For most Penn students, office hours are opportunities to obtain additional help. For football senior wide receiver Jared Richardson, wide receiver coach David Josephson’s “office hours” are a necessity.
“We go over what these teams do, their tendencies and stuff like that,” Richardson said, referring to Josephson’s office hours. “When we’re out there on the field, come Friday night or Saturday, we’re able to just see things before they happen.”
“It’s a mix of reviewing the day’s practice tape and seeing how it’ll apply to the upcoming opponent that weekend,” Josephson explained. “The reality is, it’s a big credit to them. They’ve just become extremely process-oriented this year, and that’s just another piece of the process throughout the week that gets them ready to play.”
This season, which is also offensive coordinator Greg Chimera’s second year with the program, Penn’s passing game has taken a massive step forward.
“The second year is always gonna be easier,” Chimera said. “Now we’re learning, going through little details. … The guys have really bought in.”
Through four games, Penn ranks second in the Ivy League in total offense, with much of its success coming through the air. Despite ranking fifth in the league in rushing, the Quakers are third in passing yards and second in passing efficiency. With three conference games yet to play, Penn controls its own destiny.
When Chimera and the coaching staff are preparing internally for the week, senior quarterback Liam O’Brien is there too, absorbing as much information as possible.
“I’m doing a lot of learning in those sessions, not as much [giving] input,” O’Brien said. “They’re so creative with how they manipulate our offense — who’s lining up, formations, motions — everything like that. … If I have something to say, they’re always open ears.”
After being jolted into the starting spot in the middle of last season following then-senior quarterback Aidan Sayin’s season-ending elbow injury, O’Brien now has 11 total starts under his belt. Compared to other Ivy League quarterbacks this season, he is ranked third in total passing yards with 1,750 and second in passing touchdowns with 14.
O’Brien credits Chimera’s schemes for the team’s success through the air.
“I think coach Chimera is doing a really nice job getting our best playmakers — the guys that do great things with the ball in their hands — in positions to get the ball. From there, it’s just what they can do in open space,” O’Brien said. “When all 11 guys on offense truly understand why we’re running a play, who we’re targeting, and the space we want to get to, we operate really well.”
This isn’t Chimera’s first time running a successful offense.
RELATED:
Season-high rushing total fuels Penn football’s 28-21 Halloween win over Brown
Penn football's Jayden Drayton earns Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week
Before arriving in Philadelphia, Chimera spent over a decade coaching down the interstate at Johns Hopkins. After spending a decade’s worth of seasons as the offensive coordinator, Chimera was named head coach after the Blue Jays’ winningest coach in program history, Jim Margraff, died in early 2019.
In his four years at the helm of the program, Chimera led Johns Hopkins to a 40-7 record, two conference titles, and two trips to the NCAA playoffs, as well as two bowl victories. When Chimera was hired at Penn, he was sought out specifically for his innovative play-designing abilities.
“He has an unbelievable ability to be creative from week to week, to figure out how to put defenses in a ton of stressful situations,” Josephson said of Chimera. “He’s an unbelievable in-game play caller … and he’s been doing a great job of putting guys in a position to succeed so far this year.”
Josephson’s history with Chimera extends beyond the past two years at Penn. At Johns Hopkins, Josephson was an offensive coordinator for Chimera, and when Chimera took the job at Penn, he brought Josephson with him.
“Him giving me opportunities to work underneath him … those opportunities were transformative to my career,” Josephson said. “The way I can repay him here is just to do my best to be the best assistant to him to help put guys in the best situation to succeed week to week.”
So far, Josephson has produced positive results as the wide receivers coach, with the standout duo of Richardson and senior wide receiver Bisi Owens leading the way. Richardson ranks first in the Ivy League in receiving yards with 817, while Owens’ 514 receiving yards are good for fourth. Just one of O’Brien’s touchdown passes this season has not been caught by one of the two receivers.
“We’re much more comfortable in [Chimera’s] offense,” Owens said, “Second year, it’s just easier for us to fly around and make plays, and not have to worry about running the wrong route or not blocking the right guy. We’re very familiar with the offense. We’re very comfortable with the offense, which allows us to play faster and play together.”
The respect goes both ways.
“My philosophy is let the locker room decide what you do,” Chimera said. “And right now, we have a bunch of great receivers and good pass blockers up front, so we’ve leaned toward the pass.”
Last season, Penn had a prolific day through the air against Cornell with O’Brien passing for 341 yards and six touchdowns. This performance led to Chimera implementing more run-pass options into the playbook for his starting quarterback. With a rematch with the Big Red looming this Saturday for Homecoming, there’s plenty of behind-the-scenes work that the coaching staff and the players will be putting in to match last year’s performance.
“What’s great about [these] guys is they’re coming in ready to continue to work,” Josephson said. “And they understand that we still have work to do to reach our ultimate goal.”
