Football Supplement 2017

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM

TABLE OF CONTENTS THE MAN, THE MEME, THE RUNNING BACK William Snow

THE VETERAN DEFENSE

6

PENN'S CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH

7

A TALL TASK

8

THE UNSUNG HEROES

8

HIGHLIGHTS FROM MEDIA DAY

9

Theodoros Papazekos

Cole Jacobson

Jacob Snyder

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

Jonathan Pollack

ALL EYES ON HIM

10

THE FIGHT FOR QB

13

PRIORE: CHASING HISTORY

14

A COLUMN FROM THE CAPTAIN

15

SWAMIS

16

AROUND THE IVY LEAGUE

17

HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST SEASON

18

Thomas Munson

Tom Nowlan

Jacob Adler

Louis Vecchio

Yosef Weitzman

FOOTBALL PREVIEW

DESIGN: CHRIS MURACCA JULIA SCHORR CAMILLE RAPAY LUCY FERRY

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THE ARC OF PENN FOOTBALL BENDS TOWARDS PROGRESS

PRINT: LUCIEN WANG PHOTO: ANANYA CHANDRA ZACH SHELDON

REPORTERS: THEODOROS PAPAZEKOS COLE JACOBSON JACOB SNYDER THOMAS MUNSON TOM NOWLAN JACOB ADLER EDITORS: WILLIAM SNOW JONATHAN POLLACK YOSEF WEITZMAN BREVIN FLEISCHER

WILLIAM SNOW

When I first received my letter of acceptance to Penn in 2014, the football program was in a bad place.

Fresh off a 2-8 season, the Quakers only finished above the Ivy League's perennial losers — Cornell and Columbia. On top of that, the team’s coach of 23 years, Al Bagnoli, had announced his retirement from coaching — only to renege on his word and move up to the Big Apple and coach for the worst team in the conference.

Things were looking dark as the start of the 2015 season rolled around, but newly-anointed Penn coach Ray Priore had other ideas.

Thrown straight into the fire with a game at Villanova, Priore’s Quakers pulled off their first win against the Wildcats in 104 years — literally the upset of the century.

The team then marched on to win six of its seven Ancient Eight games to take a share of the Ivy League title. A year earlier, or even a couple months earlier, it seemed unthinkable. In 2016, it seemed just as unthinkable that the Quakers could actually pull such a feat off again.

But they did. Not only did they take the title again in 2016, but they won in a two-way tie rather than sharing thirds. Winning it outright this year would be a cherry on top of the cake, but the arc of the program is clear to see regardless of what happens come November.

In Penn football’s heydey in the 2000s, there was only one Penn grad getting any meaningful minutes in the NFL, and even then, fullback Jim Finn was selected with the last pick of the NFL Draft and only ever rushed for a few dozen yards.

Over the past five years, however, there has been a notable uptick in Quakers vying for spots on NFL rosters. Former Penn tight-end Ryan O’Malley and center Greg van Roten have each had chances for minutes on the Raiders and Panthers, respectively. 2013 graduate Brandon Copeland registered

ZACH SHELDON | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR

The Penn football program has undergone a deep transformation over the past few years — from sixth in the league to two straight titles.

30 tackles for the Detroit Lions in 2015 and 2016.

Perhaps more excitingly, recent graduate Alek Torgersen was picked up by the Atlanta Falcons minutes after the draft ended in April. While the quarterback was waived by the NFC Champions after training camp, he was picked up almost immediately by the Washington Redskins to play on their practice squad for the season. With just two quarterbacks on Washington’s roster, however, Torgersen sits just one injury away from dressing out on Sundays.

And then there’s Justin Watson.

If the Penn community thought it would have its first player drafted since 2002 last year, then it must think that this time around will bring an even greater chance. Watson is set to break just about every Penn receiving record this season, and could yet break several Ivy League records as well.

Moreover, his versatility and frame — not to mention composure and charisma — could make him a mouth-watering proposition for NFL coaches, provided he has a good senior season. Especially with a new quarterback this fall, an All-American-caliber season would show that he can catch balls regardless of who’s throwing them.

The arc of the program is bending towards progress, and it’s not hard to see. The Penn administration is throwing its support behind the team with the advent of Fan Fests, which have been large

successes in boosting attendance and student spirit around Franklin Field.

Butts in seats aren’t the only way more people have been watching the Quakers play, either: 10 of the team’s games between last year and this upcoming season will have been aired on national television.

If Penn wins another Ivy League title this year, Priore will be the first coach in conference history to take the crown in each of his first three seasons at the helm. The gravity of such an achievement — in this era of parity among the league’s best teams, to boot — cannot be understated.

Yet somehow, such gravity fails to show signs of adding any weight to the Quakers’ shoulders. Priore has continued to emphasize having fun and developing as humans on top of improving as players, while the players themselves have touted once again their underdog status as reason not to feel the pressure too heavily. You really wouldn’t know the heights this program has reached by looking at them.

They’re up there, though.

They’ve been rising for years now.

And though they were voted down in the preseason poll once more, I’d put my money on the uprising to continue.

WILLIAM SNOW is a College junior from Nashville, Tenn., and is the senior sports editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. He can be reached at snow@thedp.com.

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Senior Tre Solomon is a key to the team on- and off-field WILLIAM SNOW Senior Sports Editor

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FOOTBALL PREVIEW

ZACH SHELDON | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR

Senior running back Tre Solomon (top) and TrePool (bottom) have combined to create one of Penn football's leading characters — on and off the field — capable of saving the team from any distress.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

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He is known many ways — No. 22 on the field; that athlete in your finance recitation; Penn football’s star running back, or perhaps even the best tailback in the Ivy League.

Some people call him Tre Solomon. Others call him TrePool.

Funny by nature, Solomon has always been known to add good memories to any classroom or locker room alike.

