This article written by Dave Zeitlin C'03 appeared in the first issue of Franklin Field Illustrated for 2017.

The first thing Justin Watson noticed about Louis Vecchio were his sandals. These worn-down, ratty sandals that Vecchio wore around Penn's campus until December, along with shorts or swim trunks, and a pair of circle sunglasses.

"I think he came to school with no winter clothes," Watson said. "I could definitely tell he's a California kid."

Watson, a native of suburban Pittsburgh, was certainly more accustomed to the East Coast weather than Vecchio, who said he never even practiced football in the rain until he got to Penn.

But, as it turned out, the California kid and Pittsburgh kid had a lot more in common than they initially may have thought, bonding over football, Wharton classes, Chinese food, and their shared NFL dreams.

And now, Watson and Vecchio — the supremely talented, hard-working, lead-by-example stars of Penn's offense and defensive, respectively — are united by one more thing: being named senior captains for a Quakers team gunning for its third straight Ivy League championship.

"If you think about the history and the great players that have come through here, it's pretty unbelievable," Watson said. "To be listed as a captain, among those names, it's a huge honor. I'm really humbled by it. And to do it with a guy like Louis is pretty unbelievable since he's one of my best friends since we came here freshman year." 

"I'm extremely blessed this opportunity has come," Vecchio added. "And to be alongside Justin Watson, it's an immense pleasure to see someone that's working hard pushing me every day, pushing the team every day, and just raising the standard that we all want to be at."

The talent of both of Penn's captains is undeniable. Arguably the best wide receiver in Penn's storied history, Watson ranks second all-time in career receptions (205) and receiving yards (2,694) and enters the 2017 season as a preseason first-team All-American and candidate for the FCS Walter Payton Award. And Vecchio, a ferocious defensive lineman, is coming off a first-team All-Ivy campaign in which he led the Quakers in sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (10.5).

Perhaps of equal importance, both seniors are tireless in perfecting their craft — one reason why head coach Ray Priore said they were voted "overwhelmingly" by their peers to be captain.

"They're very, very intense workers," Priore said. "I think a lot of the kids respect them not for how vocal they are but how they play. I would say their trademark is they come to work every single day and work hard — and they've been doing that for four years."

Indeed, both Watson and Vecchio aren't necessarily screamers, the type of rah-rah guys that lead motivational pep talks in the huddle. But they can certainly be fiery at times, and they each have a knack for inspiring their teammates by coming through in the clutch.

"I'd say we're pretty similar," Watson said. "We're both quieter guys who lead with our actions more. And we both like being the spark plug; whenever things are shaky in the game, we like making the play and settling everyone down."

At no point was that more evident than in last season's momentous 27-14 win over Harvard at Franklin Field. With the Quakers' offense struggling early, Vecchio delivered the team's only points of the first half with a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown midway through the second quarter. Later, Watson caught the game-winning touchdown pass with 15 seconds left to seal the dramatic victory that led to Penn winning a piece of its second straight Ivy title.

After the win, Vecchio was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week while Watson took home Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors — yet another connection between two players who enjoy watching each other play.
"I loved seeing him running into the end zone with his arms waving," Watson said. "I knew he was having blast."

Added Vecchio: "When I get a glimpse up on the board and he's taking one deep, it's always nice to have that huge playmaker on your side."

It was never a given that Watson and Vecchio would become these kinds of big-time college playmakers. Until he got to South Fayette High School, Watson was actually a quarterback, which he said is "kind of unbelievable because if you see me out here throwing now, people make fun of me." And Vecchio didn't even play organized football until sixth grade, focusing instead on hockey on his mother's wishes. But when he was "getting too many penalties for roughing" and "she could see the rate I was growing compared to the other kids," his mom relented and Vecchio's football journey began.
 
From there, both Watson and Vecchio emerged as high school stars that drew the attention of several big colleges from around the country. Watson received heavy attention from a number of MAC schools, while Vecchio received offers from PAC-12 programs Stanford, Colorado and Washington, as well as another national FBS powerhouse in Boise State.

He admits turning down those schools was "tough" but, just like Watson, he was swayed by Penn's culture of winning championships and how much being at Wharton could set him up for the rest of his life.

"Every school [I visited] said the same thing: that this was for the future," Vecchio said. "But [Penn] was the only one I really saw that actually meant you're going to be prepared no matter what when football ends, whether you go the league or whether you don't."

Both players got off to promising starts at Penn with Watson setting a freshman record with 42 receptions and 497 receiving yards and Vecchio playing in eight games as a freshman in 2014 and recording a season-high four tackles against Villanova in his second college game.

But a year later against Villanova, Vecchio had to watch most of Penn's 24-13 victory from the sideline, after planting his leg and feeling a pop while chasing the quarterback in the second quarter. He still enjoyed the aftermath of the program's first win over Villanova in 104 years, "limping around and going nuts with everyone else" while on crutches. But reality set in as he fell down a few times on his walk home. Then, came the really difficult part as he underwent surgery for a torn ACL and began a long and grueling rehabilitation process — one he approached with positivity while also keeping his spirits high during practices and games.

"I just said you have to keep being that same leader," Watson recalled. "And he did a really good job as a sophomore just keeping people up on the sideline. Every year it seems like one guy gets injured and is kind of the leader of the guys that are hurt. Louis did a really good job with that."

All of which made Vecchio's breakout junior season "awesome to see" for Watson, who marveled at how he returned from an ACL injury an "even better player" than he was before.
 
"That was just something out of my wildest dreams the way things turned out," said Vecchio, who admitted he had to overcome a "mental barrier" while recovering from such a serious injury. "I just wanted to do my best for the team, and things ended up going my way. I'm just thankful."

Vecchio has even more dreams now, and so does Watson, the two of them hoping to keep improving while leading to the Quakers to another championship — only this one they don't want to share.

From there, the teammates will turn their attention toward the NFL, hoping to follow the Penn-to-the-pros pathway that recent Penn graduates Greg Van Roten W'12, Brandon Copeland W'13, Ryan O'Malley C'16 and Alek Torgersen C'17 have helped carve.

And they'll go through that whole process together — which will feel quite familiar for a couple of guys who hang out often, usually after ordering some Chinese takeout or picking up some chicken teriyaki from their favorite food truck on their way to class.
 
"It will definitely help with Louis by my side," Watson said. "To have someone to work out with and to have someone anchor me down will help keep me going."
And what if, by some stroke of fortune, the two Penn captains end up on the same NFL team?

"Oh my gosh, that would be too much," Watson said. "We'd probably end up living together and be roommates. We'd have a blast. That would really, really be a dream come true."