Nittany Lion Notes

Article in The Daily Collegian

2009-09-18T14:04:00.001-07:00

We so much to do before tomorrow, forgive me for not posting a Penn State preview versus Temple.

Final Score Prediction: Penn State 38, Temple 7 -- and all eyes point to Big Ten opener versus Iowa

Until then, there is an article about the book in today's Daily Collegian -- Penn State's student newspaper. CLICK HERE to read the article.

Book Updates

2009-09-16T16:40:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest updates on "Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide To The World of Sports."

You can purchase "Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide To The World of Sports" at www.THONstore.com and half of all net profits will go to THON.
You can purchase the book at www.savasbeatie.com and receive a FREE autographed book plate with your order. The book plate is signed by the Sports By the Numbers team and yours truly.
You can come out to Beaver Stadium this Saturday morning from 9 am to 11 am for a book signing tailgate. You can purchase a book and get it signed by myself and/or Mike Poorman, Penn State's Director of Alumni Relations, who will be stopping by for a few to say hello. The book store is right in Beaver Stadium, so come out for a copy then go support the Nittany Lions versus Temple.

Joe Pa Press Conference Excerpts

2009-09-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

Joe, do you expect Navorro Bowman to get back to practice this week, and how careful do you have to be with that kind of injury?

I don't know. He didn't do anything yesterday. We talked a little bit as a staff this morning. And I'm going to... I think he's got to start practicing pretty quick if he wants to play Saturday.
But, I haven't had a chance to talk to him today. So I'm reluctant to say. I talked to him a little bit before practice yesterday and he said it was still sore. But whether it was that sore that he can't practice today, I don't know. I think that's the doctor's and trainer's call. I don't know yet. I don't think we'll know until he gets out and tries to do a couple of things today. I think he's got to do it today. I don't think we can wait until tomorrow because we've got some other kids we've got to get ready.

Analysis: Penn State has the luxury to ease Bowman back for Big Ten play with the solid play of his back-up, Nathan Stupar. Bowman injured himself in the 31-7 season-opening victory over Akron, and Stupar recorded 10 tackles in that victory.

Q. Opposing defenses keep coming at you with different formations and stacking safeties. Are you comfortable to throw more than run?

If we're effective, I'm okay. I think we have to play each game, down, distance, situations, field position, kicking game, all those things tie in with the football game.

Hopefully we can run if we run into the situation where they take away the passing game from us, and vice versa. I can't tell you exactly what I'm prepared, what we are prepared to do except hopefully we're practicing for any contingency. I would hope when we stop getting blitzes I think Syracuse blitzed all but maybe eight times. I think we had the ball 67 times. And I think all but maybe eight or nine times they blitzed. So when you're facing that, we try to be stubborn and try to run the ball because I think we need the work.

But whether we can do that against Temple, I don't know. I don't know what Temple's going to do. Temple starts out with a different defensive scheme than Syracuse did. Temple plays a little different, as I said, scheme. So if they stay with the scheme they had it will be a little bit more balanced than what Syracuse gave us, and we'll have to adjust and so forth. So it's a cat and mouse thing.

Analysis: The lack of a running game, especially with Evan Royster's return this season, was been slightly worrisome, but a young, adjusting offensive line combined with eight-man stacked fronts has made holes hard to come by. The front five aren't doing a poor job off the ball, but they are having difficulty coming off blocks and getting to the next level. This job must mature and open holes for Royster and Stephfon Green heading into conference play.

And this final question-and-answer is typical Joe.

Q. I imagine you don't pay attention to rankings too much, national rankings, but being No. 5 in the country do you ever compare your team's development to other teams?

No, don't get me into that. I don't know what we are, for crying out loud. Geez, that's the same thing hey, I honest to God, are we No. 5 is that what you're telling me?

Q. Yes.

I don't know that we're No. 5. You guys don't seem to understand. I don't pay I don't read anything about us. I get the paper. I go to the bathroom. I take the paper in there and I scan it. I look at it. The first thing I do is look at who died. All right. Second thing I look at are headlines. Something that says, "Paterno is the Greatest," I read it.