He’s even been known to post the occasional meme to Penn’s community meme group, the Official Unofficial Penn Squirrel Catching Club.

Topics of such memes have included awkward social interactions on Locust Walk, being unprepared for class and financial aid struggles.

“I just like posting memes because I think they’re hilarious, and relatable too, so it’s really fun to post something and get feedback on it, too,” he said.

He enjoys feedback, but has avoided getting himself into too much trouble thus far — shying away from hot-button subjects, the senior noted that he enjoys the humor of Penn’s everyday struggles.

“I don’t put out anything that’s super over the top or controversial, or anything like that,” Solomon said. “Just something funny we all go through — financial aid troubles, or not getting into the class you wanted … stuff like that.”

One look at his memes and you might think that he’s the football team’s class clown.

But humbly, Solomon pointed to junior lineman Tommy Dennis as his pick for funniest man on the squad.

That didn’t stop him, however, from stealing the spotlight at the program’s media day in the last week of August. His duties speaking to the press

complete, TrePool walked over to the team bench and picked up his prized possession — a $250 Deadpool mask imported from Russia, featuring interchangeable faces to imitate the satiric superhero’s different expressions.

“Worth every single dollar,” he chuckled. “It’s just amazing when a purchase comes together like this.”

Solomon proceeded to play in his Russian Deadpool mask with a group of kids on the football field, showing the youth of a comic-book-crazed teenager with dreams that he might one day develop superpowers of his own.

Yet somehow, for all his youth, Penn’s top running back has simultaneously revealed a maturity on the field over the past season and a half of his career. After developing in the shadow of his elder counterpart Brian Schoenauer, Solomon came into his own last year, catching the Ivy League off guard with his commendable displays.

“Last year [2015], I just don’t think I was as focused as I am this year [2016],” Solomon told the DP last October.

“This year, I’ve been working a lot with the coaches, working a lot with Brian [Schoenauer], and just trying to learn as much as I can and take as many reps as I can during practice.”

In 2016’s Ivy League titlerepeating campaign, TrePool rushed for 91 yards a game — 19 more than the next-best running back — and even went two-for-two passing, for a total of 29 yards. When the offense lined up with three backs and no Alek Torgersen in the backfield, he was the point man almost every play. Frankly, he stepped up in a way that not many foresaw.

This time around, with the pressure to three-peat on and without the certainty of Torgersen to provide relief at quarterback, the team could need him more than ever. He doesn’t see any need to be the team’s hero, however — at least, more than he already is.

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THE MAN, THE MEME, THE RUNNING BACK: TREPOOL CARRIES THE QUAKERS TO THE TOP

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW

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QUAKERS' VETERAN D SET FOR A THREE-PEAT Penn returns more All-Ivy defenders than any Ivy team THEODOROS PAPAZEKOS Associate Sports Editor

It might not be wise of you to tell Louis Vecchio what he can and can’t do.

After all, have you seen the guy?

The senior defensive end is listed at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, but those numbers pale in comparison to the presence he commands.

Vecchio is possibly the most talented player on the Penn football team, and he’s not thrilled about the way outsiders have been talking about him and his squad.

“We’re not worried about how the league views us,” Vecchio said.

“Ever since I’ve been here we’ve always been projected low in the polls and I don’t think that affects us at all. We know what our goals are.”

That goal has been met – at least in part – in each of the last two seasons. The Quakers have two straight co-Ivy League titles thanks in large part to a dependable defense with Vecchio on the front line. But with former QB Alek Torgersen now in the NFL, the defense will have to step up as an even more dominant unit.

“I think the defense has to raise

their game. We have to get better.

Our goal is to become a dominant presence in the Ivy League and continue the improvement we’ve made in the last two years,” defensive coordinator Bob Benson said.

That defense returns eight of last year’s starters, five All-Ivy selections, and seventeen letter winners.

The unit retains core leadership at each position, with Vecchio on the line, last year’s leading tackler Colton Moskal at linebacker, and second team All-Ivy selection Sam Philippi leading the defensive backs.

Benson was also quick to mention linebackers Nick Miller and Connor Jangro as players to watch as the season progresses.

Graduation, however, claims a never-ending supply of star athletes in college sports. The Quakers were lucky to only graduate two of last season’s starters, but it’s the transfer that hurts the most. Penn lost an emerging star cornerback Mason Williams to Duke when he decided to transfer this summer.

Williams led the Ivy League in interceptions in 2016 and provided the Quakers with a game-breaking shutdown corner. Instead, the Quakers have a hole to fill.

“I think you got a really good group competing [for William’s spot],” Benson said. “Eric Marx, who missed his freshman year due

FILE PHOTO

Senior defensive Taylor Hendrickson is one of several key veterans to return to Penn's defense, which brings back more All-Ivy defenders (five) than any other conference rival.

to injury; he and [Connor] O’Brian are excellent, excellent football players. We feel real good about it.”

Benson also mentioned freshman Jared Noble as a candidate to fill in alongside mainstay Jyron Walker at corner.

In terms of superstar potential, Louis Vecchio has an opportunity to expand on his First Team AllIvy selection last season. One of the two captains of the 2017 team

(along with wide receiver Justin Watson), Vecchio leads the defense in more ways than his sack total.

“I think you couldn’t come up with two better captains. Those are wonderful men and tremendous student-athletes. I think [Vecchio’s] leadership is key,” Benson noted. “Vecchio might be the best player in the Ivy League. One, he might be the best defensive lineman, and he might be the best

overall player in the league.”

With the amount of veteran experience and depth at essentially all 11 spots on defense, the leadership and skill of Vecchio, and the rookies waiting in the wings, the Quakers are poised to wreak havoc on the offenses in the Ivy League.

This defense is entirely capable of carrying Penn football to another Ivy title.

And they won’t let a preseason poll tell them otherwise.

