Hanover
On Monday, the man who had looked so promising toting the rock that day was instead working on blocking for others who now carry it. Penza has moved to tight end after rushing 49 times for 172 yards and two touchdowns during his first two Big Green seasons.
“I’m a little bit surprised at how it’s turned out,” said Penza, who declined a walk-on opportunity at Ohio State and scholarship offers from Air Force and Eastern Michigan coming out of high school. “But I have a lot in the tank and a lot to prove.”
It’s the second time Penza has switched positions at Dartmouth, which he entered as a quarterback. He was shifted to running back after a couple of weeks and played in nine games there as a freshman and eight last year. However, he’s had difficulty avoiding injuries.
The emergence of running backs Miles Smith and Rashaad Cooper and run-pass dual threat Jared Gerbino pushed No. 39 out past the tackles.
“We haven’t had a chance to see (Penza) do much,” said Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens of the 6-foot-2, 245-pound native of Youngstown, Ohio. “He’s a big, skilled guy, and keeping him healthy is the critical thing.”
Penza said he’s facing a steep learning curve but that he’s seeing time in Dartmouth’s two-tight end packages. The Big Green is without senior standout Cameron Skaff because of an undisclosed injury that’s sidelined him since spring practice. Senior Stephen Johnson is the starter, but there’s not much proven depth.
Penza said the move to tight end “puts me in a better position to make the NFL. This position suits my body type better. A lot of my high school coaches thought I’d end up as a tight end, even though I had never played it.”
For now, Penza’s focused on precisely where to run and cut and how to best position his body to catch a pass. Being able to engage and move defensive ends and linebackers is another challenge.
However, catching the ball comes naturally, he said, noting that he played basketball and baseball growing up.
“I don’t think about what could have been too much,” Penza said. “I try to live in the moment.”
Mr. Smith Goes to Georgia: It’s looking possible that Dartmouth might be without Smith, last year’s leading rusher, for the upcoming campaign. The junior hasn’t participated in preseason practices and has returned to his native Georgia for examination by a physician there. Teevens said that doctor performed a “minor” knee surgery on Smith earlier in his college career and that pain in the joint has returned.
Smith carried 99 times for 516 yards and three touchdowns last season. Senior Ryder Stone had 277 yards and Cooper, a junior, contributed 151 yards. Beyond that? There’s no one apparent savior, although 5-6 sophomore Matthew Shearin looks like he could jitterbug his way to some yards.
Since 2010, Dartmouth has featured a 1,000-yard rusher three times. Nick Schwieger did it twice and Dominick Pierre once. In 2015, with star quarterback Dalyn Williams, Stone led the Big Green with only 375 rushing yards.
Houston Strong: Dartmouth has four Texans out at practice these days. Receivers Drew Hunnicutt and Drew Estrada are from the Fort Worth suburb of Argyle, offensive lineman Donald Carty is from Dallas and receiver Hunter Hagdorn, last season’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year, is from Manvel.
Hagdorn’s hometown, which has a population of roughly 5,000, is located between Houston and Galveston, an area hard hit with flooding from Hurricane Harvey. Storm surge in that county was predicted to reach as high as 10 feet and mandatory evacuations were ordered in parts of it.
Teevens said Hagdorn has clearly had home on his mind of late but has kept the stress mostly to himself. His parents have owned and operated a pair of wholesale mattress and furniture stores in Manvel for more than 20 years.
“He’s real quiet and hasn’t volunteered much, but it seems like things down there are OK now,” Teevens said.
Tweeted Hagdorn on Aug. 29: “Hurts more than anything to be away from home right now. Thank you to everybody helping and donating to the strongest city in the world.”
The “Reviews” Are In: Dartmouth’s Gamma Delpha Chi fraternity’s membership is heavily populated by football players, including president David Smith, a senior kicker from Montreal. Some of the “reviews” posted on the organization’s Facebook page are clearly tongue-in-cheek:
Former cornerback Chad Hollis: “Quaint house in a fabulous location. It’s best known for its trendy music, progressive, art-deco design and its wide selection of Keystone Light (beer) served at varying temperatures.”
Guard Andrew Yohe: “Beautiful house with beautiful people. Really warms my heart to know there are places like this to harbor some of the few remaining members of a dying breed of gentlemen.”
Former tight end Carroll Papajohn: “Where the Wild Things roam free.”
Former defensive lineman Patrick Hand: “The bathroom situation was a mess, but other than that, no complaints.”
Notes: Bruce Dixon IV, who started last season’s Harvard game at quarterback but rarely played otherwise, is not competing this season at Winston-Salem (N.C.) State, to which he transferred last winter. A Rams spokesman emailed that Dixon left their team after spring practice. Dixon’s Facebook page still features a photo of his 2015 Ivy League championship ring and his Twitter profile reads that “I quarterback in my spare time.”… About 10 Dartmouth players are wearing additional protective shells atop their helmets to help guard against injury. The pieces snap on over the top of their lids, extending down and around the facial opening. Several other players are using $1,500 helmets from a company called Vicis, which bills its products as flexible and impact-reducing. … Defensive line coach Duane Brooks and tight ends coach Cheston Blackshear, neither of whom would be considered petite, have been granted temporary use of the Teevens family’s Volkswagen bug car. The white vehicle is emblazoned with a large, green D and four stripes, so it resembles a Big Green football helmet. Brooks and Blackshear share a house and often drive to work together, sometimes eliciting stares, exclamations and smartphone photos from passersby.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.