A FRONT ROW VIEW: Class of '94 comes of age

The 1990 football season was not one for the Penn record books. The varsity team toiled to a 3-7 mark under coach Gary Steele. Charges of racism were made against the coaching staff amidst the quitting of three seniors on the team. As quickly as the 1980s disappeared, the Penn football dynasty of that decade went down the tubes as well. Even worse was that the "future" of Quaker football, the 1990 freshman football team, posted a dismal 1-5 mark. The future did not look bright for the Penn program as the prospect of improvement was not that strong. Yet amid all that losing and disarray, frosh coach Dennis Greene said after the season that the same group of freshmen that looked miserable on the field in their first experience with college football would "be one hell of a team when they're seniors." Not all of the 50 members of the Class of 1994 stayed with the program. Some could never fully recover from injuries, some got lost in the shuffle when the coaching staffs changed, some felt disillusioned with the college football experience and some just weren't that good. But some have persevered, and they are now being rewarded for their persistence to stick it out for four years. Looking at the results of this season, it seems as if Greene can be deemed a legitimate prophet. True, the 1993 Penn football team is not senior-laden, like Princeton is this year or Dartmouth was last year, but where would this team be without the likes of quarterback Jim McGeehan, linebacker Andy Berlin and strong safety Jim Magallanes? Those three were all a part of the 1990 freshman team's horrendous campaign – and now they are getting rewarded for their patience and dedication to the program. Where would the Quakers be without McGeehan's record-breaking season? Not undefeated. Where would Penn be without Berlin's timeless and painful tackling? Not atop the Ivy League. Where would the Quakers be without Magallanes to lead the incredibly young and inexperienced secondary? Not in a position to gain the outright Ivy title. Want to see how important this year's senior class is to the Quakers? Just look at Saturday's game against Harvard for the proof. McGeehan was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Crimson. On the day, he completed 19 of 32 passes for 309 yards, 3 touchdowns, and once again, no interceptions. His 309-yard aerial display is the most yards thrown for by a Penn passer since Marty Vaughn blitzed Dartmouth for 323 yards on November 23, 1974. McGeehan's year is indeed one for the record books, as has been detailed time and time again in these very same pages. He holds almost every passing record (career and season) in the book. He is Penn's greatest quarterback of all time. But his college career did not start out that way. In 1990, McGeehan was a lowly 15 of 42 for 173 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions for an offense that was stagnant and inept at best. He was not the starter. Greene chose to have a quarterback by committee. McGeehan did not have the best arm. That honor belonged to Jeff Murphy, who has long since disappeared from Penn football. But McGeehan stayed dedicated, stayed focus and most importantly, stayed in love with the game of football. He is now reaping the rewards of his persistence and unwavering belief in his abilities. Look at Berlin. He was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week for his 12-tackle, half-sack day against Harvard – which included probably the biggest fumble recovery of the season. Berlin led the 1990 freshman team in tackles – there sure were a lot to make. He caused two fumbles, had one sack and eight tackles for a loss. He was the leader of that defense and has stayed in that role on the varsity squad, learning in his sophomore season from one of the best Penn linebackers of all-time, Joe Kopcha. Berlin's rise to the top has been much less rocky than McGeehan's, but he still has had to endure the losing, the disappointment and the agony that came in his first two seasons. How about Magallanes? The unsung hero of the defense. He made 28 tackles and has two interceptions on the freshman squad in 1990, earning him a great deal of playing time his sophomore season. This year, Magallanes started the season as the lone senior in the secondary, and now he is joined by cornerback Jerel Hopkins. But Magallanes is unquestionably the leader of that unit – he has to be. What looked on paper to be the Quakers' biggest liability coming into the season has become a non-issue, and Magallanes should take the lion's share of the credit for that. Sure, there are more seniors on this team. There are even fifth-year seniors like Dave Betten, Frank Caccuro and Chris Brassell that have been around since 1989. But their freshman team was 3-2, not bad. And they were still living off the fact that Penn was the dominant Ivy League team of the 1980s. The euphoria was still there. Not for 1990's freshmen. But Dennis Greene knew that there time would come soon. And now it has. Dan Feldman is a College senior from Dallas, Texas, and Sports Editor of the Daily Pennsylvanian.

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