The Penn football team will enter with a defensive line that is short on the depth chart but long in talent.
Returning senior lineman Ryan Strahlendorff and juniors Michael Sangobowale and Stephen Small will be asked to fill the void left by their graduated teammates Andrew Altman and Chris Pennington.
During last year's standout defensive season, Pennington contributed 37 tackles and three sacks, while Altman had 21 tackles and one sack.
Last season, Pennington and Altman were the senior anchors of a defensive line that allowed the fewest rushing yards per game in the nation.
Aside from the significant losses to graduation, Ric San Doval who earned honorable mention All-Ivy at defensive line a year ago, is moving to linebacker. Senior Kyle Chaffin, who started all 10 games for the Quakers a year ago has quit the team.
"Obviously we have some pretty big shoes to fill -- a lot of great players have left," Strahlendorff said. "But we're just working hard every day, trying to get better and we're looking forward to the start of the season."
Strahlendorff, a fifth-year senior and the most experienced member of the defensive line, is coming off a 2002 season that earned him a second team All-Ivy League selection. He had 29 tackles, including eight tackles for a loss, from his defensive tackle position.
Sangobowale and Small will both be looked upon to improve their performances from a year ago.
Sangobowale contributed 21 tackles and four sacks and looked impressive in a scrimmage last week against Widener. Small had two sacks last season to accompany his 15 tackles.
"We have guys with limited game experience. So they're not total novices and they are upperclass guys, so that makes it a little bit easier," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "They've had a very solid preseason, so we expect them to be real good football players."
Coming off a solid season in which he recorded seven tackles for a loss, Chaffin was expected to be one of the key cogs to a Red and Blue defense that has dominated opponents over the past two years. However, the fifth-year senior suddenly -- and inexplicably -- quit the team.
"It's always tough when you lose a great player like that. But its nothing that we can't make up," Small said. "It's just brought us closer together -- it's three now instead of four. Everybody's just got to pull it together and pick up the slack."
Bagnoli said that he does not know whether Chaffin will return to the team.
Other less experienced players, such as senior Blake Bourne and sophomores Bobby Fallon, Kevin Junge and Dale Holzer, will be counted on to contribute positively to the undermanned Quakers defensive line.
Despite the lack of depth and experience, Bagnoli is still confident in this group.
"I think if they stay healthy they will be a solid group," the coach said. "They've got experience and they have athleticism. The whole key will be staying healthy. We're not as deep as we have been in years past."
As for the players themselves, they aren't concerned with their apparent lack of depth or experience. After nearly a 10-month lay-off from live game action, they are just eager to start the regular season.