(laughter) If it says I'm a bum, I don't even look at it. No, I don't pay attention. What you are today isn't what you're going to be tomorrow, all right? What you're going to be tomorrow is what you make happen tomorrow.

I read the newspapers. I feel bad about the way things have gone with the newspaper business, with the guys, with the computers (Internet), getting all that stuff on. Because it's taking away some of the guys, and I think some of the great guys I've known and who wrote well who set a standard for writing, people don't realize, they were all sports writers. They were all sports writers first. Grantland Rice and those guys. I don't know, it's a different world. And I'm not part of that world. I'm really not. I love to read the newspapers. I'd love to read the sports page, but to be very frank with you, I don't because so much of it is you guys have to base on what you are getting in an e mail, what you're getting because I've talked to a couple of guys about it.

You're influenced by, what people are after you to say something because you're competing. It's like I don't even turn on the television set anymore, because one television station is anti Obama. The other one you like to have somebody have an impartial view of some things because they studied it and they know about it. And they're not being influenced by the guy that owns the paper or the guy that owns the radio station, so it's a different world and it's not the kind of world that I'm comfortable with.

That's a speech. I usually get 100 bucks for that (laughter).

Penn State vs. Temple Game Notes

2009-09-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

When: Saturday, September 19, 2009
Where: Beaver Stadium (107,282)
Kickoff: 12:00 p.m.
Attendance: 105,000
Series Record: Penn State leads, 34-3-1
Penn State Captains: No. 17 Daryll Clark, Sr., QB No. 45 Sean Lee, Sr., LB
TELEVISION: The contest will be televised by Big Ten Network with Ari Wolfe, Anthony Herron and Kenny Jackson calling the action. The Nittany Lions are appearing on television for the 180th time in their last 182 games.
RADIO: Penn State Sports Network (60 stations) Radio Team (10th year) Play-by-Play: Steve Jones; Analysis: Jack Ham
Web stream: www.GoPSUsports.comWPHT Radio (Harry Donahue, play-by-play; Steve Joachim, analysis).
COACHES: Joe Paterno Penn State Record . .385-127-3 (75.0), 44th Year
Overall Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Same
vs. Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25-0
60th year on Penn State staff...all-time leader in career wins among FBS (1-A) coaches...300 wins faster than any coach in NCAA history...College Football Hall of Fame inductee in 2007.

Al Golden Temple Record . . . . . . . . . .10-27, Fourth Year
Overall Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Same
vs. Penn State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0-3

THE SERIES: The Nittany Lions and Owls are meeting for the 39th time, with Penn State owning a 34-3-1 series lead. The teams have met the last three years, with Lions winning, 45-3, in Beaver Stadium in 2008. The intra-state rivals are are scheduled to meet each of the next three seasons.

For the Kids: Do Your Penn State Football Shopping at THONstore.com

2009-09-14T07:05:00.000-07:00

The dancers at Penn State's 46-hour dance marathon ache in the final moments. Yet, their hearts and their pride keep them going, until finally, they can sit.

The picture below is a great indication of how devoted those dancers are, and how relieved they feel when they can finally fall to the floor.

THON is an inspiration to many. And we can all give back by purchasing "Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide To The World Of Sports" and all other Penn State football books and merchandise through http://www.thonstore.com/.

Penn State in Fifth Place; Florida leads both polls

2009-09-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

Off its methodical 28-7 victory over Syracuse, Penn State is tied with Ole Miss for fifth in the Associated Press poll and alone in the fifth spot in the USA Today poll.

The top fourth in each poll are identical, with Florida a near unanimous No. 1.

CLICK HERE to view both polls.

LIVE Blog: Penn State vs. Syracuse

2009-09-12T08:44:00.001-07:00

Penn State vs. Syracuse

Penn State vs. Syracuse: Game #2 Preview

2009-09-12T05:47:00.000-07:00

Joe Paterno does not consider himself old. Despite the physical characteristics to the contrary, Paterno does not compartmentalize his life in years, or even football seasons, but rather days.

It is a simplistic mantra for any football coach, but when you are running out onto a football field past age 80, it is hard to argue with the approach.

