‘We’re going to be unstoppable:’ Penn has newfound confidence heading into 2025
With much of its team returning, the Quakers are eager to put the past behind them with a chance at postseason play now on the line. They'll start Saturday, when they kick off against Stonehill
Penn football doesn’t plan on letting old narratives dominate its story.
In 2024, the sky seemed to be the limit. Boasting a brand new offensive coordinator (former Johns Hopkins head coach Greg Chimera), an accomplished senior quarterback and a red-hot receiver (Aidan Sayin and then-junior Jared Richardson), and a defense rife with veteran starters, the Quakers’ campaign started with optimism.
But game by game, the pieces began to fall out of place. Defensive lineman and cocaptain Paul Jennings missed all but three games because of an injury. Penn lost fellow cocaptain Sayin to a season-ending injury after six games.
Backup quarterback Liam O’Brien performed at a high level in Sayin’s absence and even set a touchdown record along the way, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to stop the Quakers from finishing 4-6 after close losses to Harvard and Princeton to end the season. New captain and 2024 second-team All-Ivy linebacker John Lista thinks last season’s shortcomings came from players attempting to take on more than they needed to.
“It’s not, ‘How am I going to make the huge play’ or ‘How am I going to go out there and do something that’s grandiose?’” Lista said. “At the end of the day, it’s very simple things that we maybe didn’t do as well last year.”
The team’s setbacks continued to grow after the season. Starting running back and Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year Malachi Hosley transferred to Georgia Tech soon after the team’s final loss, and senior captain and defensive back Shiloh Means graduated, leaving large holes on the roster.
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Despite no shortage of adversity, and a No. 6 ranking in the preseason Ivy League poll, the Quakers had no drop in team spirit entering a new season. Even with position changes, the team is as confident as ever entering its season opener against Stonehill on Saturday (1 p.m., NEC Front Row).
“You can just tell our team chemistry has just been on point,” said Richardson, a third-team preseason All-American. “Like [the starters], man, we step on that field. We’re, like, unstoppable. I feel like we’re going to be unstoppable.”
Offensive cohesion
Penn is returning nine out of 11 offensive starters from last season.
O’Brien will be taking over as starting quarterback full-time following a junior campaign in which he started the final four games of the season. He threw for 1,018 yards and 13 touchdowns while adding 300 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
Now, having had the benefit of training all offseason with the starting offense, including his two main receivers and roommates, Richardson and junior Bisi Owens, O’Brien is ready to take Chimera’s offense to the next level.
“Running with my best friends, running with pretty similar offense the last year, and ... growing [as a team] has been great,” O’Brien said. “We’ve seen a lot of upside potential. And there’s just constant trust, like a constant trust among the players on the field.”
One of those friends, Julien Stokes, a second-team All-Ivy wide receiver in 2024, is set to move to running back in hopes of filling the offensive hole left by Hosley. Needing to replace his 1,192 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, sophomore Donte West and junior Sean “Pup” Williams will assist Stokes in the backfield.
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Stokes was a running back in high school, but has thrived in the slot for the Quakers when available. After adding over 12 pounds of muscle in the offseason to help with the position switch, the senior is ready to give it his all for his final campaign.
“I played running back since youth ball and all throughout high school, so the natural ability is there,” Stokes said. “It’s just the main thing that I needed to work on going into the season was just getting reps with the offensive line guys, seeing different looks on the defensive fronts, and just working, working on my footwork with my quarterback.”
Crucially, the Quakers will return all five starting offensive linemen after only allowing 15 sacks last season, the ninth-fewest sacks in the FCS.
“I have full faith in the wide receivers, the running backs, and especially the O-line,” O’Brien said. “Five returners up front is probably the biggest blessing a quarterback can have heading into the season.”
Senior captain Will Bergin and senior Netinho Olivieri, who were named second- and first-team All-Ivy last year, respectively, highlight the O-line. Both earned third-team preseason All-America mentions this year, but Bergin knows talent alone doesn’t win games.
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“We got a lot of talent coming back,” Bergin said. “... There’s an expectation out there, there’s a standard that’s set, and we have to meet it. I have no doubt that we will meet it. And for us up front, it’s a next play type of mentality. Don’t give them any more inches; don’t give them any more room to breathe.”
New additions, old leadership
Like the offense, the defensive side of the ball also has had turnover.
Last season’s unit ranked sixth in the Ivy League in total defense, but coach Ray Priore expects big things this year from his defense and stressed to the team the importance of a bend, don’t break style.
The unit also underwent position changes, none more important than that of junior Jayden Drayton. The replacement in the secondary for the departing Means, Drayton will play both sides of the ball this year after playing solely wide receiver in 2024.
“But there’s [Drayton], very unselfish, moved to corner to help us play,” Priore said. “... My job is to try to put the best 11 football players on the field at the same time. Take the different parts and pieces and everyone’s strengths that they can bring to it, and, ultimately, to lead up to ultimate success.”
Added Lista: “Our mantra on defense is just running to the ball. Being able to out-physical the other team, being able to be tougher than the opponent standing ahead of you. I think we just want to win the one-on-one battles. … Those are the little things in our job that we need to worry about.”
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