Five new starters set to replace stalwart O-line

It takes a lot of energy to fuel five large men. So after a hard practice, Penn offensive linemen Erik Curtis, Mike Pierce, Don Snyder, Keith Walewski and Greg Williams routinely make the journey to Pat's King of Steaks in South Philadelphia in order to refuel.

The linemen "eat as many cheesesteaks as we can possibly fit into our faces," said Snyder, who is listed at 270 pounds. We "just try to regain our [carbohydrates] and get some grease in our stomach to get ready to go for the next day."

With the amount of work the five projected starters have been putting in since spring ball began in April, and with the challenges that lie ahead, the Quakers' offensive linemen need as much strength as they can get.

The Red and Blue have the difficult task of replacing the entire offensive line from last season, which was a dominant force on Penn's consecutive Ivy League championship teams. The unit of Chris Clark, Michael Powers, Matt Dukes, Chris Kupchik and Ben Noll -- the latter of which is now with the Dallas Cowboys -- played together for two years and gave defenses headaches throughout.

"The group last year had all played and they were all seniors, so they kind of had that swagger to them," Penn offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Andy Coen said. "They knew all the answers. They had been in all the situations before."

The biggest difference between the group last year and the five new faces that will line up against San Diego tomorrow is not talent, skill or stamina -- it's experience and cohesion. None of the five projected starters played a down last season and combined the group has only six appearances in a Quakers uniform. The five men will not only be starting for the first time as Quakers, but they must work as a unit as well.

Chemistry will be difficult since the linemen have never played together at positions that require a great deal of unity -- even a small mistake can lead to an entire play breaking down.

The new linemen realize that the task in front of them will not be easy, but they are confident that the line will be able to succeed.

"The most difficult thing thus far is learning how to play together," Pierce said. "We can all go out there and get it done individually, but I think we need to come together as a unit before we can really start getting the job done like we need to be doing."

It will be difficult to determine the effectiveness of the new line until it takes the field, but it can be expected that its play will improve throughout the season. As the linemen become more comfortable with each other, routine duties such as calling out rushers and reading blitz packages will become second nature, rather than a progression that must be contemplated.

"Contrary to popular belief, offensive linemen are probably the smartest football players on the field," Pierce said. "There are five highly intelligent individuals out there and we need to utilize that."

Indisputably, Pierce is the leader of this line. He began his college career at Division II Grand Valley State, where he started 14 games as a redshirt freshman in 2001. The Lakers reached the championship game that year, but fell, 17-14, as North Dakota drove down the field for a touchdown with only seconds remaining in the game. However, the season provided valuable experience for Pierce.

"Obviously I had a lot of experience" at Grand Valley State, the fifth-year senior said. "I think that I can bring a little bit of on-the-field experience because we don't have a lot of that. Hopefully I can stay calm and confident out there and that will rub off and affect my four teammates."

Even Pierce's teammates recognize his leadership.

"He was here all summer working real hard, setting an example and we consider him the O-line captain," Snyder said.

The line will also have to deal with the jitters that are inevitable when embarking on a new project. The first game will also be in a hostile environment, and the long road trip will force the Quakers out of any routine that they have developed. However, the Quakers linemen will be able to use this weekend against San Diego to get their bearings before entering their toughest test of the season against No. 6 Villanova on Sept. 25.

"I think we have a lot to prove. A lot hasn't been done by us yet," Curtis noted. "Everyone's got to be nervous; it's the first game for everyone. We just gotta turn that into good energy."

The fact that so many people have questioned its ability to live up to the past has truly motivated this unit. The linemen not only want to be as good as their predecessors, they want to be better.

"We don't want people to say, "Oh, they didn't do as well as other teams or other lines,'" Walewski said. "That's one of the things we want to clear up."

The linemen try to stay on the same page on the field by staying on the same page off it. According to Coen, the big men tend to gravitate toward one another because of their personalities, and the coaching staff encourages their off-the-field interaction.

"It helps us build relationships and trust each other," Williams said. "You have to have a solid friendship and get along and trust each other on and off the field."

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