Yet, while Paterno rarely looks back or speaks about the past, it doesn't mean we can't. That's why it is fitting that Saturday has been dubbed, "Classic Day", where 1960s music will welcome all Beaver Stadium attendees and fans are encouraged to break out the tie-dye shirts, headbands and peace signs.

It's also a historical coincidence that "Classic Day" occurs with Syracuse in town. The Orange -- or Orangemen as they were known back in the day -- used to be a staple on Penn State's schedule when the Nittany Lions were battling for Lambert Trophies and trying to strike a recruiting cord in upstate New York as an independent without conference affiliation.

The Nittany Lions have faced Syracuse 69 times, the second most among all opponents, trailing only Pittsburgh (96 games). Penn State holds a 41-23-5 advantage in the series, and has won the last three meetings, including a 55-13 thrashing at the Carrier Dome last fall. The Nits and the Orange squared off in every single season from 1944-1990, but the series fell to the wayside when Penn State joined the Big Ten conference.

It is back, on "Classic Day" of all Saturdays, with a stormy forecast on the docket. But stormy for who? Find out below.

Game: Penn State (1-0) vs. Syracuse (0-1)

Last Week: Penn State downed Akron, 31-7, while Syracuse lost a heartbreaking home opener in overtime to PSU's conference compatriot Minnesota, 23-20.

Time and TV: Noon on the Big Ten Network and GoPSUSports.com

Interesting Tidbit: Former running back and Penn State standout Lenny Moore will serve as the honorary captain

Opponent at a Glance: Greg Paulus was a three-year starter at Duke...playing basketball. Beaver Stadium may put Paulus' in North Carolina's shoes when the Tar Heels used to invade Cameron Indoor. The former Duke guard is now Syracuse's starting quarterback, and the recognizable face to all hardcore sports fans, will be making his second career start. He was 19-of-31 for 167 yards, one touchdown and one interception in last week's loss to Minnesota. His favorite target may be tall and physically-imposing wideout Mike Williams. The Orange's defense is led by senior defensive tackle Arthur Jones. He is on the preseason watch list for such prestigious awards as the Outland, Lombardi and Bednarik Trophies.

Prediction: A quarterback with one game of collegiate experience -- and that game was four years after playing in high school -- coming into Beaver Stadium can't be a good thing. Paulus is a gifted athlete who appears to be a quick study after watching him last week versus Minnesota, but this isn't the Carrier Dome, and these aren't the Golden Gophers.

He threw a lot of screen passes, quick slants and took plenty of three-step drops. Look for more press coverage and zone blitzing from Tom Bradley's defense today as a way to negate the quick passing game and give the formidable front four time to hit Paulus and disrupt his timing.

If the forecast holds, this may be a good day for Penn State to impose its will on the Orange, and that means running the football, something it didn't do to Paterno's liking in the season-opening win over Akron. Look for a heavy dose of Evan Royster and a defensive performance similar to the shutdown of the Zips.

Prediction: Penn State 31, Syracuse 3

Giving Back: Purchase Penn State Book for THON

2009-09-12T05:42:00.000-07:00

Several times a week for the foreseeable future, we will post a picture from the THON archive you all proud Penn Staters can get a sense of the experience. And the cause it champions.

You can buy Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide To The World of Sports at http://www.thonstore.com/ and half of all net profits will go to THON -- a 46-hour dance marathon raising money for childhood cancer.

The below picture occurs near the end of the dance marathon as tired legs, but awakened hearts, unveil the money raised for that year.

For The Glory. For The Kids. Buy Unique Historical Book on Penn State Football

2009-09-12T05:18:00.000-07:00

Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide To The World of Sports hits the shelves sometime next week. You can pick up a copy at local area bookstores.

However, the best way to buy this unique historical look at Penn State football is to CLICK on this link: www.thonstore.com AND GIVE BACK AT THE SAME TIME!

If you buy the book through that link, half of all net profits will go to THON -- a 46-hour dance marathon that benefits the fight against childhood cancer. THON is the nation's largest student-run philanthropy, and if you don't know much about it, go to www.thon.org -- where you can read about the dance marathon's history and view some of the archived videos to get a sense of the experience.

