2025 Football Season Preview
9/17/2025
The 2025 season has arrived, and the Brown football team is set to kick off its 139th season on Saturday afternoon when the Bears host Georgetown. The game will also mark the official start of the 100th anniversary season of Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium.
With many key pieces returning on both sides of the ball and a revamped defense, the Bears are looking to take steps forward in 2025.
“It’s a great group of kids,” said head coach James Perry ’00. “We had a very energetic camp, which we needed. The Ivy League is always the last group to go out and play and as a result, there’s usually some tension watching other teams play before us, but our guys stayed disciplined and have continued to get better and focus on themselves. The camp we had reflects on our seniors who took this very seriously and know how important camp is.”
CAPTAINS
The Bears will be led by a pair of captains in 2025 in senior linebacker John Perdue and junior quarterback James Murphy. Perdue ranked fourth on the team with 48.0 tackles and led the team in QB hurries, while earning Second Team Phil Steele All-Ivy accolades last season. Perdue’s leadership has been crucial throughout camp in helping Brown implement a new defense under new defensive coordinator Dan Mulrooney.
Murphy saw action under center in the final three games of 2024 and will enter the year as the team’s starter at quarterback for the first time.
QUARTERBACKS
After serving as the backup behind All-Ivy starter Jake Willcox the last two seasons, Murphy enters 2025 as the starter for the Bears and will look to build upon the experience he garnered down the stretch in 2024. He completed nearly 68 percent of his passes (36-for-53) for 377 yards and two touchdowns. His leadership and respect from his teammates led them to elect him as a captain for this season.
Will Currid will enter the opener as the Bears No. 2 quarterback.
RUNNING BACKS
Reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year Matt Childs returns as the team’s lead back after his breakout freshman season in 2024, where he led all Ivy rookies with 40.11 rushing yards and 42.67 receiving yards per game. He was one of 30 players nationally named to the Watch List for the Jerry Rice Award (FCS Rookie of the Year) and was named a Freshman All-American by FCS Football Central. He added two rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns and can impact both phases of the game.
Senior Qwentin Brown tied for the Ivy League lead with nine rushing touchdowns and has found the end zone in six consecutive games entering this season. Also in the backfield will be junior Jackson Bennett, who is poised for a breakout 2025 campaign and figures to play a big role in the team’s rushing attack.
“Matt has had a great offseason and has worked very hard,” Perry said. “A lot of kids who have good freshmen years sometimes take their foot off the pedal, but he has not. We’re excited to see him grow this year. We have a really deep running back room. We’ll work in four backs, including Jackson (Bennett), Qwentin (Brown) and freshman Eli Jones.”
WIDE RECEIVERS
be slightly less experienced than in prior years but still features plenty of talent and playmaking ability from a mix of young players that will see expanded roles this season, along with some returning seniors.
Senior Solomon Miller brings explosive speed to the field with 25 catches for 343 yards and three touchdowns last season. Seniors Chason Barber and Ty Pezza bring size and athleticism to the fold, combing for 48 catches and nearly 550 yards between them last season. Junior Michael Nesbit averaged over 15 yards per catch last season and will play an expanded role as a starting wideout in 2025, while junior Najih Rahman and sophomore Pearson Hill will see plenty of reps as slot receivers. Sophomore Trevor Foley will also be a part of the team’s rotation.
Perry envisions a full group effort will be needed to replace the production of graduated senior Mark Mahoney, who led the team with 62.78 yard per game in 2024.
“It’s a good, deep group,” Perry said. “Many of these guys played a lot of football for us and we’ll see if they can take steps forward. Pearson Hill is another guy who had a good camp and we’re excited to see what he can do. We’ll play six or seven wideouts through the game and need them to play well.”