Quakers' SoCal recruits have paid major dividends COLE JACOBSON Senior Sports Reporter

ANANYA CHANDRA | PHOTO MANAGER

Junior defensive back Sam Philippi is one of 16 Penn football players from Southern California — a region of heavy recruiting.

Columbia (three) and Brown (zero) have on their entire rosters born in any state.

“It’s hard to say [what separates Penn from the other Ivies in getting California kids], I think it definitely helps us,” Smart said. “I can’t speak for some of the other schools and how they divide up their recruiting resources. I know we’ve obviously put a priority on that area, and we have not just a bunch of players from southern California, but a bunch of really good players too.”

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ries, but another factor contributing to Penn’s current plethora of SoCal talent comes in the drastically changing culture of football recruitment.

A generation ago, coaches might have had to personally fly out to recruits’ high school games to evaluate talent or send a handwritten letter to express interest. But now, the rapid explosion of social media communication, combined with streamlined methods of sharing game film like Hudl and YouTube, has made the 2,700-mile barrier between Los Angeles and Philadelphia nearly obsolete.

“You can just really send a quick email to this coach, like the receivers’ coach at Penn, and next thing you know he’s coming to visit you, so social media has just opened up a bunch of doors,” wideout and Los Angeles native Christian Pearson said. “It’s a different culture, and that’s beautiful.”

The sheer number of Penn’s SoCal natives — five more than any other Ivy has — is surely impressive, but the quality very well might be even more phenomenal than the quantity. Even with the losses of Alek Torgersen to graduation and Mason Williams to Duke, the list of returning Cali-born stars goes on and on.

Safety Sam Philippi, punter Hunter Kelley, Pearson and defensive end Louis Vecchio give Penn a staggering four returning All-Ivy selections all hailing from the SoCal area — more than Cornell (three),

end of that, they’ll show us the rings,” Vecchio said. “But it’s nice to know that we all kind of came from a similar program and similar grind, but we put that all behind us and we’re all a team now.”

Of course, when it comes to inter-state chirping, all prior California rivalries are laid to rest.

“We’re always talking about it, all the Texas guys always say Texas football is better, all the Florida guys always say Florida football is better,” Philippi said. “But you know, number one league [the Trinity League, which produced five current Penn players] in the entire country, I think SoCal takes it.”

All locker room jokes aside, Penn’s SoCal veterans do play a major role in promoting a culture of keeping this pipeline going for years. With older players sharing their wisdom on football, school, travel and anything else to prospective players, the “Circle of Life” for the Quakers’ southern California talent has no signs of stopping any time soon.

“When I go back and visit my high school, kids are always asking me how Penn is, and I always tell them that I’ve had the most fun that I’ve ever had playing at Penn,” Philippi said. “It’s the best decision I’ve ever made, and hopefully those kids can see that the Penn experience is something not matched by any other school in the entire country.”

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

With a pair of conference championships in Ray Priore’s first two seasons, it’s no secret that Penn football’s turnaround has been one for the history books.

And the secret ingredient to the Red and Blue’s sudden resurgence?

The Quakers’ own California gold rush.

Year after year, Penn’s Southern California recruiting pipeline has grown larger and larger, and this coming season will be no exception. With 16 SoCal natives on their 2017 roster — as many as Penn has from any non-California state — the Quakers are locked and loaded with supreme talent from across the country as they embark on their three-peat attempt.

“It’s a hotbed for not only really good players, but also high academic kids, kids that can get into school and have a lot of talent,” said linebackers’ coach Jeff Smart, primarily responsible for recruiting the SoCal region. “We’ve had some success recruiting down there, and once you get a couple of guys and you start developing a little bit of a pipeline, people start to hear about UPenn and you build a pretty good amount of excitement down there.”

When juxtaposing the Ivy League with the football prestige of west coast schools from the Pac-12 and Mountain West Conference, it might seem like a tall order to coerce such high-level talent to forgo those opportunities in favor of heading thousands of miles away from their homes.

But at the end of the day, it’s what’s off the field that counts just as much as what’s on it in the minds of countless recruits, and the Red and Blue have seized full advantage.

“It’s a populated area and it’s got great football, and there’s a natural draw east for those great academic kids that want the academic presence of the Ivy League,” defensive coordinator Bob Benson said. “California is a key, key state, it’s highly populated with great football, and they must come east to find those academic schools, so it goes handin-hand.”

The academic prestige of the Ivy League has existed for centu-

It’s no coincidence that so many of Penn’s players from the area are immediately ready to contribute.

With the notorious amount of talent located in the Los Angeles and Orange County regions, California prospects routinely enter their collegiate careers having seen the likes of major Division I talent week in and week out.

“Yeah, I would definitely think that’s a factor [in adjusting to the college game],” Philippi said. “The speed of play I think is what goes up when you come to college football, and coming from there, that transition is a little bit easier. Going against so many guys that are D-I players, teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the country every year, it helps out at the college level.”

And when throwing such accomplished high school athletes from the same area in the same locker room, the smack talk is going to be through the roof. Even though all the Red and Blue players are united now with the common goal of that Ivy League ring, banter about the old days inevitably comes up with some California-on-California crime.

“Yeah, that [smack talk] is great, especially when Torg and even Hunter [Kelley] on the team now — I [and 2017 Penn grad Nick Whitton] played them in my high school’s [2012 division championship] in Angel Stadium, and they beat us, so I never got to hear the

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PENN'S SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

DON'T GIVE THE QUAKERS ANOTHER TITLE JUST YET JACOB SNYDER

Here at the University of Pennsylvania, students are often victims of setting the bar too high for themselves, creating stress and unnecessary expectations. Though the Quakers are confident they can pull off a three-peat in football, many outside the program do not view Penn as the favorite to win the Ivy League.

Now it’d be silly to say that the Red and Blue aren’t championship contenders, but there is an extreme danger with using these past two seasons as a benchmark for the upcoming one.