It is like nothing you have ever seen.

I, as a Penn State graduate, understand the sacrifice our students make to give back. But more than anything, I understand the plight children with cancer face on a daily basis. That is why Marc Maxwell -- the creator of the series my book is a part of and a current PSU grad student -- developed www.thonstore.com as a way to give back.

OUR GOAL IS TO RAISE $1 MILLION FOR THON. Ambitious I know, but it can be done.

So go purchase 1 copy. Or 10. Or 50 of Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide To The World of Sports at www.thonstore.com and support the cause.

The Face of Penn State's newest sports book

2009-09-12T04:59:00.000-07:00

Plenty on the plate today, and it begins with this: Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide To The World of Sports is officially off the printer and in the hands of myself and the SBTN Guys. It looks great, and we hope the 186 pages of Penn State history following the cover read just as good.

More on how to purchase the book, a Syracuse preview and the first-ever LIVE blog still to come on this rainy football Saturday in Pennsylvania.

Nittany Notes Recap: Week #1 versus Akron

2009-09-09T16:28:00.000-07:00

Final Score:
Penn State 31, Akron 7 (Nittany Lions led 31-0 at the half)

Stars of the Game:
Daryll Clark was 29-of-40 for 353 yards with three touchdowns and one interception -- later named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week; Derek Moye and Chaz Powell as the new starting wideouts combined for 13 catches for 203 yards and two touchdowns; Nathan Stupar -- in place of the injured Navarro Bowman -- was all over the field with 10 tackles and a sack.

Shoot-From-The-Hip First Impressions:
Clark was either very accurate (most of the time) or wildly daring and ill-advised (seldom). He used good decision-making was crisp and quick with his release; Chaz Powell is a bullet in space, and Moye (while also fast) has sure hands and runs sharp routes; offensive line was very good in keeping Clark upright, but didn't come off blocks to get to Akron's second wave (normally right at the line of scrimmage) on running plays; Sean Lee was a beast in cleats -- all over the field, while Stupar showed his ability, giving coaches the confidence to play him and keep both Lee and Bowman fresh; A.J. Wallace didn't start, but his play should go a long way to getting back into Joe Pa's good graces; kicking game needs a lot of work as Collin Wagner missed two field goals; complacency is also an issue after zero second-half points.

Game By The Numbers (because Numbers tell a story):
0: Number of first downs for the Akron offense in the first half.

28: Number of rushing yards surrendered by the Nits, who yielded 0.9 yards per carry as Jared Odrick could not be blocked.

43: Number of negative yards on running plays for Akron, again illustrating how Odrick, Jerome Hayes and Jack Crawford could not be blocked.

44: Number of yards (4.4) Evan Royster averaged per rush on Saturday. Stephfon Green averaged just 1.4 as Penn State's new offensive line couldn't open the gaping holes many expected against a smaller Akron front seven.

62: For all of the talk about Moye and Powell (and rightfully so), Graham Zug had a solid game on the stat sheet. He patiently made his way across the field and into the end zone, where Clark found him on a 19-yard scoring strike. The lanky and sure-handed junior caught five passes for 62 yards.

Final Thoughts:

Penn State listened to my offensive crescendo on the opening drive, pounding Royster and the Akron defense into submission, culminating in the back's five-yard TD scamper. Yet, after that, Clark let loose to a collection of wideouts with far more polish than I had expected.

If Powell, Moye and Zug continue to be steady hands on Penn State's offensive ship, and the Nits get something from tight end Andrew Quarless, this unit could surprise a lot of people.

On the defensive side of the ball, the front four was unblockable and penetrated the Akron backfield over 60 minutes (and this was an Akron offensive line that returned four of five starters). The defensive backs weren't tested, and likely won't be until Big Ten play begins.

Overall, it was a dominating first half and a casual second half that should light a fire under Paterno and give him material to harp on this week in practice as Syracuse beckons.

