Roundtable: Reflections from Penn football Media Day

 

The specter of coach Al Bagnoli’s impending retirement is certainly hanging over Penn football. But at this Monday’s Penn football media day, there were more than enough other talking points. Here are the key takeaways our sports editors gleaned from the day’s proceedings.

Sports Editor Colin Henderson: A lot of attention has been focused off the field with coach Al Bagnoli’s retirement, but there’s plenty to be excited about for the team on the field as well.

The secondary — and defense as a whole — had a subpar year last year, finishing fifth in the league in passing yards allowed, and both coaches and players readily admitted that. But with key veterans returning on the back seven, including fifth-year senior cornerback Dan Wilk and 2013 first-team All-Ivy linebacker Dan Davis, Penn’s defense should be a force this year. What in particular caught your ear, Steven?

Senior Sports Editor Steven Tydings: Things seemed to be business as usual for the Red and Blue, at least as far as coaching was concerned. Neither coach Bagnoli nor head-coach-in-waiting Ray Priore seemed to have lost any focus for a second when it comes to the upcoming season. Other than Priore gaining a little more input on recruiting matters, both coaches are rearing and ready to go for 2014 in their current roles.

I was more interested in a few odds and ends coming from Bagnoli. It seems that Penn will move away from the two-quarterback system it’s used for the last two years since Alek Torgersen is more of a pocket passer than Billy Ragone was, making him less of an injury risk. And with that in mind, the Quakers moved sophomore Adam Strouss from quarterback to wide receiver, which utilizes his athleticism while still allowing him the occasional play in the wildcat formation.

Sports Editor Holden McGinnis: While I can see how things seemed like business as usual for the Quakers, there was plenty of change to be found if you looked in the right places. Strouss wasn’t the only player to make a positional change, as senior Spencer Kulcsar, formerly a running back, made the shift to wide receiver as well. Adding those two to a large wealth of returning receivers, like Conner Scott and Cam Countryman, will provide Torgersen with plenty of weapons in his first season under center.

But when it comes to the most interesting positional change for the Quakers, it’s got to be former defensive lineman Tanner Thexton, who finds himself on the other side of the line of scrimmage as a likely-starting offensive lineman for the Quakers. It’ll be interesting to see how the shifts pan out for the Quakers, but at the very least it adds a new layer of excitement to the upcoming season.

Sports Editor Ian Wenik: I think I’m more interested in what’s staying the same than what’s changing. We’re still going to see the same defensive scheme as usual with virtually the entire back seven returning, which leads to a lot of eight-in-the box formations as safety Evan Jackson steps up to act as a run stopper.

And on offense, you’re still going to see an emphasis on power running plays, regardless of whoever ends up starting on the brand-new offensive line. A sweep with halfback Kyle Wilcox carrying the ball is deadly in any scenario. The presence of a stable ground attack is going to make life easier for Torgersen, who won’t be forced into too many imposing third-and-long scenarios.

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