The first glaring issue is that Alek Torgersen, Penn’s Mr. Reliable and leader during the past two championship seasons, has graduated and moved onto the NFL. And while it’s never easy to replace someone who is your school’s alltime passing TD leader, the decision became even more muddled when Michael Collins, the only other quarterback who played a

JONATHAN POLLACK Sports Editor

FOOTBALL PREVIEW

running back Tre Solomon, and many of the defensive standouts are back. Their presence gives reason for optimism.

But not foolish optimism. A wideout cannot lead a team to a conference title by himself. Neither can a linebacker or a safety. Every player who contributed to last season’s Ivy title will have to replicate their performances and then some.

And even though I’m sure these players are up for that challenge, for now it still is just that – a challenge.

One final issue I’d like to touch on is the general idea of the possibility of an Ivy League football dynasty. In many NCAA sports, we see teams emerge as perennial (or at least long-term) championship contenders. In the case of college football, Alabama comes to mind.

The Crimson Tide are competing for national titles every year, even after large squad turnover. So why can’t Penn do the same in the Ivy League? The main difference is that schools like Alabama are football “factories,” churning out NFL caliber talent year after year. Many athletes go to Alabama specifically for the football program.

That simply is not true about any of the of the Ivy League programs.

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Penn football has managed an incredible feat with its back-to-back titles — but Jacob Snyder warns this season might not be as simple.

Sure, some teams have a better history than others. But when a star player graduates, there hardly ever is a ready-made stud replacement waiting in the wings. The large majority of Ivy League football players are here primarily for the education – and hey, that’s a good thing! But it makes it incredibly difficult for one school to grab the conference by the scruff of the neck and win a series of football championships in a row. In just the past decade, five different teams have won shares of an Ivy title, and four in the past two seasons alone.

So here’s the bottom line – man-

age your expectations. Don’t think that just because Penn has had a couple successful seasons that they’re automatic contenders. At the same time, don’t think that the Red and Blue have no shot. Part of the beauty of sports is that you never know which team will be atop the mountain when the dust settles.

And you never know, it could be the Quakers once again.

JACOB SNYDER is an Engineering junior from Pikesville, Md., and is an associate editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. He can be reached at dpsports@thedp.com.

THE UNSUNG HEROES: PENN FOOTBALL'S O-LINE Somehow, Penn's biggest boys fly below the radar.

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snap last season besides Torgersen, transferred to TCU. Yup, you heard that correctly. Three quarterbacks (freshman Ryan Glover, sophomore Nick Robinson, and senior Will Fischer-Colbrie) who have never taken the field for the Quakers, are battling for the reins of this year’s championship charge.

Now it would be foolish for me to say that a new face behind center means you should write off this season – it just makes the climb tougher and much more uphill.

Whoever wins the job will have to develop chemistry with star senior wideout Justin Watson in a hurry so that his talent is fully utilized. The starter will also have to deal with the pressure of filling Torgersen’s shoes. Can he do these things?

Maybe. Possibly. Probably. The point is, we don’t know for sure and won’t know for sure until the season is underway.

Now a lot of you are probably sitting there saying, “but Jacob, you’re being way too quarterbackcentric!”

And you’re probably right.

While Torgersen’s graduation leaves a big hole to fill in the team, many of the other feature members of last year’s team such as Watson,

Imagine a job where if you succeed, no one notices; and if you fail, everyone blames you. Who would want a job like that?

Offensive linemen — that's who.

In the past few seasons, Penn football has had some high-profile offensive stars. Players like Alek Torgersen, Justin Watson and Tre Solomon get all the attention for the unit's repeated success. But the unsung heroes of the offense are ones who never get noticed, the ones who grind it out each and every play so that their teammates can go on to make the highlight reel

plays — the linemen.

You may not have heard, but Penn's offensive line has been dominant over the past few years. They've allowed just 29 sacks over the past two years, second only to Brown's 26.

For the past two years, they've helped Penn establish a strong running game with the best yards per rushing attempt average in the Ivy League. They're a big part of why the Quakers have won back-to-back Ivy championships.

But even though most casual observers might not realize their contributions, the O-line takes a lot of pride in what they do. They know their job isn't glorious, but they attack it with all of their energy anyways.

"I think we attack it with a different mentality," senior center Nathan Kirchmeir said. "We embrace it. We go in, we know

it's not going to be the best, it's going to suck a little. But we go in knowing that if we do our job, the team's going to win."

This mentality isn't by chance, either.

"It all comes down to the leadership, the older guys, the seniors," offensive line coach Joe Johnson said. "The culture just gets passed down year to year, of our expectations of what it is to be a Penn offensive lineman. The guys, they take pride in it, they don't want to let their teammates down, so it's just kinda trickled down through the years."

Part of the reason for the unit's success over the past few years has been the continuity in personnel: the Quakers ran out the same starting five linemen every game last year, with three of those players getting significant playing time the season

before.

But this year, there are a lot of changes. The Red and Blue graduated three starters from the line last year in first-team All-Ivy left tackle Nick Demes, second-team All-Ivy left guard Dan Poulos, and right guard Nick Whitton. Only Kirchmeir and junior right tackle Tommy Dennis return to the starting lineup, leaving several big holes, especially on the left side.

But those holes are filling quickly.

"Obviously, Dan Poulos, Nick Demes, Nick Whitton, three exceptional players, great guys, great for the room, we lost them, but we're having younger guys step up," Johnson said. "Obviously you're not going to be able to replace those guys, and they're doing it in a different way, but they're just

stepping up, those younger guys, to fill those shoes."

With the loss of those three seniors and an influx of freshman this year, the O-line has gotten much younger. Of the 13 linemen on the roster, six are freshman, meaning there will be chances for the young players to prove themselves this year. And with several veterans to help them out, it looks like this unit won't miss a beat.

