MacLeod to get start against Brown

Freshman Brian Russell will be the junior's backup at QBFreshman Brian Russell will be the junior's backup at QBas Penn faces the McCullough-led Bears in Providence Penn coach Al Bagnoli has decided that junior Tommy MacLeod will be the Quakers starting quarterback in tomorrow's game at Brown. "Tommy will start, and we'll have to see," Bagnoli said. "Tommy has had a very good week of practice, and my hope is Tommy will play well and we'll be in decent shape." Bagnoli said senior Steve Teodecki will probably not play at all. MacLeod's backup will be Brian Russell, a freshman out of Bishop Amat High School in West Covina, Calif., who took a lot of snaps in practice this week. "I'm not sure if we're going to get him in the game or not," Bagnoli said. "But we're trying to get him some reps in the event that we have to get him into the game. "We're trying to evaluate every position. We're trying to get a look at it and see if we can provide a spark to get our offense going. We've struggled, so we're trying to get a spark. It's not just the quarterback." Penn's opponent does not have the Quakers' problems on offense. Brown (2-3, 1-1 Ivy League) has a star at quarterback, running back and wide receiver. In fact, seniors Jason McCullough and Marquis Jessie are the Bears' all-time leaders in passing and rushing, respectively. And sophomore Sean Morey leads the Ivies with 89.4 receiving yards per game. Bagnoli thinks Brown is similar offensively to Lehigh, which scored 28 points against Penn last weekend. "They're very much similar teams -- lots of bootlegs, a lot of getting the quarterback out in open ground and letting him run around," Bagnoli said. "Both have quality outside receivers, and both have quality tailbacks." He may be just trying to downplay his team's chances, but Brown coach Mark Whipple doesn't think his offense matches up with Lehigh's. "They made some big plays," Whipple said. "I don't know if we can do that. [Lehigh wideout Deron] Braswell is a great receiver, and we don't have anybody that athletic." The Bears have 16 starters returning from last year -- eight on offense and eight on defense -- but for all of their talent, they fell flat on their faces to open the season. Brown lost its first three games of the year, including a 30-0 shutout at the hands of Yale in the opening week. That was followed by a 28-13 loss to Rhode Island and a 44-27 defeat against Colgate. "The bottom line is the kids returning didn't play as well as they did in the past," Whipple said. "So the experience didn't seem to help. I didn't do a good job motivating the team." Injuries were one reason for the Bears' slow start. Another was the 4-3 defense installed by new defensive coordinator Don Brown. According to Bagnoli, the new defense is a bit less confusing than Brown's old "unorthodox" defense, where players routinely moved in and out of different sets. "It's easier in the sense that you have a little bit better idea where they're going to be," Bagnoli said. "But they're certainly not predictable in any sense." While Brown's new defense may make things easier on opposing offenses, it was apparently pretty tricky for the Bears to get down. Witness the 102 points they gave up in the first three games. But Whipple thinks his players have started to get the hang of it. "We've improved," Whipple said. "Our tackling has gotten much better. We haven't given up as many big plays. And our red-zone defense has gotten much better." With a more comfortable defense, Brown has won its last two games, knocking off Princeton and Fordham. And the offense has picked up, putting up 27 points in each of the team's last three games. Whipple attributes that to better play from the offensive line. "Like any offense, it starts with the five up front," Whipple said. "They're getting better. They weren't playing very well at the beginning of the year. Four of the guys played well, and one would break down. Our offensive line is like our team. -- they're improving." The Bears' strength on offense worries Bagnoli. Lehigh's Seka Edwards killed the Quakers last week with his mobility, and McCullough is of the same mold. "They have a very nice balance on offense," Bagnoli said. "They've kind of got you on all three different levels." At the same time, Whipple thinks his still-improving offensive line must hold up against the Penn defensive line for his offense to succeed. "Penn's guys up front, you have to take care of those guys before you can do anything else," Whipple said.