BUILDING BLOCKS RECEIVERS: New faces to make up receiving corps

Last season, six Quaker wide receivers totalled just 58 catches for 650 yards. Tight end Cache Miller, by contrast, led Penn with 375 yards on 36 receptions. Unfortunately for the Quakers, Miller is gone now, and that disparity seems likely to disappear as well. Several factors point to a more successful year to come for Quaker wideouts. Upperclassmen enjoy the benefits of a full year in the system taught by coach Al Bagnoli and offensive coordinator Chuck Priore. This increased comfort level should allow the receivers to react to situations rather than being preoccupied with trying to remember where they should be during a given play. "Last year we had to put so much in in three weeks," Priore said. "You don't learn Calculus in three weeks and you don't learn physics in three weeks, but these kids were basically learning a semester's worth of stuff in three weeks. As the season went on we got better, but we never got as good as we needed to be. Coming into this year I think the kids feel more comfortable." The returning wide receivers are led by fifth-year senior Chris Brassell, who caught 16 passes for 224 yards in 1992. Brassell will be joined in the starting lineup by sophomore Miles Macik. Macik showed impressive potential as last year's Football Club Freshman Award winner for offense. He led the last freshman squad ever with 20 receptions for 373 yards. "[Macik] has the ability to be an impact player at this level," wide receivers coach Joe Tricario said. "He's got great size, great athletic ability, good speed and a fair amount of agility for a kid his size." Just behind Brassell and Macik on the depth chart are seniors Bill Cobb and Jared Delancey. Cobb was fourth on the team in both catches and yards last season, while Delancey saw significant playing time as well. Those four are joined by freshman Mark Fabish, who "will be a factor this year" according to Tricario. "[Fabish] has really been playing well," Brassell said. "He's come on strong even as a freshman, and he has a very good knowledge of the game. Even though he's lacking in experience, he's picking up the system really well." The depth added by Macik and Fabish will go hand-in-hand with a more wide-open passing game. In 1992, the ground-oriented offense spearheaded by running back Sundiata Rush was accompanied by a mostly conservative passing attack. Without Rush's grinding style leading the way, though, the Penn offense is likely to be more aggressive, both in play-calling and in the formations used. "We're still a play-action team," Tricario said. "But we've done some different things in the drop-back game. We're looking to throw the ball down the field a little bit more and open things up. We feel we've got at least three wide receivers who are good, and we're going to put them on the field." If the Quaker passing game is to get stronger, than so must senior quarterback Jim McGeehan's arm. And stronger it is, at least according to Brassell, who worked out with McGeehan throughout the summer. "It was obvious as the summer progressed that [McGeehan] was definitely getting stronger," Brassell said. "I'm much more confident in him getting us the ball, so now it's just a matter of us getting open." All this is not to say that the tight end position will necessarily suffer. Miller, an all-Ivy first teamer, will clearly be missed, but senior Ben Holman and sophomore Matt Tonelli are ready to take his spot, if not fill his shoes. "Holman is coming back with some experience," Priore said. "That allows us to do some different things with him because he's been on the field. He's a consistent player, he can catch the ball and he's a good run blocker. "[Tonelli]'s a real good athlete who can also catch the ball," Priore continued. "You put those two together and that's a nice combination. A lot of programs don't have two kids of that caliber." For the Quaker receiving corps, then, the key word is confidence. Depth and talent, combined with a stronger quarterback and a new emphasis on the passing game all point to a solid season ahead. "[The] confidence is well-founded," Tricario said. "Jimmy's got a good understanding of the offense, the receivers know the packages...and to this point I think they've got reason to be encouraged."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.