"I think they might even go above and beyond [last year]," senior running back Tre Solomon said. "They've been working really hard together, I'm really excited to see what they do in the games."

So, whenever Solomon or Justin Watson score this season, the offensive line probably won't get a lot of credit.

But they won't mind, because they'll know they did their job.

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PHOTO FEATURE

HIGHLIGHTS FROM MEDIA DAY In the last week of August, Penn football hosted its annual media day, marking an official start to football season. The Quakers were on message, touting their underdog status as a reason to look forward to their back-to-back title defense campaign.

ZACH SHELDON | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR

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The only question is, will Watson be able to keep it up without the recently-departed Alek Torgersen delivering him perfect strikes?

For the first time in his career, Watson won’t be paired up with Torgersen, who now plays in the NFL on Washington's practice squad. Obviously, that presents a new challenge to the veteran.

“It’s different not seeing Torg out there,” Watson said of the new look. “There’s little things you take for granted. Alek and I just got on the same page.”

Not only is Watson missing Torgersen in the backfield, but for the entire summer there has been a three-way quarterback competition, causing the learn-

ing curve to be a little steeper for the transition. Coach Ray Priore has announced that senior Will Fischer-Colbrie will be the starter against Ohio Dominican on Saturday, but multiple quarterbacks will likely be used, adding more turbulence to the situation.

“I think the quarterback position is vital to your offense and how your whole team flows,” Priore noted.

But with a new look under center, it will be Watson’s presence that the offense might have to lean on. Priore knows this, too.

“It’s always nice having Justin out there in case all else fails,” the third-year head coach said. “He’s so talented.”

“If you need to get the ball into his hands, you can, and he can make big plays happen.”

It’s not only Watson’s elusive talent that separates him — it’s his work ethic and leadership abilities. No one summarized that balance better than offensive coordinator John Reagan.

"Justin is phenomenal for any player, regardless of the quarterback, because what he shows is when your greatest players are your hardest workers, and your greatest players are your greatest people, you’re going to be in pretty good shape if guys will follow that,” the veteran play caller explained.

Of course, it wasn’t just Reagan that piled on the praise.

“Justin has been a leader since I met him,” Pearson said of the captain. “I was a freshman and he was a sophomore and even then he was showing me the ropes and teaching me how we do things around here.”

“He’s such a humble kid,” Priore added. “He’s the hardest working kid on the team, and he leads by example.”

Despite his humility, Watson

ALEX FISHER | FILE PHOTO

Penn football's superstar Justin Watson may line up as a wide receiver — but the senior captain has lined up for the Quakers as a running back, on special teams and more. The NFL Draft prospect is the team's talisman.

FOOTBALL PREVIEW 11

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unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection and Ivy League offensive player of the year finalist.

He’s on every preseason anything list, and there’s already an NFL Draft buzz in the air.

“We’re all super excited for him,” fellow receiver Christian Pearson exclaimed. “It’s always great to have a Penn Quaker getting some love from NFL scouts or whoever it may be.”

Despite the chatter, Watson isn’t getting lost in the hype. He will let his play speak for itself on Saturdays.

“I really don’t want to leave this season with any regrets, so I’m focusing on our first game and the nine games after that before I think about anything down that path.”

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

formations will be a key component to help get the 2016 Walter Payton Award finalist some space.

“I think the biggest thing is avoiding any of the double coverage,” Watson said.

“Our offensive coordinator is really creative… and we’ve been experimenting with a lot of new tricks this camp, and I think they’ve been going well so far.”

Ultimately, it won’t be any scheme that frees Watson up. It will be his talent that separates him from the pack — and that talent is undisputed.

Watson has been hauling in awards almost at a faster pace than he hauled in passes last season. He’s already a two-time

defenders and took off for six.

That 80-yard run confirmed that Penn was back after two seasons of mediocrity, and it was the notice to the whole Ivy League that Watson was a force to be reckoned with.

This year, despite the accolades, the scouts’ buzz and the league titles, Watson is leading the Red and Blue on to the field with a chip on their shoulder.

“We’re hungry. We’re picked third after back-to-back championships,” Watson said about the league's preseason media poll.

“It’s definitely a disrespect from the start, and we love that.”

In 2015, the Quakers split the Ivy League three ways. In 2016, they shared it with archrivals Princeton. Their former star quarterback is fighting for an NFL job, and they lost one of their top defenders to the transfer bug. But it seems like none of that matters today. They’ve got Watson, and they're confident.

In a tight spot, at the end of a game, Priore knows whom he will lean on.

“Justin Watson, our receiver, is as advertised.”

THEDP.COM | THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN

T

here’s plenty of ways for an offense to drive down a field. But for Penn, the most reliable ones all end with the ball in Justin Watson’s hands.

Watson, the senior receiver out of Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, is more than just a cookie cutter wideout. He’s a playmaker and an offensive weapon who can get the job done in a variety of roles.

Routinely, Watson will shift across the line of scrimmage, moving in and out of the slot, while even taking a few snaps at running back in order to keep opponents on their toes.

Defenses will be zeroed in on Watson, a preseason first team All-American, so mixing up the

doesn’t let it get in the way of playing like he has something to prove.

On November 14, 2015, it was that style of hard-nosed play that catapulted Watson on to the scene.

He had already put together an impressive season before the Quakers entered Harvard stadium on Week 9 as the underdogs. But with his team’s season on the line, Watson cemented his status to the greater football community.

Watson led the Quakers with seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown. But his receiving stats don’t tell the whole story.

In the first quarter he hauled in an impressive 68 yard touchdown after streaking across the middle of the field and high stepping into the endzone. The exclamation mark however came in the fourth quarter.

