Brown going green at quarterback

This season, the Brown football team hopes not to get a taste of its own medicine.

The defending Ivy co-champion Bears - whose three rushing touchdowns allowed in 2008 were the fewest in the nation - are going to rely on the rush in their own offense this season after the graduation of quarterback Michael Dougherty.

Dougherty threw for the second-most yards per game (267.7) in the Ivy League in 2008, and his 19 touchdowns were the best in the conference.

Brown's new signal caller will be junior Kyle Newhall-Caballero, who hasn't seen any varsity action behind center yet in his career.

"He gives us both a dimension of run and pass," Bears coach Phil Estes said of his new offensive leader in the Ivy League weekly football teleconference. "If we can establish the run and take the pressure off Kyle, that's exactly what we plan to do."

Despite losing the backbone of its offense in Dougherty, Brown's championship roster from 2008 is far from depleted. The Bears return 12 starters - six of whom were 2008 All-Ivy selections - from last year's 7-3 (6-1 Ivy) squad.

While Estes says that Brown will focus on the run more this season, his receiving core may have more talent. The Bears are counting on senior wide receivers Buddy Farnham and Bobby Sewall - both preseason All-Americans - to quickly adjust to a new passer and return to their 2008 form.

Sewall was arguably the best receiver in the Ancient Eight last season. The Portsmouth, R.I., native scored more touchdowns (14) and points per game (8.4) than any other Ivy player. He also finished with the most receptions and receiving yards per game.

Farnham, who currently ranks 20th in League history with 155 career receptions, wasn't far behind his teammate Sewall on the Ivy leaderboard last season. He had the third-most receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns per game as a junior.

Estes, who is entering his 12th season at the helm of the Bears, thinks that his offense ­sans Dougherty will be just fine.

"The fact is that we're going to keep our game the same," he said. "We're probably going to add some wrinkles in the run game because we think we have some terrific backs."

Just which backs he is referring to is unclear, as Brown's top rusher of 2008, Dereck Knight, graduated in May. There are currently six running backs on the Bears' roster, three of whom are freshmen.

The good news for Estes is that his defense that allowed 77.1 yards on the ground per game - good for fourth-best in the Football Championship Subdivision - returns six starters, none more important than preseason All-American pick David Howard. The lineman from Columbia, Md., registered 6.5 sacks in 2008, only 1.5 behind league leader Lou Miller of Columbia.

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