Athlete of the Week: Peter Sarantos

JULIA TIERNAN/YH

It takes a lot of skill to be a good defensive end. Sarantos has skills. "He's got great physical tools: height, weight, upper body strength, and lower body strength," Eli defensive coordinator Rick Flanders said. But it takes more than skills to be a tal ent-it takes a certain attitude that Sarantos definitely displays. No, not the type of attitude one finds in a bad Lyle Alzado public service announcement-a combination of brawn and neanderthalism. More the type of attitude one gets after mixing Rocky Ba lboa and Robin Williams-a combination of resilience and eccentricity.

Teammate Scott Benton, MC '99, recognizes this attitude in Sarantos, who he says is always "out there running around, joking around...He's always going 100 miles per hour; I don't know how he had so much energy." Flanders added, "He's a high emotional, no n-stop player."

Although Sarantos describes himself (perhaps a little too modestly) as "the type of guy who blends into the crowd," he admits that it is probably his attitude and determination more than anything else that make him a successful player. Sarantos has the ad ded bonus of being able to combine such a determination with a vision of his role on the field.

For some, a sack might just be one small moment in an entirely more complex winning effort, a skirmish within a war, but, for Sarantos "[getting a sack] is kind of like saving the world except the world isn't the world but the world is your team."

Of course, it helps that he is beginning to gain a better understanding of Yale's defensive scheme. After playing tailback and outside linebacker in Michigan at Portage Northern High School and tight end his freshman year at Yale, Sarantos has spent the l ast year improving at defensive end. Sarantos claims that his improvement is the result of "a natural maturation process that goes on as you start to understand a defense more and your body matures more." Flanders added, "He is getting to be a more consis tent player at what we ask him to do, so he is able to use his skills and great intensity in a positive manner."

While busy looking at Sarantos' developing success, one cannot forget that it takes more than just physical skills to be a good football player. In the words of Benton, "In football, it helps if you have a few screws loose."

-Deidre Brill

Back to Sports...