UP NEXT:
BOOK NEWS THURSDAY MORNING
JOE PA'S PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT AND THOUGHTS ON THURSDAY
SYRACUSE GAME PREVIEW ON FRIDAY

Offensive Preview: Spread HD needs to throttle down to basics

2009-09-03T16:44:00.000-07:00

This is painful to say. Penn State, at least initially, should throttle down its offense in 2009.

It took years to alter Joe Paterno's prodigious past. Athleticism and speed prompted a move to a wide-open, free-wheeling, creative-like-clockwork offense that produced dynamic results in 2008.

Although Penn State's season ended in defeat against USC at the Rose Bowl, the Nittany Lions offense scored 506 points and averaged just under 39 points a game last season behind the right arm and able legs of quarterback Daryll Clark.

Clark threw 19 touchdowns to just six interceptions and the Nits actually passed for more yards (3160) than they ran for (2676) during a season that saw five players -- including Clark -- rush for more than 100 yards.

So, the cupboard is not bare in the backfield. Clark returns after a brilliant season, and can line up with an extra chip on his shoulder thanks to Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor being selected the preseason Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. He is a year older, which brings a bit more assertiveness to a passing game that will need to mature over the course of the season.

Evan Royster and Stephfon Green are both back and complement each other extremely well. Royster is shifty, if not fast, who excels between the tackles and with tremendous field awareness and vision. He doesn't run around or past everybody, he just finds holes and attacks them with authority. The paramount stat is just 30 negative yards, a remarkable number in a season that concluded with 1,236 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Green battled injuries and a tendency to bounce every run to the perimeter -- a no-no in Paterno's offensive Bible. He grew as the season wore on and showcased his lightning speed during a 69-yard jaunt late in the season. Green toted the rock 105 times for 578 yards and four touchdowns and appears ready to take on a sidekick role his season, appearing frequently as a breather back and a third-down option.

Brent Carter averaged 5.9 yards per carry and is also back, as is sophomore Brandon Beachum, who the coaches love for his tenacity and raw athletic talent. As the numbers show -- and they rarely lie -- Penn State is stacked at running back and quarterback, but questions remain.

Who will block for the talented backs? Who will the talented quarterback throw to?

Derrick Williams, Deon Butler Jordan Norwood and three-fifths of the offensive line are gone to the NFL and graduation. Penn State's top returning wide receivers are tall possession type Brent Brackett and junior Graham Zug, who totaled 24 catches combined last season -- just seven more than the running back Royster.

Brackett reminds coaches of former walk-on Ethan Kilmer, who was a lanky track star at Shippensburg and made a solid transition to wideout and excelled as a senior at Penn State. But Kilmer was better suited working against safeties and nickel backs, and the same may be true for Brackett, meaning some unproven names need to surface.

Likely targets include sophomores Derek Moye and Chaz Powell. Moye has the frame of Brackett -- 6-foot-5 -- but holds state high school titles in the 200- and 400-meter races, signifying his ability to stretch the field. Powell is a multi-talented athlete who was groomed as a defensive back, but is currently listed as a wide receiver and has practiced at that position this spring.

The key to cohesion in the running game and the time necessary to develop chemistry with young, unproven receivers is the play of an offensive line that returns Dennis Landolt and Stefen Wisniewski, both playing different positions this season at tackle and center respectively.

Some of the names are the same; others are different, but Penn State's ability to replicate the eye-popping 2008 numbers may rest with a more patient, pragmatic approach that uses Royster's strengths off tackle, Green's speed off the edge and Quarless racking up catches and yards off play-action pass.

I hope to see, and really should see, less Spread HD -- at least early in the season -- as a spread formation thins an offensive line's ability to share blocking assignments and leaves Clark blind off the edge. Expect more traditional single and I-form sets with some three- and four-wideout formations thrown in.

In short, except a mixture of caution and experimentation as the Penn State coaching staff feels out a new group with new faces in some key roles. How those new faces progress will likely be the key to Penn State's offensive and season-long success.

Joe Paterno's Press Conference

2009-09-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

What he says and what he means? It's an art with all coaches who speak in generalities and rarely, if ever, reveal their hand. Joe Paterno is the master -- after all, at his advanced age and football knowledge, he should be.

