2024 Football Season Preview
9/17/2024
The 2024 season has arrived, and the Brown football team is set to kick off its 138th season this Saturday afternoon when the Bears head to our nation’s capital to take on Georgetown.
The Bears will look to build on the momentum of last season when they posted a 5-5 overall record, their best overall mark since 2015 and best Ivy League finish since 2016. Brown returns its most experienced team in recent memory in 2024 with 24 seniors and seven fifth-years, including bringing back seven of its 11 all-league honorees from 2023.
Having been picked to finish sixth in the Ivy League Preseason Poll, Brown returns seven starters on offense from last season, as well as six defensive starters that will provide an experienced, veteran presence that has the coaching staff feeling very confident in the leadership and talent of this year’s team.
“We’re able to trust that leadership,” head coach James Perry said. “The older guys know the rigors of training camp. Usually, you build in some days where you must make sure their focused, but this year the focus is the highest I’ve ever seen it. We’ve leaned heavily into our leadership, and they are excited to practice and get better every day. We’ve had a really great training camp.”
CAPTAINS
The Bears will be led by four captains in 2024, with fifth-year quarterback Jake Willcox and senior defensive back Isaiah Reed returning as captains for the second straight season. Joining them will be senior linebacker Caleb Moorhead and fifth-year offensive lineman Jack Connolly.
QUARTERBACKS
Willcox returns under center for Brown in his third season as a starter. Named to the Preseason Watch List for the Walton Payton Award (National Offensive Player of the Year in FCS Football), Willcox is coming off a head-turning season in 2023 where he ranked second in the nation in completions (28.5) and passing yards (292.4) per game. He completed 62.5 percent of his passes and had 18 touchdown passes en route to being named a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, Second Team All-Ivy, and Third Team Phil Steele All-Ivy. After taking a gap semester in the spring to return and play at Brown this fall, Willcox’s leadership has been on display throughout camp.
“He’s a great player and is always looking to get better,” Perry said. “Statistically he had one of the best seasons in the country and last year and he has come in this fall looking to get better. He’s playing his best football and I look forward to him translating that into some terrific performances.”
RUNNING BACKS
The Bears will return their top two tailbacks from last season in seniors Stockton Owen and Jordan DeLucia. Owen earned Honorable Mention All-Ivy accolades after rushing for seven touchdowns and receiving another. DeLucia led the team at 4.1 yards per carry. Junior Qwentin Brown also saw some touches last season and will vie for an expanded role in 2024.
“Our third and fourth guys are going to play,” Perry said. “We have veterans on the front end, but we’ll play three or four running backs in a game. We love getting those guys on the field and playing fast. It’s always a part of who we are. It’s great to have two guys like Stockton and Jordan who have played a lot of football and have played very well.”
WIDE RECEIVERS
An area of tremendous depth and strength for the Bears over the last several years, the receiving corps will look to retool following the loss of their top two receivers from the last two years in Graham Walker and Bushnell Cup Finalist Wes Rockett. The returners will be led by fifth-year Mark Mahoney, junior Solomon Miller, and senior Samuel Baddoo. Mahoney averaged 44.50 receiving yards per game last year with three touchdowns, including 151 yards and a game-tying score against Princeton that earned him Ivy Offensive Player of the Week. Known for their explosive speed, Miller and Baddoo are experienced and will see regular reps for the Bears with Miller adding four touchdowns last season.
Juniors Ty Pezza and Chason Barber, along with senior Ben Moseley will also see a high volume of reps from a squad that has had at least 10 players catch a pass in 13 of the last 20 games.
“Mark Mahoney is a fifth-year kid who’s a great talent and a terrific leader,” Perry said. “It is a talented group, but you’ve got to catch and get open on gameday. Mark has taken that very seriously as the leader of that group. It’s fun for me to have a situation where you have Wes graduating as a fifth-year and runner-up for player of the year, and you still have a lot of talent behind him. That was always characteristic of Brown football. I love to see that.
