Football | After flops, program is 'fragile'

For the second straight season, Robert Irvin is battling back from severe shoulder surgery. And once again, the quarterback - who started all 10 games as a sophomore in 2006 - must vie for his old job.

Gone is Bryan Walker, who as a senior lost last fall's preseason competition only to step up when Irvin suffered a torn right labrum against Villanova in the second game of the year.

The Quakers have brought in junior Kyle Olson from Fullerton College, a two-year school, where he started under center both seasons. The 6-foot, 210-pound southpaw stands five inches shorter than Irvin, who is still taking reps with the first team.

Coach Al Bagnoli's confidence level in Olson, however, is hardly little.

"I think for the first time, we have two kids who we think can be varsity quarterbacks at this level and win games," said Bagnoli, who's about to embark on his 17th campaign with Penn.

"We're all encouraged by Kyle Olson's play. He gives us another dimension that we didn't have last year."

His emergence also means that in just the first week of camp, 2007 backup Brendan McNally - who was 6-for-12 with three interceptions and no touchdowns - is already an outsider in Penn's quarterback mix, largely thanks to Olson's experience at junior college.

"We had to give an open competition," Bagnoli said." "But [Olson's] been used to the fire. So I think he gives you a little bit different dimension than McNally would give you, who's relatively untested."

Bagnoli added that the coaching staff "is investigating" McNally's role for the upcoming season.

Irvin said that he feels fully recovered from his right shoulder ailments. Unlike after his March 2007 surgery, when he rested his arm for about six weeks, this time he didn't begin throwing until May - seven months after his operation.

The additional time off helped. So, too, did the Quakers' decision to return to campus well before training camp. Almost all the team was back by Aug. 4.

"Last year, I came into camp, and that was really the first time that I had thrown routes," Irvin said.

"I came back here about two months early [this year] to get in the right mind-set and get all the timing with my receivers, so I felt a lot better."

He's had to forget the past couple of years and, more importantly, overcome the fear of getting injured again. He's not in midseason form yet, but Bagnoli likes what he sees.

"He's still a little rusty because he hasn't done anything with 11 people," Bagnoli said. "But his arm strength is just about back to normal, and his accuracy is still there."

Olson's not deterred. After turning down offers from Fordham and Central Connecticut State and passing up potential walk-on opportunities at Southern California, UCLA and Stanford, the California native is working on memorizing the playbook. ("My game is all up here," he said, pointing to his head.)

In case he does not win the job, however - or, perhaps, even if he does - Olson has crafted a backup plan to ensure the ball is snapped to him.

That's because he was a punter in high school and at Fullerton. The Quakers have an opening there, since Anthony Mellilo, who held the job for four years, graduated in May.

Junior Scooter Belasco, with one collegiate punt under his belt - for 55 yards, on a quick kick against Yale last season - is doing his part to make sure that Olson is immersed in a second completion. In this one, though, Bagnoli clearly indicated that Olson is his No. 1.

And as excited as he is for a pair of viable quarterback options, Bagnoli's well-known penchant for special-teams creativity has kicked into a new gear.

"We can have some fun back there with some fakes," he said with a large smile on his face. "We're already kind of drawing some things up in the sand."

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