OFFENSIVE LINE/TIGHT ENDS
Brown will rotate through lineman each game with a good number of players returning that saw significant reps last season. Sophomore Beau Smith, who earned Freshman All-America honors from FCS Football Central and Phil Steele, started each of the final seven games in 2024 at right tackle and will shift over to left tackle this season. Despite losing the other four starting offensive linemen from last season, junior Kai Faucher, senior Marco Monteiro and senior Nick Manley all have seen significant playing time in their careers and will slide right in this season. Junior Danny Thompson will also help anchor the left side after returning from injury last season.
“The good thing is because we play so many guys as part of our system, most of them have gotten a ton of reps in games regardless of whether they have been classified as ‘starters’”, Perry said. “One way or another we’ll have nine guys on the field against Georgetown. It is a deep group and we’ll be ready to go.”
At tight end, junior Levi Linowes played an expanded role down the stretch in 2024 and will factor into the receiving game. Senior Dillon Golden has played significant snaps the last two seasons and will also factor in, along with Jadon Garza-Pender and Pierce Leverett.
“Levi had a great summer, and the quantity of snaps Dillon has played since his freshmen year gives him a ton of experience,” Perry said. “We have four really good tight ends and aren’t afraid to play any of them.”
DEFENSIVE BACKS
The Bears secondary will see the return on senior Elias Archie, who earned Second Team All-Ivy honors in 2024 after finishing second on the team with 10 pass breakups and tallied 36.0 tackles and one interception. Senior Nick Hudson (29.0 tackles, 13 pass breakups) also returns and will be joined by Camryn Williams-Dalton, Alejandro Bello, Kalyl Lindsey and Cap Davis who will look to leave their impact on the defensive side. At safety, two transfers in Miles Brophy (Davidson) and Landon Heard (Purdue) joined the Bears this season and will also look to make an immediate impact.
“Elias has been our leader in the secondary in helping to implement what we want to do at a high level,” Perry said. “He’s played really well over the years for us and had a tremendous camp. I think the other guys are really feeding off him, that includes the safeties as well as the corners and really elevated their play.”
LINEBACKERS
One of the deepest and most experienced groups on the field, senior John Perdue will help lead the Brown defense this season following a junior campaign that saw him post 48.0 tackles and 4.0 TFLs, including 2.0 sacks. Juniors Max Malo and Stefano Montella, and senior Sam Smith will also anchor the middle with Smith leading all Brown returners with 49.0 tackles last season.
Nevaeh Gattis, a converted safety, along with Brock Owen and Ryan Haley will play star in the team’s repackaged defense, with juniors Tommy Dunn and Ike Odimegwu both returning at outside linebacker after missing the 2024 season.
“We’re lucky to have John leading our linebacking group,” Perry said. “He’s an exceptionally smart player and had been a great player and leader for us, executing what we want him to execute. Similarly, Max and Sam Smith have made really big jumps for us at a position where there has been a ton of competition. It’s exciting to watch them play and execute at a high level some new things that they’re doing. We have some real veteran leadership there that will help us.”
DEFENSIVE LINE
A formidable defensive front will be led by senior end Owen Clarke and junior Michael Reddick, who have been mainstays in the team’s rotation up front the last two seasons. Senior John Starman will step into a starting role at tackle and will be joined by Jack Middleton, who transfers in after a sensational freshman season at Washington University in St. Louis, where 15.0 of his 28.0 total tackles were for a loss with 7.5 sacks.
“Dan Mulrooney has done a great job putting in the schematics that he wants,” Perry said. “Owen Clarke and John Starman are two really good seniors that we can lean into. Paired with John Perdue at linebacker and Elias Archie on the back end we’ve been able to lean on some older guys to get the whole defense in position.
“It is hard to come in and start right away in a new system and new school, but Jack Middleton and Miles Brophy have been able to do that,” Perry added. “They have fought and clawed their way up the depth chart and we’re excited to see them in action.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Bears will welcome a crop of new specialists in 2025 in rookie Drew Crabtree as the team’s placekicker, replacing four-year starter Christopher Maron who was lost to graduation. Sophomore Malcolm Flynn will handle punting duties after serving as the team’s holder last season, and sophomore Michael Pedrotti will handle the longsnapping.