Up three, and thirteen minutes away from ending Harvard’s 22game winning streak, Watson lined up at running back. He took the handoff at his own 20yard line, cut to the outside, hit the corner, slipped through four

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Three quarterbacks fight for the chance to take snaps TOM NOWLAN Associate Sports Editor

team’s media day August 28. “The kids have all been competing real hard.”

A fourth player, sophomore Tyler Herrick, will switch positions to wide receiver after being listed as a quarterback a year ago.

The new quarterback, whoever it may be, will have a massive weapon at his disposal in senior wide receiver Justin Watson, who enters his final campaign already the most decorated Penn player in recent memory, having been named a finalist for Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year each of the last two seasons. 2017 will likely provide a valuable insight into how much the Torgersen-Watson connection of the last three years was attributable to Watson himself.

“We’ve got two upperclassmen that have looked really good,” Watson said, noting that he has built a rapport with Robinson after living with him over the summer. “And we’ve had a freshman come in who has a cannon for an arm.

“But it’s different not seeing Torg out there,” Watson admitted. “He’s a good friend and it’s awesome to see him killing it in the NFL.” Collins was one of two key Quakers, along with defensive back Mason Williams, to transfer out of the Ivy League over the summer (Williams will join Duke.) Despite those key losses, Priore insists his team remains undaunted.

“Our kids are very, very resilient.

We worry about the guys that are here.

“It’s a next-man-up mentality.”

2

27.7 pts/game scoring offense

2 169.1 yds/game

rushing offense

5 227.7 yds/game

passing offense

3

21.3 pts/game scoring defense

4 125.7 yds/game

rushing defense

6 254.3 yds/game

passing defense

PRE-SEASON POLLS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

For the past three seasons, there was no doubt who would be manning Penn football’s most important position.

In 2017, things are a little bit different.

Following the graduation of quarterback Alek Torgersen — a twotime first-team All-Ivy selection and Penn’s all-time leader in touchdown passes — the Quakers, for the first time in coach Ray Priore's tenure, have faced an offseason of uncertainty behind center.

Compounding the problem that a program legend now plays for the Washington Redskins practice squad is the fact that Michael Collins — a highly touted recruit and Torgersen’s heir apparent — now plays for the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs after transferring following his freshman season a year ago.

Thus, the Quakers have undergone a three-way open quarterback competition this summer. All three signal-callers — senior Will FischerColbrie, sophomore Nick Robinson and freshman Ryan Glover — have yet to take a single snap at the Division I level.

Penn Athletics said in an email statement to the Daily Pennsylvanian that Fischer-Colbrie is most

likely going to be the starter for Saturday’s season opener versus Ohio Dominican, though it “wouldn’t be surpris[ing] to see the other QBs on the field in the first week or two.”

Fischer-Colbrie was likely given an advantage in that he was the only contender with prior seasons spent on the Penn roster — Glover only just arrived on campus while Robinson quarterbacked Georgia’s scout team in 2015 before spending 2016 at Saddleback Community College in southern California.

Fischer-Colbrie himself is a former transfer, having spent his freshman season in 2014 at Colorado.

During his two seasons in University City, though, he has been buried on the depth chart, backing up Torgersen, Collins, and 2016 graduate Andrew Lisa.

Those seasons of development, however, gave the California native a valuable chance to learn the craft from Torgersen — experience the other two competitors did not have.

“He was really big for me,” Fischer-Colbrie said. “When you’ve lived through some mistakes, through some success… he makes it easy to learn from.”

Given the team’s dearth of experience behind center, one could expect Priore to be concerned with his quarterbacking prospects. However, the third-year head coach, at least publicly, has remained cautiously optimistic.

“The really nice part about it is that all three quarterbacks have done a tremendous job,” Priore said at the

TEAM RANKINGS

THEDP.COM | THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN

FILLING TORGERSEN'S BOOTS: THE COMPETITION FOR QB

1 Princeton / Harvard 120 pts

2 Penn 110 pts 3 yale 71 pts 4 dartmouth 60 pts

6 columbia 38 pts ZACH SHELDON | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR

Three quarterbacks — senior Will Fischer-Colbrie (left), freshman Ryan Glover (middle) and sophomore Nick Robinson (right) — are vying to take the starting spot this season after the departure of Alek Torgersen.

7 cornell 36 pts

FOOTBALL PREVIEW 1 3

5 brown 57 pts

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THEDP.COM THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

14 FOOTBALL PREVIEW

RAY PRIORE: A COACH IN PURSUIT OF HISTORY Priore seeks to become 2nd coach to win in first 3 years JACOB ADLER Sports Editor

Jake Crouthamel was the first player ever signed by the Dallas Cowboys and one of the founding fathers of the Big East Conference as the athletic director of Syracuse University. He was also the only coach in Ivy League history to win championships in each of his first two seasons — until Penn football coach Ray Priore became the second last November.

Priore, who spent 28 years as an assistant at Penn before taking over when Al Bagnoli retired after the 2014 season, has joined an exclusive club and will try again to match what became Crouthamel’s three championships in his first three seasons of head coaching.

Like Crouthamel, Priore was in charge of the defense

and followed in the footsteps of a successful coach. Bagnoli won nine Ivy titles in 23 years and Dartmouth’s Bob Blackman won seven in 16. However, Crouthamel inherited a two-time defending-champion Big Green team, whereas the Quakers went 2-8 (2-5 Ivy) in Bagnoli’s final Penn season, good for sixth place in the Ivy League, and were projected to finish sixth again in 2015.

In his two years as Penn’s head coach, Priore’s teams have fared an Ivy-best 12-2 in conference play, fueling championships shared with Harvard and Dartmouth in 2015 and Princeton in 2016. While the Quakers remain largely intact from last season, returning eight starters on defense and six on offense, the Red and Blue will be without quarterback Alek Torgersen, who was a three-year starter and the firstteam All-Ivy quarterback in both 2015 and 2016.

