Though he favors Doctor Strange or Hulk, Penn football junior quarterback Karson Siqueiros-Lasky resonates with Captain America’s mantra: “I can do this all day.”
Or in the Marvel buff’s own words: “I could sit here and talk about movies all day.”
And he doesn’t mean merely talking about how a movie made him feel or how cool that one particular fight scene was. There are levels to this.
Siqueiros-Lasky likes dissecting plot holes and character flaws.
He and junior offensive lineman Ryan “Mitch” Mitchell discussed the X-Men casting lineup and the Spider-Man actors, agreeing that Tom Holland is, naturally, the best Spider-Man. After the duo watched “Captain America: Brave New World,” they talked about the film’s marketing. Should Marvel have kept the Red Hulk as a surprise? How will this movie fit into the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s convoluted storyline?
He likes to think things through.
“I like the movies that kind of mess with my brain a little bit and make me confused,” he said. It’s no surprise that Christopher Nolan’s movies are among his favorites, ranking alongside psychological thrillers like David Fincher’s “Fight Club” and Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island.”
His interest in movies extends to watching game and practice film: figuring out the holes in his game, getting inside his coaches’ brains.
“Karson would call you in the middle of the night or text you, ‘Hey coach, do you see how they played this? Do you see how they align like this?’” Karl Calhoun Jr., Siqueiros-Lasky’s high school football head coach at Seminole, said.
“He loves getting opinions from his other receivers,” Mitchell said. “He loves collaborating with other guys on the field, just talking ball, understanding where everybody’s heads [are] at.”
Like when he watches Marvel movies, Siqueiros-Lasky dissects game film. How does the defense respond to this play? Why did coaches draw up this game plan? What is the opposing team trying to do?
“He always wants to know the ‘why’ behind things, and he doesn’t settle for just understanding procedure,” junior wide receiver Connor “CJ” Johns said.
All that studying translates onto the field. “He reads the defense extremely well. It’s almost like he knows what they’re doing … before the snap more times than not,” Mitchell said.
Siqueiros-Lasky used to watch three to four hours of film every day, and now, as he competes for the starting quarterback position, Mitchell sounds a little worried for his teammate: “He’s probably gonna watch an insane amount of film this year.”
There are levels to this.
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The quarterback isn’t one to do anything half-heartedly. “If he’s gonna do [it], he’s gonna do it right, and he’s gonna give 100% on what he does,” Mitchell said.
He’s the same off the field. Siqueiros-Lasky makes his bed each morning. He reminds his teammates about homework or exams. He let Mitchell copy his handwritten cheat sheet for a Wharton class.
Johns said, “I don’t think there’s been a class that we’ve been in together where he hasn’t introduced himself to the professor and asked a question on the first day.”
“He’s not the type of person to just use AI to find the answers,” he added, “but he really wants to understand the method behind the madness, and he won’t wait till midterms or finals come up to do that. He’ll take it upon himself, just because he wants to have an understanding [of that] material for himself.”
That’s the thing. Whether it’s movies or film or economics class, Siqueiros-Lasky wants to understand everything. And he wants to understand people, making a concerted effort to get to know freshmen on the team, asking them questions that aren’t “just baseline questions, but things that are really going to force you to think and even question some things about yourself, maybe,” according to Johns.
“In terms of being a friend, he’s always forced me to think [deeper] about what motivates me or what drives me,” Johns said.
After 2026 Wharton graduate and former starting quarterback Liam O’Brien graduated, Siqueiros-Lasky knew it fell upon him to lead the team.
“Liam demanded a lot of guys he played with, but he also had a good rapport with him,” Mitchell said. And when Siqueiros-Lasky initially tried to fill in and keep 93 players accountable, “it was just coming off the wrong way because that foundational relationship wasn’t there.”
So over winter break, Mitchell and Johns encouraged Siqueiros-Lasky to reflect on the type of leader he wanted to be — and to understand he didn’t have to be the same as O’Brien.
“Your play style isn’t the same as Liam’s, so why would the way that you lead have to be similar too?”Johns said.
Siqueiros-Lasky took their words to heart and led with curiosity first.
“He was really more keen on building those relationships that he hadn’t built yet. And I feel like that’s made him a better leader, that’s made us a closer team. And I think that was a pivotal moment for us early in the offseason that kind of led us into spring,” Mitchell said.
His teammates, in turn, wanted to understand the junior quarterback, too. First years would pull him aside during practice to ask for his feedback, wondering if they made the right read.
And Siqueiros-Lasky always makes time to answer their questions. “If I can do something positive for that person, like advice or coach, that’s just something that I really want to do,” he said.
He is drawn to mentoring, coaching the Seminole girls’ flag football team, tutoring math, and serving as a tennis camp counselor back home in Orlando, Fla. Siqueiros-Lasky knows what he’s capable of and what he has to offer.
“Everybody believes in him,” Calhoun said. “He’s a believer.”
That was never clearer than when Seminole was playing against its rival, Lake Mary High School, at home during Siqueiros-Lasky’s senior year. Seminole was down 28-22 at the two-minute mark when they recovered a fumble. In a race against the clock, Seminole hurried to bring the ball upfield. Siqueiros-Lasky, then captain, was “very adamant” the team would do what needed to be done.
“Karson stepped in their pocket, threw a beautiful pass,” Calhoun said. “He got it on the money — it was at least like 40, 50 yards in the air — and dropped on the dime to our receiver … Karson was tough. He threw a beautiful pass. He never panicked, and he took us to the promised land.”
Seminole went on to win the game 29-28, handing Lake Mary its first loss of the season.
Johns sensed that confidence when he first met Siqueiros-Lasky in fall 2023, when Penn football commits took an official visit to campus. Siqueiros-Lasky introduced himself to the group casually, saying, “I’m from the O.”
Johns remembered how Siqueiros-Lasky was unapologetically himself in an environment where “you don’t want to come across as the person who’s weird or awkward.”
“As a quarterback, you have to be the most confident person on the field, I mean, you’re running the whole offense … For me, it was the first indicator of how good he could be,” Johns said.
Now, Siqueiros-Lasky is entering a new season at Penn. Watching film, asking questions, staying curious and confident. He could do it all day. And his teammates have noticed.
“Whenever I’m on the field, I take pride in protecting him because that’s my best friend,” Mitchell said. “That’s my guy.”
