Part three in a four-part series
At first glance, Penn freshmen offensive linemen Joe D'Orazio and Joe McKendry have little in common beyond a first name. They look as different as two offensive linemen could be expected to look.
Standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 275 pounds, the red-haired McKendry dwarfs his fellow linemates. And though he looks as if he was born to play a contact sport, he has only been playing organized football for a little over two years.
By contrast, what the 6-1 D'Orazio lacks in size he makes up for in experience and talent, having racked up the individual honors throughout his high-school career.
But the achievements that mattered most to McKendry and D'Orazio were the ones they shared as teammates at the renowned football power, St. Joseph's Prep, in Philadelphia.
Anchoring the best offensive line in the city, the two linemen helped the Prep win the 2005 Catholic League title, grabbing the attention of many college coaches across the country.
And though the two ultimately wound up reunited at Penn, their individual recruiting stories were almost as different as their body types.
"Besides Penn, we were pretty much looking at all different schools," D'Orazio said.
While D'Orazio picked the Quakers over Cornell, Brown and Air Force, McKendry chose Penn over Columbia, William and Mary and Richmond.
In many ways, however, it was through a Prep connection that both players decided on Penn.
On their official visit to Penn - the only official college visit that D'Orazio and McKendry made together - they enjoyed the hospitality of the Quakers' senior defensive back and former Prep player Greg Ambrogi.
"We came down for the Harvard game and went to the tailgate with Greg, and it felt like a good atmosphere between the players and the coaches," D'Orazio said.
"The visit was really fun," McKendry added.
As a result, the teammates made oral commitments to Penn in the same week, ensuring that they would remain together for the next four years as well.
According to offensive line coach Jon McLaughlin, Penn's knowledge of and relationship with the Philadelphia-area high school made it easier to recruit them.
"We had the benefit of knowing St. Joe's Prep - their history, tradition, the coaching staff and the caliber of football they play," he said. "We were familiar with each of them because we had the benefit of working with them in camps."
McLaughlin said that while both players inherited a strong work ethic and fundamentally sound skill set from Prep, they are "two completely different athletes" because of their sizes.
In describing the two players, Prep coach Gil Brooks told the Philadelphia Inquirer that D'Orazio is "one of the finest centers - if not the finest" that he had ever coached. Brooks also said that the less-experienced McKendry, a tackle, has "his best days ahead of him."
Because of the tremendous learning curve in adjusting from high school to college football, it is too early to tell whether either player will make an immediate impact this season, McLaughlin explained.
"The physical level and the mental level - with all of the meetings and the film - it's a big adjustment," D'Orazio said.
Accordingly, McKendry and D'Orazio have relied on each other for support.
"It definitely helps to have someone that you're familiar with," McKendry said. "It makes it easier to adjust to a new place."
While Penn may be unfamiliar to the unlikely offensive line duo, at least the two will navigate it together. It's worked before.
