Football Preview: Coen era is back, but with a few new twists

When deciding on the best strategy for Penn's new-look offense this season, Quakers coach Al Bagnoli took a cue from the past.

"We're probably going off closer to what we were with [former offensive coordinator] Andy [Coen] with motion, shifting, people out of the backfield," Bagnoli said of the offense, mentioning there would be an emphasis on "a much more open, no-huddle, up-tempo" style this year.

Coen became Lehigh's head coach two years ago, but vestiges of his time spent as offensive coordinator at Penn will resurface this season, just with a few wrinkles.

"The offense is slightly different [than Coen's]," senior wide receiver Braden Lepisto, who played under Coen, said. "It's a lot more no-huddle, which is, I think, more beneficial . I think it's a little more oriented to where the quarterback's running and other than that, we're in pretty similar formations, similar plays."

Last season, Penn opted for a more conservative approach on offense, largely due to the inexperience of the then-sophomore quarterback Robert Irvin. Irvin hadn't seen a single snap before starting under center last year.

Now that Irvin has a season's worth of experience, and over 2,000 passing yards already in the books, Bagnoli plans to entrust the quarterback with more responsibility in his second year as a starter.

"He's light-years ahead of where he was last year, which we expect him to be," Bagnoli said. "We feel very comfortable in him and in [senior backup] Bryan Walker and what he has done, so we think that should be a really good area of strength for us."

After coming off a year where he threw for 2,128 yards with a 55.8 completion percentage, Bagnoli will look to Irvin to step up his running game and expects Walker to play a similar role as last year.

Lepisto will also play an integral role in the up-tempo pace, which requires a higher degree of preparation and sophistication than the strategy ran last year by the now-terminated Shawn Halloran.

"Last year was a pretty generic offense - we got in the huddle after every play . we call the play and then react to the defense," Lepisto explained. "With this offense, we're going to be able to read what the defense is able to do before the play, and that could affect what we run, if we run a pass or a run play."

New offensive coordinator Bill Schmitz is leading the changes in Penn's offensive strategy, and is the Quakers' third offensive coordinator in three seasons.

Schmitz joins the team after serving as the tight ends and running backs coach at Alabama-Birmingham, and started putting his improvements in place as early as last spring.

"They had to get used to the tempo, get used to the communication," Schmitz said. "In our scrimmage against Widener [in August] we . had a lot plays in the first half and the players seemed very comfortable with it."

Ultimately, the Quakers hope to be able to exploit defenses by catching opponents off guard with their fast-paced scheme.

But such tactics require experience and communication to be effective, and only time will tell if the new system will be effective enough to help end Penn's title drought.

"It's a learning process for receivers, just to read the defense and get on the same page as the quarterback," Lepisto said. "The quarterback has to know what the receivers are thinking and that just takes time."

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