to prevent a repeat performance from Finn on Saturday. "About 15 of us stayed over the summer and worked with the strength coach," Carruthers said. Through these intense summer workouts, Carruthers has shaped his 6'2", 295-pound physique. He also believes that he is now more explosive and stronger coming off the line. Carruthers gives most of the credit for this improvement to Yale second-year defensive line coach and former Penn assistant Duane Brooks. "Duane Brooks made a world of difference," said Carruthers, who currently bench presses 480 pounds. "He's taught me so much about playing defensive line." Brooks is part of the staff hired by new Yale coach Jack Siedlecki in 1996. After the 1997 season, the new staff altered Yale tradition by not allowing the team to vote for next season's captain until spring practice. "[Siedlecki's] whole goal was to create more leaders on the team," Carruthers said. Carruthers received the most votes from his teammates and has emerged as the team leader on the defensive side of the ball. "[Carruthers] is the hardest working kid on the team," Siedlecki said. "He's helped us develop other leaders on the team. It's difficult for one guy to be the leader." While Carruthers' work ethic and leadership has inspired his teammates, his numbers may not impress many people. Although he has only made six solo tackles and recorded just one sack, Carruthers' play on the line has enabled other Yale defenders to make plays. "We want our nose guard to force doubles, so our linebackers will have more freedom to make tackles," Siedlecki said. This philosophy has worked for the Elis so far this season, as linebackers Peter Mazza and Scott Benton are on pace to surpass their tackle totals from last season by far. Mazza only had 39 tackles last year, but now leads the team with 56 and is on pace for 93 this season. Carruthers is a big reason for Yale's improvement from last season, and he believes that the football he played in high school in Toronto prepared him well for the Ivy League. Although Canadian football features some differences, like a 110-yard field, 12 players on each side and only three downs, the basic idea is still the same. "You still have to line up and hit somebody," Carruthers said. The Canadian brand of football may be similar to its American counterpart, but according to Carruthers, the school system is not quite the same. Although the Yale football program showed interest in Carruthers when he was at Crestwood Secondary School, he did not get accepted to Yale after his senior year. "The grading system in Canada is a little different, so it got messed up in the transfer," Carruthers said. Since he could not play in New Haven immediately, Carruthers attended the Kent School, a prep school in Connecticut. While his grades were similar to the ones he received in high school, Carruthers thinks that Yale was more likely to trust grades from a school in the United States. Nevertheless, his time at the Kent School allowed Carruthers to gain an extra year of football experience that he believes has helped him in his career at Yale. Currently, he is concentrating on the Ivy League title race, which has both Yale and Penn sitting atop the standings. Carruthers will be looking to keep Yale at the top by punishing Jim Finn and friends at Franklin Field.