“Ty Pezza, Chason Barber and Sammy Baddoo have lofty goals,” Perry said. “We roll out six wideouts every game, Sammy and Ty played a lot of football and Chason is playing this fall like we know he can.”
OFFENSIVE LINE/TIGHT ENDS
The offensive line returns three starters from last season, anchored by junior Hayden Bozich and Connolly on the left side, with senior AJ Heidtke returning at center. Connolly and Bozich were both named to the Phil Steele Preseason All-Ivy team this season and Connolly was a First Team All-Ivy honoree last year. Junior Marco Monteiro has seen a large number of reps the last two years and is penciled in as the starting right guard, with sophomore Kai Faucher slotting in at right tackle.
“Hayden and Jack have been setting a good standard and are playing at a high level,” Perry said. “It’s one thing to have played a lot of football, but it’s another to do what Hayden and Jack are doing, just playing exceptionally well. Our young guys get to emulate two of the best linemen in the entire Ivy League.”
Junior Dillon Golden and sophomore Pierce Leverett both return to anchor the tight end position. Golden had 13 catches last season, including the game-winning touchdown in the final minute of the season opener at Bryant.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Reed has received national attention this preseason ahead of his senior year after a big year at cornerback that saw him lead the Ivy League with five interceptions and 13 passes defended in 2023. He has received numerous preseason awards including being named to the Watch List for the Buck Buchannan Award (National Defensive Player of the Year in FCS Football), the Reece’s Senior Bowl Watch List and Preseason All-America from two different outlets.
Junior Elias Archie will serve as the top corner on the other side, along with senior Tim Malo back as a starting safety alongside Nevaeh Gattis. All told, Brown’s defense tied Harvard for the league lead with 13 interceptions last year.
“It’s somewhat unique in this league at cornerback, but certainly we’re familiar with guys taking note when we have great players,” Perry said of Reed. “He’s a two-year captain in a unique way where he was a junior captain and now is a senior captain, rather than as a fifth-year guy, and that’s something I know Isaiah takes pride in.
“The whole group is good,” Perry said. “When you have a couple guys playing at high level, it elevates the whole group. The entire backfield is practicing the best I’ve seen. Elias and Nick Hudson have played a ton, and they will again. At the safety position, we’ve done a good job getting some good leadership out of them too. Tim Malo played a lot last year and is playing his best ball.”
LINEBACKERS
An Honorable Mention All-Ivy selection in 2023, Moorhead was recently named a team captain for his senior season after ranking fifth on the team and second among all returners with 45.0 tackles a season ago along with five QB hurries and 3.5 tackles for loss.
Juniors John Perdue and Sam Smith will also lead the linebackers after getting valuable reps in each game last season.
“Caleb has grown through his own hard work and is a terrific player,” Perry said. “He provides a lot of coverage skills even with his size, so he provides a lot of flexibility for us. At the FCS level you don’t see a lot of guys who can do that.
“John Perdue has spearheaded what has become a good linebacking corps,” Perry added. “He’s practicing the best he’s ever practiced and is a talented kid.”
DEFENSIVE LINE
Up front, seniors Kyle Philbin and Winston Jordan are back after combining for 50.0 tackles last season. Philbin landed on the Phil Steele Preseason All-Ivy squad this summer after earning Honorable Mention All-Ivy in 2023. Fifth-year Kevin Coss will return at defensive end after starting nine games a season ago and tied for the team lead with five QB hurries. Junior Owen Clarke and senior Quincy Eutsay will also return to lead the ends.
“Kyle has done a great job and continues to be a leader,” Perry said. “He’s taken another step and we’re proud of him. Quincy and Kevin have been here a long time for us, and both of them are now playing their best football. Quincy has had the training camp we hoped he would.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
Brown’s starting specialists both return for 2024 in senior kicker Christopher Maron and fifth-year Austin Alley. Maron will serve as the team’s place kicker on PATs and field goals, with Alley kicking off and handling punting duties.
Maron was 8-for-10 on field goals last season with a season-long of 47 yards, tied for the second-longest kick in the league. Alley averaged just under 39 yards per punt.
