First-year Penn coach Rick Santos makes major starting quarterback decision before season begins

Penn freshman quarterback Miles Teodecki hesitated when he extended his hand for a handshake. His palm and fingers were covered in a thick coat of white chalk, to give him a better grip on the football. Though he had just ended nearly five hours of team practice, his freshly dusted hands looked like he was about to throw for the first time that day.

On Monday, Penn coach Rick Santos announced to the team that Teodecki would be the starting quarterback, reversing the August decision to start junior Karson Siqueiros-Lasky.

“Those two have battled all camp,” Santos said ahead of Saturday’s season opener against Bucknell (3 p.m., ESPN+), “and honestly it was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had as a coach.”

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Santos is entering his first season as head coach after Ray Priore stepped down in November, capping an 11-year tenure that included Ivy League titles in 2015 and 2016. Last season’s stars — quarterback Liam O’Brien and wide receiver Jared Richardson — are at Cincinnati and Duke, respectively, following their graduation from Penn.

Many questions loom over this new team, and the Ivy League preseason poll placed Penn fourth. Not that Santos cares.

“In ’22 at New Hampshire, we won the [conference] championship and we were picked ninth out of 13 team[s],” said Santos, who was the head coach at his alma mater from 2022 to 2025, “So at the end of the day, that’s up for the media to talk about and decide what they think. … The rankings matter at the end of the year, so that’s what we got to focus on one week at a time.”

Anyone’s name can stand out on the team’s blank slate, and Santos found that Teodecki, Penn’s highest-rated recruit since 2000, fit what he and his staff had been looking for.

“He’s very competitive. He’s got a moxie about him and a confidence, and we’re excited to see him going game day,” Santos said.

Teodecki, who’s from Austin, Texas, was thankful for the opportunity.

“First off, just got to thank God,” he said. “I got to thank Coach Santos and the coaching staff for believing in me, giving me this chance. I got to thank my teammates for supporting me and going out there doing their jobs, putting trust in me, allowing me to trust in them. I’m fired up for the opportunity.”

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Santos said he’s been “encouraged with the senior leadership” on the team, which includes captains Siqueiros-Lasky and senior defensive back Josh Narcisse, and Narcisse noted that relationships have been built across all levels.

“[The coaches have] been really intentional with getting to know each of us on a personal level outside of football,” he said, “And as a player, I can say that goes a long way when it’s Friday night, the lights are bright, you look to the sideline, you want to see people that have your back on and off the field.”

For Narcisse, that’s the identity of this year’s team.

“I think a lot of old Penn teams were more individualized, and it was about what this guy or this guy is going to do any given Saturday, but now when you watch the team, you’re going to be more focused on, ‘What is our defense going to do? What is our offense going to do? How are they going to handle themselves on special teams?’” he said.

Even with the change in starting quarterback, Santos and Teodecki were quick to say that the plays remain the same, regardless of who is under center.

“We have two bona fide studs at quarterback, two guys that can start at this level, two guys that are good enough to lead us to a championship,” Santos said. “So I would expect both of them to play at some point this year, but we decided to give Miles the nod for the opener.

“There [are] no solidified jobs here. Every single day you need to earn the right to be on the field.”

Confidence through preparation seems to be the motto of the Santos era. The team hits the field every day at 6:15 a.m. — “We want to get up before the enemy and get a bunch of work in while everyone’s still sleeping,” Santos said — and has been methodical in watching film, running plays, taking notes, and adopting the right mindset.

“I feel 1,000% confident, not only in my own ability, but also our game plan and what our coaches have dialed up for us to be able to make plays and be successful on Saturday,” Narcisse said.

The defense this year, he said, would be “fast, violent, relentless.”

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Santos said the defense is “really smart, instinctual in terms of being able to diagnose presnap reads and what the opposing team offense is doing. … And then ultimately when you get to the opener, it’s about how well we tackle.”

Even while the team seems poised and eager to kick off a new chapter this Saturday, Teodecki admits that “there’s a little bit of nerves; if you’re not nervous, that either means you don’t care or you just — you really don’t care.”

After practice ends at 11 a.m., he chalks his hands and throws the football with a teammate for a few extra minutes.

“We’re blessed to play this game, and we get to play this game,” Teodecki said.