The Princeton Panthers have plenty of questions with a young football roster, especially among their pass catchers.

Replacing the top five pass catchers from last season, Princeton is working hard this offseason to prepare new faces for the varsity level. The biggest whole for the Panthers will be replacing starting wideout Gavin Champ, who led the team with 600 receiving yards and six touchdowns last season.

Champ and Elijah Penny will be difficult to replace, but head coach Ervin Chandler is confident in the young player’s talent but wants to see how they’ll adjust to the next level.

“We’re going to be young, with just one guy coming back,” Chandler said. “Gavin Champ was a key piece of our offense and will be tough to replace, but I’m excited about what these kids can do and how they’ll prove themselves for next season.”

Conner Pyron is one of the few returning players from last season. He had five catches for 26 yards in 2021 and coach Chandler said he’s going to be relied on as a senior leader in the offense. Vyron Hambric, LaDon McKinney, CJ Bruce, Enzo Bingham, AJ Senari and Azan Stoughtenborough represent the depth of the Princeton roster.

The Panthers’ passing attack should look much different in 2022. With several senior receivers and a veteran quarterback, the team will spend most of the offseason and non-district games mastering the offense before discovering what the players can do best on the field.

“It will be a lot different, with just the changes on the roster,” Chandler said. “It’s going to take some time for the chemistry to gel and just to get us to master the offense. We’re going to be patient with this group.”

For the full story, see the June 23 issue of The Princeton Herald.