Following a disappointing 4-6 season last fall, Penn football did not get much time to lick its wounds.
Minutes after the Quakers’ final game of 2024, a loss to Princeton, then-sophomore running back Malachi Hosley entered the transfer portal. The star halfback rushed for 1,192 yards and nine touchdowns in his Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year campaign. Pro Football Focus ranked him the 20th best running back in all of college football.
He was packing at the final whistle.
After garnering 15 Football Bowl Subdivision offers, Hosley opted to return to his home state, committing to Georgia Tech. With “the touchdown machine” gone, all eyes turned to sophomore running back Jamal Bing Jr. to take over Penn’s rushing attack, who ranked second among Penn running backs with 31 rushing attempts and 130 yards.
Unfortunately for coach Ray Priore, Bing followed Hosley’s lead. He announced in May that he would also be transferring to the Peach State — but this time to Georgia State.
“When you lose the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year to the portal and the NIL and all those other things that happen, that’s never good,” Priore said at Ivy League Media Day on Aug. 11. “It’s got to be a ‘next man up’ sort of mentality. We’ve done some internal things.”
One of those internal things, according to Priore, was converting a speedy wideout to the backfield. After a collegiate career at receiver, senior Julien “Juice” Stokes is now listed as a running back on Penn’s depth chart. Last season, he raked in 37 receptions for 313 yards and two touchdowns. He did not log a single rushing attempt.
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“I’ve been playing receiver since I [have] been at Penn,” Stokes wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “Running back has been my main position, and where I’ve thrived through all of high school and youth. I can’t wait to be back there again. We’ve got a veteran O-line and a team who’s hungrier than ever. I’m excited for everyone to see all of the work we’ve put in. Have your popcorn ready.”
Despite not playing running back since high school, Stokes is no stranger to finding space behind a wall of blockers.
Stokes has operated as Penn’s main return specialist since halfway through the 2022 season, and he was named the Phil Steele Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Year that same year. After missing the 2023 season with an injury, he resumed return duties as Penn became No. 1 in average yards per kickoff return in 2024.
Along with Stokes, Priore expects sophomore running back Donte West and junior running back Sean Williams Jr. to get valuable touches this season. West did not log a rushing attempt last season, and Williams ran the ball just 12 times in four appearances.
“[Running back is] probably the one position where early players can play and can tap in [into the starting lineup] really early,” Priore said. “[Hosley], as a freshman, came in and started after his third game, but I do believe the upperclassmen will be able to lead us our way through it. … We’ll find the best system.”
No matter if Penn employs a bell cow back, like last season, or a run-by-committee approach, Penn’s rushing attack will be anchored by one of the best offensive lines in the conference. The Quakers’ offensive line boasts five returning starters, including two FCS Football Central Preseason All-Americans in senior linemen Netinho Olivieri and William Bergin.
“You got five returners up front,” senior quarterback Liam O’Brien said. “It’s exciting, right? All those guys have played with each other, they’ve got experience, and that’s your foundation. Those guys really provide all the potential for our offense, and so they’re going to take us where we need to be.”
