Ivy championship helps Football secure recruits

The football class of 2003 was influenced by Penn's 1998 success on the gridiron. Win an Ivy League Championship, get a strong recruiting class. Such a simple formula, but it worked for the Penn football team. "I could have went to Princeton or other Ivy League [schools]," incoming freshman Ryan Strahlendorff said. "But I figured if I was going to go to the Ivy Leagues I'm gonna go to the best football [school]." The allure of a successful football program -- coupled with Penn's usual academic reputation -- helped produce a strong group of freshmen football players. "I've been at Penn for 12 years, so I've seen 12 recruiting classes come through," Penn assistant coach Ray Priore said. "It has to rank in the top one, two or three classes that we've brought in as a whole, in terms of meeting our needs." One of the biggest needs the Quakers had was at quarterback with the graduation of Matt Rader. Three freshmen -- Michael Mitchell, Tony Zara and Jon Searles -- will join holdovers Ed Mebs, Tom DiMenna and Reed Werner in competing for the starting job this summer. "I would say the job's open," Mitchell said. "There's going to be good competition and may the best person win, whoever it may be." Mitchell, a 6'1'', 195-pounder from Orlando, Fla., is arguably the most coveted of the three quarterbacks in the Penn Class of 2003. The Colonial High School senior was a Second-Team All-State honoree in Florida last fall and the Central Florida 6A Player of the Year. Zara, who has played in the same summer league as Mitchell several times, is also from the Orlando area. The Lake Highland High School quarterback/free safety made Honorable Mention All-State his junior and senior years. Searles, a third option, could decide not to play football for Penn after being drafted as a pitcher by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Quakers also recruited a solid group of linemen, both on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. One of these recruits, defensive end Strahlendorff, is only in his fourth year of football. The 6'2'', 250-pounder had played soccer until his sophomore year in high school. "I was a big-time soccer player but got too big for soccer," Strahlendorff said. "Too many red cards." Matt Dukes is another intriguing prospect in the freshmen football class. The offensive lineman, from the same high school as Zara, received First-Team All-State honors in football and stands at an imposing 6'2'' and 265 pounds. "He's a big, strong kid, real aggressive," Zara said. "He's the type of guy who plays 100 percent every time." Other Quakers' prospects include linebackers Vincent Alexander and Travis Beldon. Alexander was chosen to the All-State First Team in Michigan, while Beldon was runner-up for the Player of the Year award in Indiana. On the offensive side of the ball, Todd Okolovitch, a defensive back from Old Tappan, N.J., will try to make an impact as a running back in the Quakers' offensive scheme. Although Penn looks to have a plethora of first-year talent, head coach Al Bagnoli and the rest of the Penn coaching staff have a history of using freshmen sparingly. "The coach's philosophy is 'your ability to play is your ability to understand what we're doing,'" Priore said. "Certain positions are a little bit more difficult. The easier impact for many freshmen, at least immediately, is playing on special teams and then being role players on offense and defense." Priore points out that it takes football players a while to acclimate to the college game. Physically, the players are bigger and quicker, and, mentally, the plays and defensive schemes are more complex. "I know the playbook is very big," defensive end Chris Pennington said. "I think it's going to challenge me a lot more mentally than it did in high school." The Quakers' Class of 2003 is composed of 35 players -- including 12 from New Jersey. The recruiting class includes 13 linemen and three tight ends but only two wide receivers.