Dartmouth Faces A Challenge In Penn Receivers

PHILADELPHIA – Groundhog Day takes place in the western part of Pennsylvania, but you can excuse Penn wide receiver Jared Richardson if he felt a little like Bill Murray the last time he faced Dartmouth.

Two years ago the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Richardson came into the annual Ivy League opener against the Big Green averaging 9.5 catches and 100.5 yards per game. He finished the game with two receptions for 18 yards and the Quakers lost by three points.

Last October Richardson came into the Ivy League opener against the Big Green averaging 97.5 yards and 5.5 catches per game. He finished the game with two receptions for 18 yards and the Quakers lost by three points.

Two years, two identical games for the pro prospect, and two three-point losses. 

Dartmouth gets a third look at Richardson in Philadelphia Saturday when the 2-0 Big Green visit the 1-1 Quakers.

Thanks to a 12-catch, 141-yard outing in last week’s 44-30 loss at No. 9/10 Lehigh, Richardson enters this year’s Ivy opener averaging 122 yards and 8.5 catches per game. Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle has been around too long and has too much respect for Richardson to expect another two-for-18 game.

“He’s a great player and a competitor and you know he’s going to want it,”McCorkle said. “He’s going to make plays, but we have to make him earn everything he gets.”

Richardson had expected to be a bigger factor last year than he was in 2023, so much so that he told The Daily Pennsylvanian in the lead up to the 2024 game: “For me, it's more personal. ... Last year they held me to two receptions for 18 yards, so I gotta get my ‘get-back.’”

Perhaps as a result of the Groundhog Day performance, he was more circumspect with his comments in advance of this year’s game. 

“We have a game plan,” he said in a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Double me, triple-team me, OK cool. We have other athletes that are more than capable of making great plays… I’m fine with that as long as we get that win.” 

One of those other athletes is fellow wide receiver Bisi Owens, who caught 10 balls for 101 yards in Bethlehem a week ago. Owens has 16 catches in the first two games, just one fewer than Richardson.

Aided by his standout receivers, Penn quarterback Liam O’Brien completed 28-of-37 passes for 316 yards against Lehigh. He’s completing 64.7 percent of his throws for 277.0 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions through two games. O’Brien replaced Aidan Sayin as the starter last year after the Dartmouth game.

“He's a much more experienced guy after playing half the year last season, and starting two games this year,” said McCorkle. “You can see his confidence growing as the games go on. He does a good job and it helps him having those receivers out there.”

With Ivy League offensive player of the year Malachi Hosley transferring to Georgia Tech after his sophomore season, Penn gave receiver Julien Stokes a battlefield promotion to running back this fall. Although he’s run for just 89 yards in the first two games, he’s averaging a healthy 5.6 yards per attempt, almost half a yard more than Dartmouth’s DJ Crowther, whose 229 yards have come at a 5.2-yard clip.

Stokes is also a dangerous weapon in the return game. He’s swept the Ivy League special teams player of the week honors so far this fall. He had a 63-yard punt return for a touchdown in a 24-21 win over Stonehill, and had a 60-yard kickoff return against Lehigh. He leads the nation in punt return average and is eighth in kickoff return average.

Although Stokes’ rushing numbers are modest, McCorkle is wary.

“Anytime he's in space, anytime the ball is in his hand, he's super dangerous,” the coach said. “That could be as a returner, as a running back, as a wideout, wherever they put him. The rushing yards can be a little misleading, because a lot of stuff he does is out of the backfield. It’s out there catching balls.”

The Penn offense operates behind an offensive line with all five starters back from a year ago and no one under 300 pounds.

Although frustrating Richardson will certainly be a focus again this year, McCorkle knows the Big Green defense is in for a challenge.

“You just want to make a team one-dimensional,” McCorkle said. “Obviously, whatever that takes, we’ll try to do it. The big thing is we have to make them work for everything they get. We can’t have busts. We can’t have missed assignments. We can’t have missed tackles. We have to limit that stuff.

“They are going to get their catches. They are going to get their rushes. That’s part of the game. But we can’t allow them to get the big ones. We’ve got to make them earn everything.”

While Stonehill managed just 96 yards rushing and 266 yards of total offense against the Penn defense, the Quakers surrendered 300 rushing yards and 239 yards through the air against Lehigh. Not helping the Penn cause was the absence of standout linebacker John Lista and an injury to fellow backer Kauai Machen.

“Every time you lose a couple players to injury, you lose experience,” Penn coach Ray Priore told the Inquirer earlier this week. “... The fortunate thing is, we’ve been able to get a number of those guys back and practicing today, which is really good.”

Lista and Machen are both listed as starters on the Penn depth chart for Saturday’s game (for whatever a depth chart is worth these days).

Statistical leaders for the Penn defense after two games are sophomore free safety Ty Cortes and defensive tackle Carter Janki. Cortes has 15 tackles while junior corner Jayden Drayton has 14 in a young secondary that also features a true freshman starter on the other corner.

Janki, a 6-5, 290-pound senior, leads the Ivy League with four tackles for loss to go with  two sacks and two quarterback hurries in two games.

“He’s a big dude who can move,” said McCorkle. “They do a good job up front. They they knock the line of scrimmage back. They create some havoc for sure. We have got to be assignment sound. We have got to have good reads. We’ve got to make sure our protection is what it needs to be. They're definitely a group that plays fast, plays hard, and the mentality is they're going to be physical.

“Traditionally our game with Penn is about the trenches. Every year I’ve been here the most physical team usually ends up on top. We know they have a veteran group up front, an experienced group and they're well coached. We know they're going to come out to try to set the tempo and set the tone early and often." 

NOTES

Big Green safety Harrison Keith was called for targeting in the second half of the Central Connecticut game and if that call held up he would miss the first half against Penn. Fortunately, for the Big Green, the targeting call was reversed and he'll be eligible for the entire Ivy League opener. ... Dartmouth has won the last two meetings between the teams, the last five at Franklin Field, and 8-of-10 overall. … Priori is just 2-7 against the Big Green while McCorkle is 2-0 against the Quakers. … Penn leads the all-time series, 49-40-2.