When Penn's front five line up for the first snap of the 1994 season, the Quaker defensive linemen may give up an average of three inches and 30 pounds to their offensive counterparts. The physical mismatches may often appear ominous, but looks can be deceiving. The defensive front, the anchor of coach Al Bagnoli's 5-2 defense, makes up for its lack of size with athleticism, quickness and intelligence. The Penn defensive scheme is well suited to the type of athlete the Quakers field. "The thing about the 5-2 is that it's very unpredictable," defensive ends coach Ray Priori said. "Size means little with our type of defense -- it lends more to strength and athleticism because we're not a sit and read team. We're an attack and read team." Penn is always moving and shifting its front, throwing different looks at its opponents, both in the middle and on the ends. One of the defensive ends will almost always drop into pass coverage, making the 5-2 resemble the more conventional 4-3 NFL set. The design of the 5-2 is to fully occupy the offensive front, freeing the two middle linebackers to swarm the ball and make plays. The basic defensive philosophy is to play tough against the run and force long second or third down situations. "When we can force teams into passing situations, it really suits our athletic abilities and our guys will consistently make plays," Priori said. The burden of forcing teams into these long yardage downs falls on the defensive line, whose responsibility is to clog the middle and stop the run. This unit yielded less than 100 yards per game on the ground last season. The result was an undefeated season and the Ancient Eight's top-ranked defense in scoring and yardage allowed. Like any championship defense, the 5-2 starts in the middle. This unit will be anchored by senior nose guard Chris Johnson, a second-team all-Ivy selection last season who had three sacks to his credit. Senior tackles Wayne Droesser and J.C. Lee join Johnson in the middle. Although neither started last season, both saw significant action due to the rotation Bagnoli employed. At least six down linemen will see significant playing time every game. This enables the Quakers to maintain their speed and strength throughout the game without getting warn down by larger and stronger opponents. Senior reserves Gabe Capodanno, Kevin Keating and Woody Paik also have logged many minutes. Although only two of five starters return on the line, there is a lot of experience. Again, things are not always as they seem. Another benefit of Bagnoli's defensive rotation is the opportunity to attack from a variety of lineups. Although Penn does not blitz often, the front five will move around frequently and do a lot of stunting. "It's all situational," Lee said. "During the week we see everything that could possibly come at us as far as blocking formations and line splits. Come Saturday it's just a question of reacting." Reading and reacting are two areas where the defensive line excels. "Pound for pound, top to bottom, this is the best front I've seen in my three years here," defensive line coach Jim Schaefer said. At defensive end, however, the Quakers are not as deep. Although second team all-Ivy senior Michael "Pup" Turner, who led Penn with 10 sacks last season, is returning on the right side, a major hole results from the departure of right end Dave Betten. Betten, who started for three seasons and was a first-team all-Ivy pick last year, was one of only two Quakers to win the Munger, Bednarik and Bagnell awards. Trying to fill Betten's shoes is junior Tom McGarrity. McGarrity, who won the Football Club Freshman Award in 1992, is perhaps the strongest person on the defensive squad. Although the Lafayette game will be his first start, McGarrity has the ability to make an enormous contribution. He tallied 36 tackles and five sacks last season. "McGarrity is a good football player, but Betten did a lot of things," Bagnoli said. "He was a 30-game player. It's hard to lose that kind of experience and make it up with younger kids. He only played half the time last year, so he's virtually a five-game starter replacing a 30-game starter. There's a big difference." "Tom's strength is playing the run and rushing the passer," Priori said. "Until he's gotten more quality reps, we won't drop him as much. But he's getting better dropping into coverage every day." If the tackles can clog up the middle, McGarrity and Turner will spend a lot of time reeking havoc on opposing quarterbacks. The defensive line was not huge last year, and it is not a lot bigger this season. Last year the unit dominated several games and keyed a defense that led the Ivies in almost every category. Looks might be deceiving, but the numbers don't lie.
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