Going into the season, the Quakers had no idea who would step up from an inexperienced receiving corps.
And while they still have not answered all the questions, junior Dan McDonald has clearly emerged as the deep threat.
McDonald is not necessarily the go-to guy with only eight catches in three games, but so far he is the leader with 191 yards. He is averaging 23.9 yards per catch.
In all three games this season, quarterback Pat McDermott has found McDonald for a connection of more than 40 yards.
Last Saturday at Dartmouth, in the Quakers' Ivy League opener, McDonald put up one of his best games, hauling in three passes for 77 yards, all of them coming on scoring drives. His biggest catch came on a 41-yard pass early in the third quarter, leading to the eventual game-winning touchdown and increasing Penn's lead to 16-3.
Late in the second quarter, McDonald was on the receiving end of the Quakers' most exciting offensive play of the game. On a rather unconventional call, McDermott aired out a flea-flicker that went for 30 yards, setting up a Derek Zoch field goal and a 9-0 lead going into the half.
McDonald is built to stretch the field. At 6-foot-3 and 208 pounds, he does not have blazing speed, but he can get down the field easily.
"Because he's tall, he's got long strides and he's pretty smooth," coach Al Bagnoli said. "He gets an awful lot of ground covered. He's deceptively fast and gets on people pretty quick."
Matt Carre, the Quakers' leader in catches -- with 12 for 178 yards -- mostly lines up in the slot. Carre is more fit to weave through traffic in the middle of the field, whereas the bigger receivers like McDonald and 6-1 Nick Okoro, the starter opposite McDonald, are used on the outside.
McDonald and Okoro often go deep to create one-on-one mismatches. With all of the 5-10 corners around, their four- or six- inch height advantage is huge.
McDonald uses his height combined with his versatility as an athlete to catch the long ball.
"I've been playing basketball my whole life. It's just like going up to get a rebound," McDonald said. "It's almost second-nature. It's not my speed because I'm not the fastest guy on the team, but timing on the ball, height, and jumping ability are key attributes for it."
The Medford, N.J., native was a three-year letter-winner in football and basketball at Shawnee High School and was the captain of both teams his senior year.
"He's got great hands, he runs great routes, and what he's best at is adjusting to the ball," McDermott said. "Wherever the ball is thrown, he can go and get it, which gives me a lot of room for error."
With the loss of starters Gabe Marabella and especially Dan Castles, who led the team with 966 yards and eight touchdowns in 2004, Penn was left with no proven receivers.
A year ago, Carre accumulated 308 yards and one touchdown, McDonald had a total of three catches for 37 yards and Okoro did not catch a pass.
There was talent going into the season, but, needless to say, no one knew for sure what would happen. McDonald began the season starting alongside Okoro, but his coaches did not know for sure how he would perform.
"I'd like to say it is [our plan], but it just worked out that way," Offensive Coordinator Andy Coen said. "The nature of our outside guys is to run deeper routes, and he's been real effective doing that."
The Quakers shift many receivers in and out during the game, but McDonald and McDermott fit together nicely because of McDermott's ability to throw the deep ball. Against Dartmouth he completed passes of 41, 31, 26 and 25 yards, despite only throwing for a total of 209.
"That's always been a strength of his," Bagnoli said of McDermott's ability to go deep.
McDonald has felt the effects of McDermott's powerful arm.
"He throws the ball with a lot of velocity, which makes it hard to catch," McDonald said. "Not that it's in a bad spot, he just throws it so hard, and his arm strength downfield is there as well. If he needs to put air under it, he's comfortable with it."
