It was a picturesque catch -- his body a few feet off the ground, arms fully extended in the air. It was second down in the second quarter against Yale, a 34-yard gain up the middle of the field. It was one of the many times this season that Penn senior co-captain quarterback Mike Mitchell has connected with junior wideout Dan Castles, exploiting the Quakers' leading receiver's size and height to pass through double coverage.
But he wasn't always the marked man on offense.
Last season, Castles played alongside fifth-year senior receivers Rob Milanese -- the top wideout in the program's history -- and Erik Bolinder. In that considerable shadow, he grabbed 24 catches for 369 yards and six touchdowns in eight games.
"Last year, we just didn't ask [Castles] to do as much as what he has to do this year," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "His role has changed dramatically."
In seven games this season, Castles is averaging 97.3 yards per game with 54 catches, 681 yards and six touchdowns.
After pulling down career highs in catches (12), yards (153) and touchdowns (3) in a victory over Lehigh in week two, Castles came back the very next week against Dartmouth and caught 10 passes, including a touchdown, for a new career-high 157 yards.
For Castles, the transition to being the No. 1 receiver came rather easily.
"It kind of felt natural," he said. "Even though my role this year is different, I have the same goal, which is to help the team."
Even as the No. 3 receiver last season, he demonstrated the potential to become a leader for Penn.
"We always knew that he was the guy that we had targeted to be the go-to guy, the guy who can make big plays," Bagnoli said. "He made a lot of big catches for us last year as a sophomore."
He caught a touchdown pass in Penn's Ivy League title clinching win against Harvard on Nov. 16 and recorded then-career highs for receptions (seven), yards (93) and touchdowns (two) against Brown two Saturdays before that.
What makes Castles a good receiver?
"My size is my biggest strength -- 6'3" in this league is pretty tall for a receiver and a lot of the defensive backs are shorter," Castles said.
"I'm a big body to throw to, and [Mitchell] doesn't have a hard time finding me out there."
Indeed, Mitchell connects with Castles nearly eight times each week, ranking him second in the Ivy League in receptions per game (7.71) as well as second in receiving yards per game. Dartmouth's Jay Barnard ranks first in both categories.
"We get him out on the island a little bit more and if they're going to single-cover him, we let him do his thing and use his height and his speed to our advantage," Mitchell said.
But there's more to the former 2000 New Jersey All-State receiver than just his size.
"He's a lot faster than he looks... he uses his body well, he catches the ball and he runs nice patterns," Bagnoli said. "He's a competitive guy, so he's not afraid to go across the middle.
"He's turned into something really special."
What makes Castles so special -- beyond his size, beyond his quickness, even beyond his competitiveness -- is his ability to make big catches at crucial moments. He is where Mitchell most often looks on third down and his six scoring catches are double Sam Mathews' three, which is second on the team.
"He makes plays," Mitchell said. "Every time you throw him the ball, he's going to come down with it."
Among Quakers with over 40 receiving yards last season, Castles led the team with a 15.4 yard average gain. He's also leading the team this year, averaging 12.6 yards per catch, which ranks first among Penn receivers with over five catches.
"He has really matured into a great receiver," Mitchell said. "Coming in freshman year, he had the size and the hands and the feet, it was just a matter of him learning the plays and getting comfortable in the offense."
It seems Castles is pretty comfortable now. He ranks 10th all-time in career receiving yards (1,092) and is tied for seventh in career receptions (80) at Penn.
And here's the scary part -- he's only a junior.
