Who will catch the ball? It's anyone's guess

Look up the wide receiver position on the Quakers' depth chart this season, and you'll find a big question mark.

The outlook for the position is not necessarily a negative one, but one for which there can honestly be no forecast.

Gone from last year's second-place squad are the top two receivers, Dan Castles and Gabe Marabella. The two combined for 96 catches and 1,273 yards on the campaign, with Castles as quarterback Pat McDermott's first option in the passing game.

Do the math, and that leaves a gaping void for a young group of wide receivers with a meager amount of experience to go around, to step in and fill.

Penn will see the return of Matt Carre, the third wide receiver from last season. The junior put up decent numbers a year ago, catching 21 balls and amassing 308 yards. Carre, however, is a little undersized at 5-foot-9.

Also with the Quakers is junior Billy May, a wideout who missed all of last season with an injury. Standing at 6-3, he will be among the tallest of McDermott's weapons downfield.

After these two, the Quakers find themselves with seven or eight more receivers, all of whom have potential, but none of whom have had the chance to fulfill it. Ryan Pisarri, a senior, has the most catches out this group coming back from last year, with just six. Filling out the corps will be junior Dan McDonald and seniors Nick Okoro and Sagar Patel among others.

"I think as a group, we're real confident," Pisarri said. "A lot of people may not know about us, we don't have a lot of returning guys with catches, but we feel we're a real good group coming back and we feel, as a group, we're going be pretty strong. We'll see what happens, but we feel pretty good about ourselves."

So far this spring, the Red and Blue has employed somewhat of a receiver-by-committee strategy, rotating seven or eight men through the position during the Widener scrimmage. The group has performed solidly, but their status for the season remains to be seen.

"We're looking for some guys to step up," coach Al Bagnoli said.

"They all have ability, and they can all do some good things, and they've all demonstrated the necessary athleticism that we're looking for. Now we need them to do it on a consistent level, we need them to do it in a game situation and now we need to develop some chemistry between a certain group of receivers and the quarterback."

One thing that bodes well for the receivers is the relative strength of the offense. The Quakers boast a very athletic and productive tight end in junior Chris Mizell, along with returning running back Sam Mathews. The playmakers in other positions should help to take some of the heat off the wideouts.

"I think if you look at our offense, all the tight ends are back from last year, all the running backs are back from last year, the quarterbacks are back from last year," Bagnoli said.

"So with our ability to spread the ball around and have the running backs more involved in the pass game, have the tight ends more involved in the pass game, it puts us in a situation where I think we can take a little bit of the stress off that wide receiver corps that's somewhat young."

One thing is certain for the Penn wideouts in the upcoming season. Bagnoli will not be able to rotate eight men on and off the field all season. At some point, someone will need to step up, whether it be one guys, or two, or three.

"I expect to have a breakout year," Carre said. "I expect a lot of us to have a breakout year. I'm just really excited to get the opportunity to have a breakout year, and when that opportunity comes, I just hope I can take advantage of it."

McDermott finds himself in the dark just as much as the next man.

"Guys that will step up? I don't know. But it will be fun to see. I'm as much excited as everybody else. I can't wait to see it."

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