BUILDING BLOCKS SECONDARY: Young DBs to be tested

Only one returning Last year at this time, with three seniors and a junior set to roam its defensive backfield, concerns about the Penn football team's secondary were just that – secondary. This year, however, the secondary has become a primary concern. On a defense bolstered by five returning starters among its front seven, the backfield remains the biggest question mark. The Quakers lost three quarters of their secondary – co-captain and safety Tom Gibbs and cornerbacks Maceo Grant and Mike Turner – to graduation. The Quakers are counting on the lone returning starter, senior strong safety Jim Magallanes, to use his considerable experience to lead a unit that will include three players without a varsity start on their records. Magallanes started every game last season, even after breaking a bone in his left hand against Yale, and tallied 83 tackles, second on the team behind only junior linebacker Pat Goodwillie. Magallanes also appeared in every contest as a sophomore. Now after spending last year as the youngest member of the secondary, Magallanes has been thrust into a leadership role as the elder statesman of the foursome. "With a year of experience I feel like I know the defense well now," Magallanes said. "So now I can go out there trying to help people and tell them what to do, leading by example." "He does a lot of things for us," defesive coordinator Michael Toop said. "He's on special teams. He's on all of our defenses. He never really came off the field too much for us last year either." Still, even without a considerable amount of actual game time under their belts, the current crop of defensive backs has had more time to learn the new defensive system of coach Al Bagnoli than their more experienced counterparts of a year ago. "We're probably less experienced than we were a year ago," secondary coach Richard Flanders said. "But they're more experienced in playing our defense and the coverages we play. It all balances out. "In the opener last year, the two kids with the most experience – [Maceo and Tom] – probably played the worst. Probably for the opener [this year] we're not any further behind than we were last year." According to Flanders, the worst part of the departure of three starters is not a lack of talent, but rather a temporary drain on leadership and cohesiveness within the unit. "The biggest problem about losing a Maceo Grant, a Tom Gibbs and a Michael Turner is the not the talent level. You're talking about three highly intense, great practice players." "I don't think we have a problem putting four or five [talented] guys out there," he said. "It's whether or not they can play well together." According to Flanders, if the season were to start today, Magallanes would be joined in the defensive backfield by two sophomores who shared the lead in interceptions on the freshman team last year, free safety Sheldon Philip-Guide and cornerback Kevin Allen. The other cornerback position most probably would be filled by junior Jamie Daniels, who appeared in every game last year as a sophomore and saw considerable action as the nickel back. Against Columbia last season, Daniels returned an interception 91 yards for a touchdown, the second-longest in Penn football history. Senior cornerback Jerel Hopkins, another returning letterwinner, should see a lot of playing time in the nickel package. Backing up at the safety position should be junior Corbin Rheault, who intercepted a pass against Brown last season, and freshman Sean Coleman. The Quakers are hoping Magallanes can help the new unit come together – and in a hurry. The Penn secondary will be tested in the season's very first game when defending Ivy champs Dartmouth comes to town led by all-everything quarterback Jay Fiedler. "[Magallanes is] a kid who's really picked up the secondary," said Toop. "We've got some young kids there that are on the field for the first time and he's really kind of rallied the kids back there. "He's got to calm some kids down. Especially going into the first game against a kid like Fiedler. You know he's going to zing some balls in there and Mags is gonna make sure those kids don't get their chins down." For his part, Magallanes was one of the Quakers' few bright spots in last year's 36-17 loss to the Big Green. He registered 15 tackles and broke up two passes to go along with an interception. The Quakers will try to prevent Fiedler from having a huge game this year, realizing it would be impossible to stop him completely. "Our hopes are to try to contain him," Bagnoli said. "I don't think you're going to be able to negate him or shut him down." "We'll give different looks. We'll mix it up," said Toop. "If you sit there and play one coverage against a kid like Fiedler he's going to pick you apart because he's good enough to know where to go after you." Holding Fiedler in check to start the season would be a huge boost for the young defensive backfield. And for Quaker fans everywhere it would signal that this secondary is ready for prime time.

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