Quarterbacks Robert Irvin and Bryan Walker were able to use some of the Quakers' younger players during Saturday's loss to Villanova, one bright spot in an evening full of troubles. But it might have been out of necessity rather than from a newfound commitment to spread the ball around.
Senior Dan Coleman, who usually starts at wide receiver alongside classmate Braden Lepisto, was conspicuously absent from Penn's lineup after being benched for disciplinary reasons.
"There was a violation of personal team rules," head coach Al Bagnoli said. "He's fine now."
Coleman will start against Dartmouth this upcoming weekend.
This means Irvin will have another veteran receiver to look for this Saturday besides Lepisto, who had 11 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown against the Wildcats.
While he only pulled in three catches for 14 yards in the opener against Lafayette, Coleman would certainly have provided an offensive boost in Week 2.
Suitable sophomores. It wasn't the ideal way to do it, but Coleman's absence did allow Bagnoli to take a look at some of his less experienced receivers.
A trio of sophomores - Marcus Lawrence, Kyle Derham and Tyler Fisher - stood out and played a big role in Penn's effective first half.
Fisher's lone reception went for seven yards, but Derham and Lawrence made a very noticeable impact on the Quakers' attack. Derham caught a 17-yard touchdown from Irvin to put the Quakers on the board, and Lawrence hauled in four passes for 55 yards as the second receiving option.
Lawrence, who played mostly on special teams and made his first career catch this year, made the most of his appearance as a starter.
"It felt really good getting in the game and doing some work at receiver," he said. "I felt good about my performance."
"He had an opportunity to play a little more extensively when Dan didn't play and I thought he took advantage of it," Bagnoli said.
While he isn't ready to hand the reins over to these three just yet, Bagnoli did concede that he is happy with his young receivers' progress thus far.
The sophomores "are pretty talented young guys and they just gotta continue to get better and gotta continue to grow," he said.
Bouncing Back. Even though Dartmouth is a far cry from uber-athletic Villanova, Irvin and Walker are making sure this weekend's game doesn't bear any resemblance to last Saturday's, not even for a moment.
Irvin is still pegged to start, but Bagnoli said the platoon will definitely be in use once again.
Practice this week will be crucial for Irvin, who will be making every effort to break down his reads better and work out the kinks.
And even when he's not taking a rep, Irvin will be working on it.
"The plays he's not in we've got him with the quarterback coach trying to just talk through the progression so he understands it, feels a little bit more comfortable," Bagnoli said. "It's a situation that's gonna involve some film study on his part, some simplification on our part, and probably a little extra coaching by our staff."
Notes. Junior Joey Brown will get the start at cornerback over incumbent Tyson Maugleon Saturday, according to the team's depth chart. Maugle will back up Chris Wynn.
