Quarterback John Quinnelly finally gets his chance to lead in Penn’s first game since 2019
Penn football returns on Saturday after COVID wiped out its 2020 season with a senior QB poised to take his first college snap.
University of Pennsylvania football will play a regular-season game on Saturday for the first time since 2019.
But this is not the only impending first for the Quakers when they play Bucknell at 6 p.m. in Lewisburg.
All-Ivy League seasons were canceled last year due to COVID-19, and Penn’s roster is brimming with inexperienced players in all position groups.
That includes quarterback with five candidates for the starting job and none who have ever taken a college snap. The months-long battle between John Quinnelly, Hugh Brady, Aidan Sayin, Ben Gerber and Ryan Zanelli came to a close on Monday when the Quakers named Quinnelly as the starter.
“The competition was all pandemic long really,” said offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kevin Morris. “It was a very tight battle, the other guys are all doing very well also. [Quinnelly] just proved to be more consistent at the top. He gives us what we believe is the best chance to win.”
Quinnelly, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound senior from Daphne, Alabama, has waited three seasons to get on the field at Penn.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Quinnelly said. “I was always treating every day like I wanted to be the starter.”
In 2019, Quinnelly was low on the depth chart, far behind since-graduated Ryan Glover and standout Nick Robinson, who had a quarterback battle of their own.
Robinson had the fifth-most passing yards (2,331) in a season in 2019 and the fourth-most passing yards in a single game (395 at Yale) in program history.
What Quinnelly lacks in game experience, he’ll try to make up for with a strong arm, football intelligence, and leadership skills.
“We’ll have a variety of passes that he’ll be able to showcase himself on,” Morris said. “On the move, in the pocket, out of the pocket, some deep balls, some short balls. We’ll be able to get to see everything [Quinnelly] has to offer on Saturday.”
Senior receivers Ryan Cragun and Rory Starkey Jr. are Quinnelly’s most experienced targets.
Cragun averaged 98.3 receiving yards a game in 2019, and Starkey Jr. recorded a team-high seven touchdowns.
“I think our offense does a really good job of making me look good,” Quinnelly said. “I think all 11 of us on the field can go to each other at any time. If I’m in trouble, I can give it to anybody and they’re going to take care of it. The bond we have is a really special thing.”
The Quakers haven’t lost to Bucknell since 1999, and look to extend that win streak to eight games. But the Bison have an advantage, having played two fall games, four spring games and an entire 2020 season.