Throughout the season we will transcribe Paterno's mid-week press conference and add our two cents in certain spots. We will also play a game of Joe Said-Joe Means in our game recap each Monday.

Q. Can you discuss your thoughts on the way Jerome Hayes has come back from two serious knee injuries?

He's a very determined kid. Of course, he's not a kid anymore, but a young man. And he's worked awfully hard. He's been determined he was going to come back...so far so good.
We've not kept him in there any extended period of time because we didn't want him to get tired and maybe not be able to protect himself as well. But he's had a good pre season. I think right now he's ready to play.

It's a little different position where he's playing. We're playing him as a defensive end -- half a defensive end, half an outside linebacker. But, so far, so good.

Blog Thoughts: The development of Jerome Hayes will be an interesting case study this season. The Michael Mauti season-ending injury has definitely cut into Penn State's depth at linebacker and especially its speed. In essence, Navarro Bowman is now Penn State's lone every-down presence off the edge -- but Hayes has plenty of tools. It will be interesting to see how to acclimates himself to game speed through the cushioned early-season schedule.

Q. What has Nick Sukay done to emerge at one of the safety spots? With A.J. Wallace out, are you a little worried about your untested corners going against the Akron receivers?

Well, Sukay has been hurt a lot, so it appears he's come out of nowhere, which really hasn't been accurate. He's been around. He's always had tremendous potential. He's a fairly big kid. He runs well. He's a tough kid and he's smart.

I think his emergence as a starter didn't surprise anybody on the staff. We just kept hoping he'd stay healthy. He had foot problems, a couple other things. I think he had a shoulder problem for a while there. So he's never really had an opportunity to show what he can do.

So, he has stayed healthy and he's had a really good pre season, and I think he'll play well. I'm not sure what we're going to do with A.J. I had put some rules down that he had to get certain grades, which he got in the summertime. I had to put some other rules down. He's abided by them. He may end up playing some on Saturday. (Knowledge) Timmons right now would start with the other kid (D'Anton Lynn). Timmons will be fine.

I think the other corners will work out to be good. None of them have had a lot of experience in ballgames except for Wallace, but they're healthy and they've been getting better all the time. So I think they'll be okay.

Now, they'll be challenged, because this is a really good offensive football team. You get 9 of 11 kids back, got the quarterback back, they've got their wideouts back, they've got a big offensive line, which is very active, all of whom played last year, I think except one kid who might only be a sophomore.

But it will be a challenge for the secondary.

Blog Thoughts: One of this season's main focal points -- and a key to conference and national title hopes -- is the progression of a relatively untested secondary. Timmons is a track star, and as Paterno pointed out above, Nick Sukay was highly thought of out of high school only to run into a rash of injuries. A.J. Wallace must get his head on straight. He has more game experience than the collection of unknowns put together, and he needs to mature on and off the field to be the shutdown corner Penn State needs in conference play.

Q. What type of challenge do you think their quarterback (Chris Jacquemain) will bring to your team this weekend?

Well, he's been a two year starter. Akron at the end of the year last year was playing really well. And I think there's tremendous momentum with their football team. He's a very smart kid, very careful with the football. As I said, they've got good wideouts. Both the tight ends are redshirt freshmen, but they're big kids. One is about 260, 265, the other one is maybe 270. As I mentioned earlier, he's got an outstanding offensive line that did a great job protecting him last year and I think obviously they'll be better this year.

So he's a good all around quarterback, plays smart, has a good arm. He gets good protection, makes good decisions. We'll have our hands full with them.

Q. Andrew Quarless talked today about wanting to make you proud of him and make his family proud of him this year. Do you think he's had a different attitude than in the past few years?

Andrew Quarless, hopefully he's grown up. He did a lot of silly things when he first came into the program. But, so far so good. And he has the potential to be a really good tight end. He can run. He's got good hands. He's obviously got nice size for a tight end. So I think he and (Mickey) Shuler should give us two kids that are good tight ends, both of whom have played some.
But, I'm hoping Quarless will have a big year.

