Replacing record-setting wide receiver Rob Milanese will be a daunting task for the Penn football team's current contingent of receivers.
Milanese, who was recently cut from the New England Patriots, left the Quakers after last season as the program's all-time leader in career receptions, career receiving yards single-season receiving yards and single-season receptions.
In addition, Milanese left quite a mark on the Ivy League record books. He finished third in receptions, fifth in receiving yards and eighth in touchdown receptions in the conference's history.
"It's hard to replace Robby," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said of Milanese. "He's your career receiving leader. It's not like you can just turn to anybody."
Nevertheless, this season's receiving unit, led by seniors Joe Phillips and Jonathan Robinson and junior Daniel Castles, are all able to help fill-in that void.
Substantial contributions from all three players will be required to replace Milanese's 85 catches for 1,112 yards. The year's top three receivers combined a season ago to tally 443 yards and 39 receptions fewer than Milanese alone.
Bagnoli hopes that if three receivers can catch around 50 passes, the team will offset the graduations of both Milanese and second option Erik Bolinder -- who ended last season with 47 receptions for 592 yards.
"They have to do it in a different way," Bagnoli said. "But hopefully we'll get the same thing."
Phillips and Castles enter the season with some experience. As the third and fourth options at the wide receiver spot last year, the duo combined for 43 catches and 635 yards.
According to Bagnoli, Castles and Phillips will be move up on the depth chart and start.
"The base set will be Phillips and Castles," he said.
Bagnoli stressed that, given the team's preponderance of three- and four-receiver sets, many wideouts would see significant action, including junior Gabriel Marabella.
"We're going to roll a lot of guys through," he said.
Robinson is hoping to improve on last year's injury-plagued season. Robinson was injured in pregame warmups before Dartmouth -- Penn's third game of the season. In two games he caught three passes for 34 yards.
"Joe [Phillips] and I have some experience playing together," Robinson said. "We're going to bring leadership to this year's team."
Bagnoli remains confident that each receiver will bring a different skill set to Penn's overall offensive attack.
"Castles is big, deceptively fast, runs good patterns and has good hands," he said.
"Joe is very shifty, gets in and out of cuts really well," Bagnoli said. "He'll be used as an inside receiver. It seems like he's gotten a little bit quicker and faster since last year."
Robinson will also have the opportunity to make a significant impact because of his speed, size, ability to "run inside and take a beating" and prowess in out-jumping defensive backs.
The Quakers' quest to replace the seemingly irreplaceable will officially begin on Saturday, Sept. 20, when they take on Duquesne at Franklin Field.
The current unit can only hope to make defensive backs as dizzy as their famed predecessor did in past seasons.
"As wide receivers, we have to be a force this season," Robinson said. "We really have to step up."
Replacing a legend Penn looks to three upperclassmen to shoulder the receiving load, one that Rob Milanese had carried the past four seasons. Dan Castles: Castles was third in team receiving last year with 24 catches for 369 yards, including six touchdowns. Joe Phillips: The senior brings experience to the trio after finishing fifth in team receptions and leading the Quakers in punt returns. Jonathan Robinson: The senior got injured in warmups before last season's Dartmouth game and only hauled in three catches all year. He is slated to be Penn's third receiver in 2003.
