When Georgetown first-year head coach Kevin Kelly arrived from Navy last winter, he brought an option offense that thrived for the Midshipmen while Kelly was linebackers coach under Paul Johnson.
But as Navy racked up 70 rushes and threw the ball just six times in its season opener, the Hoyas passed 34 times against Holy Cross, all coming from sophomore quarterback Ben Hostetler in his second career start.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” said Hostetler, who had 20 completions for 168 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a score, helping earn him a spot on this week’s Patriot League Honor Roll. “I knew we’d try to balance it out, but it just kind of happened that way. We made adjustments during the game. It seemed like it was open to throw the ball.”
Yes, they’re related. Ben’s uncle is Jeff Hostetler, who quarterbacked the New York Giants to a win over the Buffalo Bills in the 1991 Super Bowl. Ben’s father was a linebacker at Penn State and his brother a safety at Brown.
“I think he does have some of those traits,” said Kelly, comparing Ben to Jeff Hostetler. “[Ben’s] a very focused quarterback, and he’s got that football savvy that obviously his uncle had – to play at professional level, you have to have that. The decision making process he does extremely well with.”
This weekend the Hoyas (0-1) are looking to build on a strong second half on offense in which Ben Hostetler led touchdown drives of 12 and 11 plays, respectively.
“I think there were some nerves in the first half,” said Kelly. “I think in the second half [offensive coordinator Jim] Miceli did a good job of adjusting to what they were doing.”
Defensively, senior linebacker Chris Paulus led the Hoyas with eight tackles against the Crusaders, but Georgetown still allowed a game-sealing touchdown after closing to within six points in the fourth quarter.
“Response is the most important of the game,” said Paulus, who also happens to be from a family with strong athletic roots. This is his first season without an older brother on the Hoyas roster. Dave (2003), Matthew (2004) and Dan (2005) all played for Georgetown, and his younger brother, Greg, is Duke’s starting point guard.
“You can tell he comes from an athletic family because he has that savvy too,” said Kelly. “[Chris] is a competitor. He’s competes very hard, and I’m sure he had to do that at home.”
Stony Brook (0-1) at Georgetown (0-1)
» When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
» Where: Multi-sport field, Georgetown University
» Radio: Georgetown University radio, WGTB 92.3