Priore said that while the offensive coaches have identified

the various strengths and weaknesses of this roster’s personnel, he doesn’t believe that the loss of Torgersen will result in a drastically different Red and Blue offense, regardless of whichever of freshman Ryan Glover, sophomore Nick Robinson, or senior Will Fischer-Colbrie (currently the official starter) wins the permanent starting job.

“I think we do what we do,” Priore said. “I wouldn’t say we’ll be more run or more pass. In the world of spread offenses today with the option, you’re really taking what teams are giving to you.”

Priore laughed when his “trust the process” comment was compared to the Philadelphia 76ers, who “tanked” for several years under Sam Hinkie hoping to acquire lucrative draft picks in the NBA Lottery. That’s because his “process” is a little different than the 76ers’ strategy of losing on purpose.

“Our process is everything takes time to develop, we have to

take time to see it, work it all the way through,” Priore said. “What we’ve built in the last couple of years with John Reagan and Bob Benson is tremendous trust from coaches to coaches, coaches to players, players to players.”

Trust was indeed the first thing that came to mind of defensive coordinator Bob Benson when asked about Priore’s leadership.

“Ray brings trust. He brings a belief in people,” Benson said.

“We all are a family. We all believe in our goal, which is to win the Ivy League, but there is a wonderful environment here of family and trust that Ray has established and allows us as coaches to coach and players to play.”

Priore said it’s important to teach people how to lead and to empower the staff and people around him, and has encouraged the senior class to be vocal.

Senior wide receiver and captain Justin Watson praised the management style of Priore, the coordinators, and assistants, and is thankful for having his and

ANANYA CHANDRA | FILE PHOTO

Coach Ray Priore has transformed the program since taking over.

other seniors’ thoughts being considered.

“The biggest thing is he’s a phenomenal listener. He listens and he incorporates everyone’s opinions,” Watson said. “Anytime we have an issue, it’s not like we fear going to him.”

The result of Priore’s process, in the words of Watson?

“Guys just want to play for him.”

LOUIS VECCHIO

ciating at the same time. I was so proud of the guys and what they were doing, but I would have given anything to be out there. The vibe was so different than my freshman year. The 2015 season was why kids like me dream about playing college football; I just hoped that when I returned to the lineup the dream would carry on.

While 2015 felt like a dream, 2016 was as real as it gets. We had our ups and downs. There were great times – huge wins on the road on Friday nights – and there was adversity. We’d felt so good for so long, I think a lot of people were waiting to see how we responded to the Princeton game. Were we only capable of riding the good times? Or had we built the love and trust that is the hallmark of a family?

What made it possible for us to overcome that adversity was that realization of the Penn Football Family being about more than just the 100 guys in the locker room. It was seeing the parents of the seniors so emotional about their journey coming to an end. It was the messages during the week from alumni who’ve stood in our shoes telling us that the setbacks pave the way for epic comebacks. It was the roar of the crowd as a guy who was just a spectator a year ago scored

ANANYA CHANDRA | PHOTO MANAGER

Senior defensive end and captain Louis Vecchio led the team last season in sacks, but this season he'll lead the team in more ways, too.

the game’s ice-breaking touchdown. It was knowing that if we did what we were capable of, we were just sixty minutes from singing our school’s song with our best friends – teammates, classmates, parents, everyone – at the game’s most historic stadium.

All of this is meant to say, thank you. Whether you know

it or not, you are part of the Penn Football Family. Our wins are just that – ours. We all share in them together. Get ready, it’s game week.

LOUIS VECCHIO is a Wharton senior from Orange, Calif., and is a starting linebacker and captain of the Penn football team. He can be reached at dpsports@thedp.com.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

Family.

Anyone who has spent time around our team over the past two years has heard that word.

But to us, it is more than a word. It is what we believe in.

It is what drives us. It is what takes more than 100 players and over 20 staff members from so many different backgrounds and bands us together for a four-month journey each fall.

Whenever people from back home in California ask me what the best part of being a college football player is, the answer inevitably involves how much fun it is to do what I love with my 100 best friends. The second part of that answer – the one I hadn’t expected when I made the trip from California to Philly three years ago – is how much fun it is to do what I love in front of thousands of my best friends.

Coach Priore made family a priority from his first moments as our head coach. I’d had a chance to experience it my freshman year playing for him on defense, but it was neat to see the rest of the team catch onto his passion for the program and University as he

started making his own impact on the team. Penn Football truly is part of his family – he coached here with his brother, his daughter is a student here, and he’s spent over 30 years on this campus. Whether he knows it or not, he is a true Penn institution. He is someone this University believes in and someone who inspires us to truly love the name on the front of our jerseys.

I am eternally grateful to Coach Priore, the unsung members of the Penn Athletics administration and the alumni who help us find our way to understanding how the word “family” applies to the more than 100 men we share the field with each week. Whether it is an inspirational pick-meup from our man Vhito, or feeling the buzz coming from the alumni tent as we round the corner into the tunnel on Homecoming, or the unexpected sight of a student section joining us on Franklin Field to celebrate a championship, we all share in this journey.

In a strange way, I have been on both sides of it. In 2015, I was injured for most of the season and had a front-row seat to the genesis of the Penn Football Family. It built each week, starting with a historic win at Villanova and culminating with one of the greatest parties in recent Franklin Field memory. It was awesome and excru-

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IVY LEAGUE FOOTBALL IS HERE: WELL, HERE GOES NOTHING! DISCLAIMER: Swamis is a Daily Pennsylvanian tradition in which select members make jokes and predict the results of Ivy League football games. You may not find it funny, but that’s your fault for looking. Enjoy! – Will Snow

Ah, September: the best month of the year. And not just because it’s Will Snow’s birthday — college football is back!

You won’t want to be woken up when it ends; heck, you’ll want to stay awake all season for this Ivy League football campaign.

