BIG MAN ON CAMPUS

THE TIGERS' NEW RAG

Every Saturday morning during the football season, Princeton tailback Keith Elias clamps on a pair of headphones and pumps a steady stream of Bio-Hazard, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer into his system. By the lime he lines up on the field, his ears are ringing with the sound of metal so heavy it could peel the ivy off venerable Palmer Stadium. "It's powerful music," says Elias. "You listen to that music and the aggression and the power of it brings you to the next level, and you play like every play's your last. You're like the ultimate warrior."

This season Elias, a 5'11", 190-pound junior, has been ripping through opposing defenses to the tune of 206.3 yards a game—second in the nation behind the 209.2 average of San Diego Slate's Marshall Faulk. Elias has already had a 299-yard and a 273-yard game this year, and he is one reason Princeton is 4-0 and favored to win the Ivy League.

Off the field Elias is a history major with a 3.2 GPA. But he is also a brash and wild-eyed headbanger who is often as uncomfortable around his staid schoolmates as Ozzy Osbourne would be in argyle. "For the most part people on campus are pretty scared of me," Elias says. "I'm not real into that 'Conformity is good' jazz."

In last Saturday's 28-14 win over Brown, Elias showed some heavy mettle as he ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns against a defense geared toward stopping him. "It doesn't bother me," said Elias of Brown's strategy. "I'm not intimidated by anybody."

As for the prospect of defenses continuing to target him, Elias says, "Bring them on. If they're out to stop me, let's go. Let's rock and roll."

PHOTO

PAUL BERESWILL

Elias, scoring his first TD against Brown, is having a blast.