Football Supplement | New faces in the trenches for Penn football

It’s a time of change for Penn football.

The Quakers have a fresh quarterback in sophomore Alek Torgersen, senior Spencer Kulcsar is moving to receiver and a coaching change is right around the corner.

But in the midst of all that excitement, little attention has been given to a relatively inexperienced offensive line filled with new faces. Meanwhile, on the opposite side, the defensive line returns an experienced group of upperclassmen and a deep roster.

So when it comes to Penn football this year, it’s also a tale of two lines.

On the offensive line, the Quakers only return three players with starting experience in senior Trent Rivera, sophomore Nick Demes and junior Dan Lysenko . The three combined to start a total of five games last season, all toward the end of the season.

All three were part of the starting line for Penn in the season finale against Cornell, when the Quakers put 35 points on the board.

However, their inexperience is clear when compared to Penn’s offensive line situation last year. The spring saw the Quakers graduate four senior starters , who combined for 84 starts over the previous three seasons.

In filling those gaps, the Red and Blue look to two new faces with very different backgrounds.

On one hand, sophomore Dan Poulos — the projected starter at left guard — comes in without any prior game action for Penn but with solid offensive line experience. Meanwhile, his projected partner on the left side of the line, junior Tanner Thexton , comes over after a season playing on the defensive line.

“At the end of one of our morning workouts, they told me to go to the head coach’s office. Coach talked to me about it, and I couldn’t really say no,” Thexton said.

“I wasn’t too surprised that I got switched.”

Thexton’s perspective from playing defensive line provides him with a much different understanding of his role protecting the blind side, which may prove useful in guiding his transition.

Clearly, one of the biggest question marks for the team will be the ability for this young group of linemen to become a cohesive unit and how their presence will affect Torgersen.

“[The offensive linemen] wake up every day and say: ‘We need to work harder. We’re not good enough to not work hard,’” offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Jon McLaughlin said.

" That hunger, that humility, is a good thing. As soon as you start thinking you’re good and relaxing, that’s when you get exposed.”

On the other side of the line of scrimmage, Penn still boasts a strong and deep defensive line, despite losing nose guard Jimmy Wagner to injury and Thexton to positional change.

However, the Quakers return honorable mention All-Ivy junior Austin Taps and senior Feerooz Yacoobi. The two combined for nine sacks last season and were large contributors to what was a steady pass rush throughout the year.

“We return a lot of guys that have some playing background. I didn’t feel last year that we had a great season as a defensive line,” defensive line coach Jim Schaefer said. “Even though we have a lot of players coming back, we have plenty of room for improvement.”

Though the Red and Blue graduated sack leader Sam Chwarzynski , there are plenty of pass rushers on the roster. Juniors Dan Connaughton and Tyler Drake were both key members of the D-line rotation last year and will look to take on bigger roles in the upcoming season.

With a seasoned seven returning, Penn will need its line to provide the pressure up front to make the job easier for the rest of the defense. With a deep roster at these positions, the Quakers hope to weather their significant losses to balance their defensive approach.

For Penn, the line of scrimmage will certainly hold plenty of interesting matchups, as the Quakers face inexperience on one side and a wealth of veterans moving into larger roles on the other.

With changes abounding on all sides, the Red and Blue have their work cut out for them.

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