Football hit with loss of veteran receiving pair

Juniors David Rogers and David O'Neill will not be suiting up for the Quakers this season. But they received some unfortunate news in the off-season. Dealt the unexpected loss of two of their top four returning wide receivers -- David Rogers and David O'Neill -- the Quakers must now find a way to absorb yet another tough blow on the offensive side of the ball. Junior wideout Rogers, who caught 29 passes for 405 yards as Rader's second favorite target in 1998, has opted to go on a Mormon mission during this academic year. Classmate O'Neill, who snared 10 passes for two touchdowns, did not meet academic eligibility requirements. Rogers could not be located for comment. O'Neill has left campus for the year and did not return repeated phone calls. The departure of these two cogs in the Quakers' offensive machine, however, was greeted with only mixed reactions at preseason camp. "In a normal situation, we really would miss O'Neill and Rogers because of all the experience they brought in from last year," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "But we really have developed some depth at receiver and we very feel comfortable that we have some athleticism there. "So we will miss those two, obviously, but we think athletically we'll be certainly as good as we were last year. That's really a very, very deep position for us." Despite depth at that position, losing these two experienced receivers is not an auspicious sign for a Penn team that is trying to repeat as Ivy champs. Added to the statistical loss of O'Neill and Rogers could also be an emotional loss -- David O'Neill is the younger brother of Quakers star senior receiver Doug O'Neill. The elder O'Neill, though, did not feel his brother's absence would affect his own performance. "I'm not really thinking about it when I'm on the field," said Doug, who caught 45 passes for 506 yards in '98. "It was nice to have him out there at times last year, but now that he's not out there, I can't dwell on it." Dwelling on these losses, though, is one thing that the Quakers may actually not have to do. The loss of Rogers was known as far back as last winter, giving Bagnoli and wide receivers coach Rick Ulrich a chance to focus on up-and-coming receivers in spring practice. O'Neill's ineligibility became known more recently, however. "Rogers was right after the season," Ulrich explained. "That was a situation where, because of him being Mormon, he made a decision -- a decision that we really weren't expecting. That's the one that really hurt because he was the guy that's provided good play for us as an inside receiver. "David O'Neill, on the other hand, was a little bit later. He had an opportunity in the summer to try to get eligible and academically he's had some concerns." Having several running backs with no game experience, the Quakers were looking to their deep, proven receiving corps for instant offense this fall. As it stands now, Penn returns two of the better wideouts in the league in Doug O'Neill and senior Brandon Carson, but the loss of the two other well-known threats still stings. "It definitely was a big loss," said Carson, who caught 28 passes a year ago and is now the Quakers' primary deep threat. "But the other receivers are stepping up and I don't think it's really going to affect us that much in the end. We have a good bunch of receivers. Those kids were really talented, but we have a lot of other talented people, too." In particular, Bagnoli and Ulrich are now looking to junior Jay Battung (12 catches, two touchdowns in '98), and sophomore Colin Smith (two catches) to fill the void. Younger receivers Rob Mellinese, John Halahon and Ryan Sigafoos will also see a lot of playing time this fall. The development of Battung -- a former quarterback -- is critical, because he will be called upon to fill Rogers' shoes in the role as an inside receiver who will complement outside speedsters in the line-up. "That'll be the one thing maybe we're concerned with now, because we don't have anyone that's really been in [the middle] and played a great deal," Ulrich said. "Jay Battung is now the guy that will step in and take Rogers' position." This week, Ed Mebs became the third former quarterback -- following Battung and Carson, who converted in '97 -- to join the Penn receiving ranks. Offensively, the Quakers are still looking to employ a large number of four- and five-receiver sets, which may now prove a little more difficult than the coaching staff had once hoped. Still, Ulrich remains optimistic. "Even though it sounds maybe crazy, maybe without even having Rogers and O'Neill, we might even be better," Ulrich said. "Right now, we have eight people that we think we can line up with and we can probably win if we need to." Potential game inexperience aside, the departure of O'Neill and Rogers will likely adversely affect the rest of the offense set as well. Without the threat of Rogers in particular, opposing defenses may be able to play more aggressive seven- and eight-man fronts against Penn, with less fear of being burnt in the secondary. This may, in turn, challenge a largely unproven Quakers running game. But with second-team All-Ivy fullback Brian Cosmello and all three tight ends returning, it's clear that the Quakers still have a number of offensive weapons. And with the addition of transfer quarterback Gavin Hoffman to these returning weapons, Penn has a better-than-average shot of overcoming a pair of untimely losses to their high-powered receiving corps.