Football's new punter strong in two sports

The punter vacancy might not seem like the most pressing of concerns for the Penn football team this year.

But replacing graduated punter Ryan Lazzeri is probably one of the most important tasks for the upcoming season, which begins Saturday at Lafayette.

Josh Appell says he's up to the task of filling the shoes of the all-time leader in punts in Penn history.

"I'm not looking to come in here and do too much," Appell said. "I'm just looking to get the job done."

Last year, Lazzeri punted 46 times for an average of 36.2 yards, including 19 punts inside the 20. He had only four touchbacks on the season and forced opponents to fair catch seven times.

It won't be the easiest job replacing such proficiency, but Appell might be the one to do the job. He was a successful punter and kicker in high school in Woodmere, N.Y., and helped Hewlett High School to a championship in 1999.

Despite of his lack of collegiate football experience, he has played baseball at Penn. Last season, his first for the Red and Blue, he pitched in four games (3.1 innings), giving up five runs and going 1-0.

He picked up his lone victory in the Quakers' wild 10-9 win over Villanova on April 17.

Appell said that doing two sports does not hurt him in either one.

"It's not like I'm playing quarterback and outfielder," he said. "I'm playing pitcher and punter. I've been able to handle it.

"I don't think I've really lost much from either sport by playing both," he added.

The punter is traditionally one of the most athletic players on a football team, and Appell certainly fits that mold. In high school, he played football, soccer, basketball and baseball.

"I was recruited to play soccer at other schools, but I don't know about here," he said. "No. I wouldn't have played three sports.

"In high school I never practiced with the football team. I'd go out to soccer practice and then a few times a week I'd go out to the football field and kick."

Still, Appell enjoys being a two-sport athlete.

"It's hard," he said. "I don't get to do all the off-season workouts. But, I mean, I have fun. I've handled [sports] and schoolwork pretty well so far."

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It's Sept. 17, and if there's one thing the Penn football team is excited for, it's, well, the season.

"I haven't started a game since high school," starting quarterback Mike Mitchell said. "It's really been three years since I've started a game. I have to get used to it and get into a groove in there.

"I think I'll get used to it."

Mitchell has had to wait quite a while to even get excited about the upcoming season. The college football season began with a Division I-A game between Colorado State and Virginia on Aug. 22. The Quakers begin almost a full month after that.

The Penn-Lafayette and Wisconsin-Arizona games each kick off at noon on Saturday. It will be the first for the Quakers, but it will mark the fifth game the Badgers have played this season.

"It's weird to me, since college football season is starting and we're just getting here," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said back on Media Day, Aug. 26. "We're starting as late as any conference in the history of college football."

Penn starts its Ivy League season Oct. 5 against Dartmouth. To find a later Ancient Eight start date, you have to go back to 1989, when the Quakers opened against Columbia on Oct. 7.

"Most of my friends from back home, we'd be talking... and they were saying, 'I go back tomorrow,'" Mitchell said. "I'm like, 'I don't go back for another month.'

"It's kind of weird, but we have to play a full season like everyone else is playing."

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