Penn quarterback Liam O’Brien is ‘not really content’ at all with his record-setting performance

The biggest secret within the Penn football program is out.

In his second career start last Saturday, junior quarterback Liam O’Brien recorded 341 passing yards, six touchdown passes, and a rushing TD against Cornell in a 67-49 victory. His seven touchdowns set a program record for a single game, and he was named FCS National Offensive Player of the Week.

“You know the young man has it in him. He’s been waiting on the sidelines for a while for that to happen, and [I’m] just so proud of him,” said coach Ray Priore after the game.

» READ MORE: Penn QB Liam O’Brien accounts for seven TDs in 67-49 comeback win over Cornell

O’Brien was jolted into the starting role after senior captain Aidan Sayin went down with an elbow injury against Yale on Oct. 25. In the ensuing weeks against Brown and Cornell, O’Brien stepped in and led Penn to a pair of conference wins.

O’Brien served as the backup quarterback since his freshman year. Last season, he was used sparingly in goal-line situations due largely to his rushing ability. He scored six rushing touchdowns on designed quarterback runs, good for second on the team. He only looked to throw twice.

However, O’Brien said he’s anything but one-dimensional under center.

“I still don’t consider myself a running quarterback. I consider myself a quarterback that can run,” O’Brien said.

“Everything I heard leading up to my [first start] was: ‘Liam O’Brien, running quarterback, running quarterback, blah, blah, blah,’” he said. “So obviously, Brown is going to hear that, and they might tailor their defense to that.”

On Saturday, O’Brien will lead Penn (4-4, 2-3 Ivy) against Harvard (7-1, 4-1 Ivy) in a homecoming matchup (1 p.m., ESPN+).

O’Brien was a star on the football and lacrosse field at Fairview High School in Boulder, Colo. In the summer before his senior year, he committed to play lacrosse for Cornell.

By the time the football season rolled around, however, O’Brien was back playing quarterback for Fairview. In a season shortened to seven games due to the pandemic, O’Brien passed for 2,355 yards and scored 28 touchdowns en route to being named first team all-State in Colorado.

After ending that season with a playoff loss, O’Brien was not ready to give up on playing quarterback. He pulled his commitment from Cornell lacrosse to pursue a future in football.

“That’s really the first time I had ever decided between the sports,” O’Brien said. “It was a tough decision because I had a great opportunity at a great school playing lacrosse. Funny enough, Cornell went to the national championship [in what would have been my freshman year]. That would have been a really cool experience, but honestly, I don’t have any regrets.”

O’Brien opted for a postgraduate year at Deerfield Academy, a college preparatory school in Massachusetts. In his single season with Deerfield, he led the team to a 9-1 record and first place in the Northeast Prep League. He received multiple Division I offers. When he received an offer from Penn, he committed “right away” due to his trust in the coaching staff.

Still, O’Brien played a final lacrosse season at Deerfield, feeling it only strengthened his game as a quarterback.

“If I didn’t play lacrosse, I wouldn’t be moving the way that I move. I wouldn’t have the body control that I do. I wouldn’t understand the leverage of defenders and when to make a cut,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien developed instant chemistry with wide receiver Jared Richardson during his first training camp at Penn. Through “Young Guns” freshman practices, the two got valuable reps with each other. Last week, O’Brien found Richardson nine times for 141 yards and three touchdowns.

O’Brien was named Penn’s backup quarterback by the end of his freshman year. Although not starting, being used in rushing situations allowed O’Brien to operate and control the offense.

“It’s tough being a backup quarterback, especially when Aidan was the guy and started his freshman year. I put some pressure on him, but I never beat him out,” O’Brien said.

Sayin, Penn’s all-time pass completion leader, has stuck alongside O’Brien and the team since sustaining the injury to his elbow

“You know, [Sayin is] out for the season, but he still shows up every day,” O’Brien said. “He’s still encouraging everyone, he still knows our entire game plan. He still knows what the other defense is doing. He’s been phenomenal for me.”

» READ MORE: Penn QB Aidan Sayin passed a trial by fire and now has program records to show for it

Three years after betting on himself and flipping his commitment, O’Brien is reaping the rewards of his decision to pursue football. However, he is staying focused on the future.

“I’m not really content with it,” he said. “In the sense that my mindset is ‘all right, cool. Seven touchdowns this week. Let’s go get eight against Harvard.’”