COLUMN: The two sides of Hoffman

OK, so it might not have been The Longest Yard or even Varsity Blues, but the fans were certainly abuzz about what appeared to be unfolding on the field. For all intents and purposes, it appeared that former Northwestern starter and current Penn quarterback Gavin Hoffman had been benched for a shoddy first-half against the Bison and replaced by an unknown freshman. On the heels of a 34-6 loss to Villanova, Hoffman had started the game 4-of-9 passing for 54 yards; his last release before hitting the sidelines was an interception that set up Bucknell's go-ahead score. On Penn's next drive, with 1:02 left in the half, a new quarterback stepped in. Wearing No. 12, freshman Mike Mitchell fired his first pass down the right sideline to Brandon Carson for a gain of 20. On the next play, he rifled one deep over the middle to Jason Battung. It fell incomplete, but the crowd's interest was piqued -- after a near-dormant first-half, here was a QB putting some zip on the ball for the Quakers. In the press box, reporters were scurrying to find out who this kid Mitchell was and how he escalated from anonymity to No. 2 -- or even No. 1 -- on the Penn depth chart. Four plays later, Mitchell and the Quakers marched 56 yards to the Bucknell nine with 20 ticks on the clock. But Vince Ficca intercepted Mitchell at the goal line, silencing Penn's go-ahead attempt. And any QB controversy was silenced two hours later, when Penn coach Al Bagnoli revealed that Hoffman had suffered a minor concussion. "In the middle of the second period, Gavin got hit in the head," Bagnoli said. "We kept asking him, and [he said] he was OK? but we finally made the determination that he had a minor concussion." It's difficult to tell when exactly Hoffman got hit, or which hit it was that caused the proverbial cobwebs to set in. That's because he was sacked six times on Saturday. Narrowing it down, he was sacked twice in the second quarter -- once by 261-pound right end Eric Green and once by nose guard Peter Christathakis. The mild concussion certainly explains Hoffman's performance following the second sack. On the next drive, Penn went to tailback Kris Ryan three straight plays, and the committee member-turned-workhorse brought the Quakers from the 12 to the 23. Then, on first down, the 6'6" Hoffman fired a pass from shotgun that was tipped by 5'11" linebacker Shawn Redd. Once again out of the shotgun, Hoffman looked to an open Carson on the next play but underthrew his veteran receiver. Outside linebacker Eric Higgins stepped in, picking off the pass and returning it 23 yards to the Penn four. Three plays later, the Bison went ahead for good, 10-7, on a quarterback keeper. "Unfortunately, we made that determination [regarding the concussion] after he was in there for two or three series, including the pick," Bagnoli said. "I think we're going to see on the film that obviously his speed of decision making was not what it needed to be. "At that point, you try to sit him out, you put Mitchell in the game to try to buy some time and let the cobwebs clear a little bit." The mild concussion might explain that series, but what does one make of his mediocre performance prior to getting hit? Hoffman's Jekyll-and-Hyde second half after returning in the third quarter is even more befuddling. Prior to the fateful interception, Hoffman was 4-of-8 for 54 yards. However, only 17 yards came in the air -- an average of less than 4.3 yards per completion -- as his receivers added 37 yards after the catch. Granted, three of the Quakers' top pass catchers in '98 are either injured or not at Penn this year. But more was expected of the most touted Penn newcomer in years than 358 yards in five halves of play. Prior to the season, Bagnoli described Hoffman as the prototypical dropback passer, perhaps moreso than his predecessor, Matt Rader. Why, then, had Hoffman attempted so few deep passes? He did not crack the 200-yard mark in the season-opening win against Dartmouth and last week, he threw for just 108 yards against Villanova. By the first half against Bucknell -- a team which had been exploited, if not abused, by Towson and Delaware State in its last two games for 743 passing yards and six passes of over 40 yards -- expectations were high that Hoffman would cease getting his feet wet and finally start airing it out. Meanwhile, with Penn treading water on offense, Hoffman checked back in. He finished the quarter 1-of-2 for minus-4 yards. Early in the fourth, he was sacked on third-and-seven in a five-receiver set, putting Bucknell in position to score its third touchdown. Cobwebs or no cobwebs, though, an altogether new Hoffman emerged with Penn trailing 23-7. Over Penn's three drives in the final 5:41 of the game, Hoffman completed 13-of-18 passes for 155 yards, including a 49-yard aerial strike on fourth-and-16 to Erik Bolinder with 2:37 left, jolting the remaining fans to life. A two-point conversion would make it a possible one-possession difference when time was of the essence. Bagnoli once referred to Hoffman, who seemingly fell out of the sky from Northwestern to Penn, as "a transfer from God." On the PAT attempt after the 49-yard bomb, Hoffman saw an opening to the right and went for it, building up steam virtually untouched. But the 5'10" Ficca, eight inches and 34 pounds lighter than Hoffman, stepped up to the goal line and singlehandedly redirected Hoffman, denying the score. Transfers from God make it into the endzone on plays like that. Penn recovered the onside kick, making Ficca's goal line stand loom that much larger. Hoffman then completed four straight to lead Penn to the 22 before the offense stagnated, setting up a Jason Feinberg field goal to make it a seven-point game. The defense responded, shutting down the Bison and returning the ball to Hoffman at the Penn 25 with 48 seconds left. He completed two quick passes to Rob Milanese for a total of 35 yards, spiked the ball to stop the clock and then hit Colin Smith for 11 yards, to set up first-and10 at the Bucknell 29 with 27 seconds left. Penn was in striking distance and Hoffman appeared ready to quiet his detractors and be carried off the field in one fell swoop. It was not to be, though, as Hoffman was sacked for the sixth time, coughing up the ball. Bucknell's Green swallowed it up and the fans swallowed whatever cheers they were hoping to emit and headed for the exits. After the game, Hoffman left the field to have his head examined by a team doctor. Meanwhile, puzzled Penn fans filed out of Franklin Field, not knowing whether the would-be star had been temporarily benched, and wondering when the former high school All-American would deliver more than just five-minute flashes of brilliance, concussion or no concussion.

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