It’s gonna be a wild one, ladies and gents, so in the words of John “1-for-38” Kasich: Buckle up! Penn has won fivesixths of a title in the past two years, so the only thing standing between them and a whole one this time around is literally six other teams. (We didn’t count Columbia — why should we?).

Torgersen is gone, and we

have no idea how his replacements will do. Justin Watson is bound to dab all over the Ivy League once again, but can he whip-and-nay-nay all by his lonesome too?

We’ll find out. It’s the best time of the year for sports fans across the country. For the next 10 weeks, you have the absolute pleasure of having a non-alcoholic way to enjoy your Saturdays — especially when Princeton visits (thanks, Penn!).

And while most of you don’t even read this section of the paper, let alone these swamis, we’ll be here for the next 10 weeks to have oodles of fun

DP SWAMIS

63 YEARS OF GRIDIRON GENIUS

while the Quakers try to win the whole damn thing for once.

Whether you like it or not, we hope you look forward to these god-awful picks (really, Cooter?) and even worse jokes (really, Memes?) on the back page of our paper every week.

We sure are!

PRESEASON 2016's

CHAMPION:

PREDICTION:

THOMAS MUNSON

J-WAT: 253 IVY LEAGUE: 2/3

HERE'S THE GANG'S PREDICTIONS FOR THE IVY LEAGUE STANDINGS THIS YEAR:

Ananya “An Onion” Chandra

Brevin “Lax, Bro” Fleischer

Carter “Dabber in Chief” Coudriet

Cole “Swole” Jacobson

Dan “The Martian” Spinelli

Ilana “Cat Lady” Wurman

Jacobs “The Consensus” Snadler

Jonathan “Frat God” Pollack

PENN Harvard Princeton Yale Brown Cornell Dartmouth Columbia

Harvard PENN Princeton Yale Brown Dartmouth Cornell Columbia

PENN Princeton Harvard Cornell Yale Brown Dartmouth Columbia

PENN Harvard Princeton Yale Dartmouth Cornell Columbia Brown

PENN Harvard Princeton Dartmouth Yale Brown Columbia Cornell

Princeton Harvard PENN Yale Brown Cornell Dartmouth Columbia

Princeton PENN Harvard Dartmouth Yale Brown Cornell Columbia

Princeton PENN Harvard Yale Cornell Brown Dartmouth Columbia

Julia “Literally Jesus” Schorr

Rebecca “SPF 15” Tan

Thomas “Two-Timer” Munson

Tommy “The Toddler” Rothman

Will “Swaggy” Agathis

William “Willie Bear” Snow

Yosef “Heir Apparent” Weitzman

Zach “I Make Puns” Sheldon

PENN Princeton Harvard Yale Brown Dartmouth Columbia Cornell

Harvard PENN Princeton Brown Dartmouth Yale Cornell Columbia

PENN Princeton Harvard Yale Brown Columbia Dartmouth Cornell

Princeton PENN Harvard Yale Dartmouth Brown Columbia Cornell

PENN Harvard Princeton Yale Cornell Brown Dartmouth Columbia

PENN Harvard Princeton Brown Yale Dartmouth Cornell Columbia

Harvard Princeton Yale PENN Dartmouth Brown Cornell Columbia

PENN Harvard Princeton Brown Cornell Yale Dartmouth Columbia

highbrow ego food & drink film feature music arts lowbrow highbrow ego food & drink film feature music arts lowbrow highbrow ego food & drink film feature music arts lowbrow

YOSEF WEITZMAN Sports Editor

In the end, there can only be one — or in the Ivy League’s case — maybe two or three champions.

The Ivy League might allow for co-champions, but that doesn’t mean the competition isn’t stiff. If Penn football wants to defend its back-to-back co-championships, it will have to go through the rest of the Ancient Eight. Scouting out all those teams can be challenging, but the DP is here to help you know the ins-and-outs of every Ivy team the Quakers have to face.

Cornell Cornell might have been picked to finish last in the Ivy

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gest crowd of the year.

Yale Picked to finish right behind Penn in the preseason poll, the 8 88 Bulldogs should be a good mid-

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Columbia Other than Penn football’s own coaches, there might not be a single coach in the country who knows the Quakers as well as current Columbia coach and former Penn coach Al Bagnoli.

As the coach for Penn from 1992-2015, Bagnoli led the Red and Blue to an Ivy League record nine titles and even coached many of the team’s current seniors during his last year in University City. Luckily for Penn, though, the Lions have struggled against the Red and Blue each of the last two years, and the lights don’t look much brighter in Manhattan this year as Columbia was picked to finish second to last in the Ivy League preseason poll.

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Brown Just a week before the PennPrinceton game, Penn’s game at Brown has all the makings to be the quintessential trap game.

Brown, which finished 3-4 in the conference last year, is well off the first tier of the league, but it’s a squad that is more than capable of pulling off the upset at home.

The Bears almost did it last year at Franklin Field when the Quakers were just one score away from squandering a 21-0 halftime lead. If Penn wants to set up the highly anticipated and undefeated matchup with arch-rival Princeton at home, the Red and Blue will have to bring their A-game to Brown.

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34TH STREET Magazine December 1, 2011 34TH STREET Magazine December 1, 2011 34TH STREET Magazine December 1, 2011

Surveying Harvard, Princeton and the rest

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FILM FILM FILM AROUND THE IVY LEAGUE: A LOOK AT THE OTHER TEAMS 34 3434

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SEE IT YOURSELF: HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST SEASON'S TITLE REPEAT In 2016, Penn football had a target on its back after surprising the league the year before by coming from behind to win a share of the Ivy League title. The Quakers stormed out to win emphatically against Dartmouth, Columbia, Yale and Brown before a shock 28-0 loss to Princeton; however, they finished by beating Harvard and Cornell to take the title once again.

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