Injury may keep key WR on bench at Bucknell

The Ivy League-leading wide receiver from Week 1 may not be back in Penn's lineup for Saturday's game at Bucknell as originally expected.

Penn wideout Dan Coleman sat out the Dartmouth game with a moderate ankle sprain, but afterward, head coach Al Bagnoli said he believed the junior would be ready to play the following week.

Now, he's not so sure anymore.

"He didn't practice" yesterday, Bagnoli said. "We're hopeful by [tomorrow] he practices. We won't know until then. He's probably

50-50 at this point."

In his collegiate debut, Coleman burned Lafayette for 85 receiving yards on five catches.

But other players have stepped up in his absence, as evidenced by three Quakers setting career highs in receiving yards against Dartmouth last Saturday.

Under center

Quarterback Robert Irvin is back to 100-percent health, according to Bagnoli.

After getting hurt in the fourth quarter of the Villanova game, Irvin missed a couple days of practice last week but was back in the lineup Saturday.

The sophomore threw for 227 yards and was only spelled by Bryan Walker on one series for strategic purposes.

Walker's mobility allows the Quakers to change the tempo of their offense. Bagnoli said he plans to continue utilizing the backup quarterback.

"We've got two good kids," he said. "It's our job to get them out there and try to get them involved - try to give the defensive coordinators a lot of things to think about as they're trying to prepare for us."

Kicking woes continue

Junior kicker Derek Zoch missed field goals from 26 and 39 yards out before connecting on a 23-yard attempt near the end of the fourth quarter.

Zoch, who is now 14-for-25 on field goals in his career, had not tried one in the first two games of the season.

Bagnoli said there was a flaw in Zoch's technique that the coaches have been working to fix this week at practice.

"We obviously can't miss those length field goals," Bagnoli said. "It's been a little bit frustrating for him. He's had a good preseason. He's kicked the ball pretty well early."

The Quakers are planning to stick with Zoch, but could give junior wide receiver Braden Lepisto a shot if Zoch repeats his performance.

According to Bagnoli, Lepisto has some experience kicking, although not in games.

However, Bagnoli added, "he's playing so many plays at wide receiver, if we can help it we'd rather not use him as the kicker."

Lepisto led the Quakers with 49 yards receiving against Villanova and turned in a career-best four catch, 78-yard performance in Saturday's win over the Big Green.

The only other potential kicker on the roster is freshman A.J. Nobile.

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