Up in the air

Coach Al Bagnoli has a problem. But it's the kind of problem that coaches love to have.

"It's not often you have two kids that could be legitimate college quarterbacks," Bagnoli said. "So I think that's a plus for us. At this point we're not totally ready to say who is the guy."

Some time before tomorrow's season opener at Lafayette, Bagnoli will have to make a difficult decision, if he hasn't already - he can go with junior Bryan Walker, who has started three games in his career, or sophomore Robert Irvin, who has never taken a snap in a college game.

But the differences between these signal-callers go way beyond experience. While Walker has often scrambled his way out of trouble, Irvin is a prototypical pocket passer with limited mobility.

But the junior had only good things to say about his younger counterpart.

"Robert's a great quarterback," Walker said. "He's got a good arm; he knows what he's doing."

Irvin may very well start, so the rest of the Penn offense hopes Walker is right. And with a year on the sidelines and a lengthy preseason behind him, it's likely that Irvin would be capable of stepping in immediately.

Just being in the quarterback race at this point suggests that Irvin is pretty familiar with the offense.

"I think I'd be real ready" to start in the opener, Irvin said. "Going through camp and everything, it's just everything thrown at you, and you better learn it."

Luckily for Irvin, he didn't have to learn it alone.

Because the starting position was up in the air, each has seen reps with the first team. Not only has this helped Irvin develop a firm grasp on Penn's system, but it has kept both aspiring starters honest.

"You want every position to have internal competition," Bagnoli said. "And when that happens, it elevates the play, keeps everybody sharp, keeps everybody focused, keeps everybody in tune with everything. And I think the more internal competition you can have, the better football team you have."

While these two have been worked hard, competition in practice can only go so far. Though Bagnoli claims that both Walker and Irvin are versatile, it would be hard to mistake either for a jack-of-all-trades under center.

So Bagnoli will have a decision to make - does he want a runner or a gunner?

"I'd love to say that I wouldn't have to be mobile to be successful," Walker said, "but it presents another thing that the defense has to prepare for."

Irvin is similarly aware of his role should he win the job:

"That's just what I've always done - drop back and pass."

Having two capable quarterbacks with such contrasting styles may lend itself to a somewhat unorthodox - but not unheard of - strategy: the quarterback-by-committee.

Platooning Walker and Irvin might provide an opportunity to spell the starter and throw the defense for a loop.

Bagnoli says it's on his radar.

"We've talked [about] a lot of different scenarios - how we handle this and how we manage it," Bagnoli said. "We're going to try to give the [opposing team] as much to worry about and think about without compromising the development of both of them or one of them."

No matter who ends up taking the first snap tomorrow, the Quakers will have the utmost faith that their field general will get the job done.

"Both are extremely gifted quarterbacks," said senior wide receiver Matt Carre. "They can both get the job done, so we'll be set either way."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.