Elis receiver steps out of teammate's shadow

As opposing ball carriers have quickly realized this season, the 2001 Penn defense loves to pick apart running games.

So in order to mount an offense, teams have, for better or worse, taken to the air against the Quakers.

When Yale goes airborne this Saturday at Franklin Field, one can be certain that a bevy of those passes will be directed at wide receiver Billy Brown, Yale quarterback Peter Lee's No. 1 target.

In order to succeed, a quarterback needs a go-to ball catcher to lean on, like Gavin Hoffman and Rob Milanese at Penn, or Kyle Rowley and Chas Gessner at Brown.

"Every passing offense must have at least one guy that can stretch the defense," Yale coach Jack Siedlecki said. "Speed is Billy's number one asset."

Last season, Lee had a number one threat to throw to, but it was not Brown.

In 2000 the Yale quarterback hooked up 87 times with then-senior Eric Johnson -- who has since graduated to the NFL -- for 987 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdown receptions.

Receiver Tommy McNamara also starred in Yale's attack a year ago, while Brown was fourth on the team with only 15 catches.

"Brown played behind two great players last year, one of which is in the NFL right now, so he never really got a chance to showcase what he can do," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said.

This year is a whole new ball-game for Brown now that Johnson and McNamara have graduated from the receiving corps.

In Yale's first four games this year, Brown has more than doubled last season's output, having already hauled in 36 passes for 418 yards and five scores.

In his most impressive performance, he toasted the Cornell defense for 177 yards and three touchdowns on the way to a 40-13 Elis victory.

"[Brown] had to wait until his senior year to get his chance, but he's taken advantage of it and now he's catching nine balls a game," Bagnoli said. "I think that it's a really good job by him of hanging in there and persevering."

Physically Brown is the prototypical wide receiver, having all the physical tools that coaches look for. He's six feet tall and was a 100-meter sprint champion in high school.

While useful, those tools aren't the major reason that Brown has become Lee's number one target.

"Billy has developed from a raw athlete with great speed to a receiver who understands all the concepts of the pass game," Siedlecki said. "This enables him to get the most out of his athletic tools."

Brown's development was aided by off-season workouts with Lee and fellow receiving threat Keith Reams. According to Siedlecki, the trio's summer workouts have done wonders for Yale's timing in the passing game.

Brown will need to rely on all of his skills this weekend against the impressive Penn defense.

Penn boasts the top rushing defense in the nation, and the Quakers defensive backs have also had success shutting down opponents.

As Yale's top receiver, Brown will find it that much tougher to escape Penn's coverage.

"We are of aware of their potential to go to him so we have to have a sense of where he is at all times," Penn safety Kunle Williams said.

With Brown drawing attention, Yale's other receivers will have to have big days for Yale to move the ball.

"You're going to need to have more than one good guy to go to because we'll shut him down," Williams said. "As you've seen in the past games our defense has played pretty solidly."

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