PHILADELPHIA – After guiding the University of Pennsylvania football team to an 8-2 overall record and a second-place Ivy League finish, head coach Ray Priore was named one of 16 finalists for the Stats Perform FCS Eddie Robinson Award, presented to the National Coach of the Year in NCAA FCS football.
 
Priore's leadership resulted in a five-win improvement after finishing 2021 at 3-7 and a sixth-place showing in the final Ivy League standings.
 
Finishing with eight wins for the first time since 2010, Penn enjoyed victories over defending Ivy champion Dartmouth, back-to-back home wins over Columbia and eventual 2022 Ivy champion Yale, as well as a gritty come-from-behind, 20-19 win at #22 Princeton to close out the season.
 
The Quakers were one of the nation's premier pass rushing teams this season, leading the Ivy League in rush defense with 89.4 rushing yards allowed per game and finishing the season second in the nation behind only #1 South Dakota State.
 
A major part of that pass rush was senior defensive lineman Jake Heimlicher, who totaled 9.0 sacks, the most by a Quaker since 1999 (Mike Germino, 9.5). His nine sacks are ranked 10th in the nation.
 
Penn's offense took a major step forward in 2022, especially through the air, as the second-best pass offense (251.5 ypg) in the Ivy League, ranked 32nd in NCAA FCS football. Sophomore quarterback Aidan Sayin improved in his second season under center, leading the Ivy League in completions (253) and touchdown passes (18).
 
Priore is a finalist for the award for the second time in his career. In 2015, he led the Quakers to the Ivy League title in his first season as head coach, becoming just the seventh coach in league history to accomplish that.