It may come as no surprise that one of the men anchoring Division I-AA's No. 1 rushing defense initially came from a larger Division I program.
But for junior linebacker Kory Gedin, this season is all about progression, in only his second year since transferring from North Carolina.
"Second year here, I'm more acclimated with college," Gedin said. "Last year was a learning experience with a new situation in everything."
Gedin made the decision to transfer into Al Bagnoli's program after injuring his hamstring during preseason practice, which forced him to redshirt his freshman year.
But the Washington native insists that there was a difference in attitude within the football program that made Penn a more attractive place than Chapel Hill.
"I think the whole coaching system is a little different," Gedin said. "I think at North Carolina, the situation there right now ... they're still losing, so they have a losing mentality. They're trying to get out of it right now, but there's a lot of pressure on the coaches and a lot of pressure on the players. You can feel that; it's a major difference between one school."
Gedin arrived at a time when Penn was rebuilding its linebacking corps. Last year, the Quakers had just graduated All-Ivy linebacker Steve Lhotak and captain Ric San Doval underwent season-ending surgery in the spring.
Gedin was given a rare opportunity to start when junior Mark Herman went down with a season-ending injury during the Red and Blue's preseason scrimmage.
Still, the player whom Rivals.com named the No. 15 inside linebacker in the nation coming out of high school had to make some early adjustments.
"I think we obviously played [Kory] early last year, probably before he was ready to really play," Penn defensive coordinator Ray Priore said. "But over last year -- and you can see it this spring -- he has stabilized himself and is obviously executing very well right now."
While Gedin was working mostly alongside players with limited experience last season, the return of San Doval to the Quakers' defense has allowed Gedin to gain insight from a player who was a part of Penn's back-to-back Ivy titles in 2002 and 2003.
"It's nice to have someone you work well with," San Doval said. "This year, I think Kory and I complement each other very well. It's nice to know I have a pretty big guy next to me."
Gedin really enjoys the tight defensive unit that is forming around him, made up mostly of players around his age who will be around for at least another season.
"Some people kind of look at me and say 'Oh man, you still got two more years,'" Gedin said. "I think the greatest thing is that we can grow to become even better as a defense."
The Quakers are already responding better than last year, when they finished fourth in the Ivy League in rushing defense and gave up three 100-yard performances.
This season, the Quakers are giving up a mere 49.2 yards per game on the ground, which is for first in Division I-AA. But the Quakers have yet to square off against the Ivy League's best running teams, in Brown and Harvard.
The Red and Blue is also 10th in I-AA in scoring defense, allowing only 15.8 points per game.
"Last year we were good in scoring defense but we gave up a lot of yardage against the run," Gedin said. "This year we're still good in scoring defense but we're limiting the amount of yardage the offense gets."
With Brown and Ivy League-leading rusher Nick Hartigan coming up tomorrow, the Quakers' defense will face even more pressure to maintain its outstanding play.
Gedin knows that the reputation of Penn's defense as one of the stingiest in the nation bodes well for the Quakers' title hopes in 2005.
"Coach Priore always tell us, defense wins championships," Gedin said.
