Sunny Hills LB Carson Irons breaks down commitment to Princeton

Photo: Courtesy of Carson Irons

Michael Huntley August 19, 2020 @ 10:00 AM

On November 22, with 12 seconds remaining in the CIF-Southern Section Division 8 semifinal game against Trabuco Hills, Carson Irons was moments away from making the play of his life. Sunny Hills had a 31-27 lead and Trabuco had the ball at the Lancers' 7-yard line. The ball was tipped and Irons dove under it to intercept the pass and <a href="https://www.ocregister.com/2019/11/22/sunny-hills-calm-at-the-end-collects-win-over-trabuco-hills-and-spot-in-division-8-final/">send Sunny Hills to its first CIF championship game since 1992.</a> Irons had been a crucial part of the rebuild of the Sunny Hills football program and had played in his share of big games. But none bigger than sending his hometown school to its first championship since 11 years before he was even born. “I’m still processing it a bit,” Irons said. “I had the ball and was like, ‘What is this? This has never happened to me before,’ and then I realized that was the game. It’s crazy.” Irons has an impeccable work ethic on the football field and in the classroom. He had offers to play football at multiple Ivy League school. On August 13, Irons announced his commitment to Princeton University. "There were a lot of factors that went into my decision, but the main one for me was definitely my connection with the coaching staff and especially linebacker coach, (Mike) Weick," Irons said. "Over the course of the spring and summer I had the chance to build a strong relationship with them, and got a taste of the unique culture they built under Coach (Bob) Surace. Once I finally visited the campus there was little doubt in my mind that it was place for me." https://twitter.com/CarsonIrons/status/1294071304564248577?s=20 Irons never took an official visit to Princeton, but visited the campus on his own and took virtual tours with the coaching staff. Once California moved the football season from the fall to January, Irons decided he wanted to commit before the season so he could focus on his senior year. "With the unprecedented times we are in, and the postponement of the football season past signing day, we felt that there was no real reason to wait any longer to make a decision," Irons said. "Obviously my confidence in Princeton is what ultimately allowed me to make such an early commitment." Irons had 186 tackles and 92 solo tackles last season, <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/07/southern-sections-top-5-returning-tackling-leaders/">the second most solo tackles of any returning player in the Southern Section.</a> He was named CIF-SS Division 8 Defensive Player of the Year and All-County by the Orange County Register. Throughout the pandemic, Irons has had to get creative with his workout regimen due to local gyms and campus being closed. Fortunately, Sunny Hills is largely a program of local Fullerton kids who grew up together and he used his solid network of friends to stay in shape. "I had no issues with getting in field work as there were many parks that remained open," Irons said. "I used a combination of home workouts and workouts at teammates’ houses to keep up with my weight lifting." Sunny Hills will defend its CIF championship this winter and they open the season against a tough Capo Valley team. "I’m disappointed that we won’t get a chance to play in the fall and have a completely normal season but I’m excited to play a full schedule in the spring and defend our CIF title," Irons said. "Five months of extra preparation definitely doesn’t hurt either."