Blog Thoughts: Quarless' numbers are mentioned several times in my book, but his athletic line doesn't begin to mesh with his statistical line. He is long and athletic with soft hands and he NEEDS to become Daryll Clark's security blanket and go-to guy across the middle with a young receiving corps. Mickey Shuler isn't a bad pass catcher, but his seen (in my eyes) as more of a blocking tight end, while Quarless is the one who can stretch the field.

Q. Are you feeling any better after the last two weeks of practice with your offensive line, especially with the second team you have behind it?

I think the offensive line's made great strides. But, until they get in the football game, until they have to make some adjustments...The tough thing about an opening game is you're not quite sure what you're going to see. I think we have a little better feel for what we're going to see from their offense because so many of their kids are back, including the guys that have really run the show. Other than their tailback, who was their leading ground gainer last year, most all their skill people are back.

But, on defense we're not quite sure what we're going to see because there's a lot of new faces that are going to play. Last year they were basically a 3-5. We're not sure they're going to stay with the 3-5 or whether they're going to go to a 4-3. So we've had to do a lot of extra practicing because we're not sure what we're going to get.

So, I think it will be a challenge for the offensive line to make whatever adjustments we're going to have to make because you can't cover all of it. If you try to cover everything that they possibly could do, you'll have a bunch of kids that can't make any progress; they get stymied. But, I think we've made good progress on fundamentals. I think they've got a lot more confidence in themselves. I think they should, if we have a good week of practice this week, they ought to be looking forward to a good challenge.

Blog Thoughts: The two returning offensive lineman are playing new positions. Enough said. Not actually, but Penn State's offensive line -- its play and its growth -- will be discussed in this space ad naseum as the season progresses.

Q. ESPN Classic, they had on the '82 game against Georgia. Do you ever find yourself with your remote looking at some of the older games? Do you learn anything from any of those?

Yeah, the only one I look at is the last part of the (2008) Iowa game. I don't even want to look at that Southern Cal thing (laughter).

No, I don't look at that stuff. I mean, we have all those tapes. I don't have to listen to some guy telling me how the game should be played. I can find out myself. I can back and forth, the whole bit (laughter).

Blog Thoughts: Wanted to include this back-and-forth to show Paterno's personality with the media but also to mention that you can find all you need to know about that 1982 game in my new book, "Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports" in bookstores in several weeks and available on Amazon after Labor Day.

CLICK HERE to read Joe Paterno's news conference in full.

Nittany Lions on SI Cover

2009-08-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

Penn State will have one more thing to deal with as fall practice begins in preparation for the 2009 football season.

The SI jinx.

The Nittany Lions grace the cover of the August 17th issue, with a photo of senior signal-caller Daryll Clark and junior center Stefen Wisniewski. Penn State is on one of four regional covers for Sports Illustrated's College Football Preview.

Mississippi, Oklahoma State and Oregon are the other schools featured on the regional covers.

CLICK HERE for the full report.

Penn State No. 8 to start '09 campaign in USA Today Coaches Poll

2009-08-11T17:20:00.001-07:00

The promise is there.

The USA Today Coaches poll put the Nittany Lions eighth to start the 2009 season, head coach Joe Paterno's 44th at the helm. Penn State won the Big Ten last season and finished in the same position it will start the 2009 campaign.

Where are the other Big Ten notables? Ohio State is sixth and Iowa is 21st, while Michigan State is knocking on the door of the Top 25.

Quarless Named to Mackey Watch List

2009-08-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

I remember reading the press clippings in the Easton Express-Times lamenting Andrew Quarless as a more athletic, truly gifted, Kyle Brady as he finished his high school playing days as a committed Nittany Lion.

On-field disinterest and off-field difficulties both hindered Quarless' progress, but he has time to rewrite his Penn State legacy.

The tight end was named to the preseason Watch List for the 2009 John Mackey Award, a honor given annually to the nation's best tight end.

Quarless is one of six tight ends from the Big Ten among the 30 players on the preseason alert.

Clark on Davey O'Brien Watch List

2009-08-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

Daryll Clark has been Jay Paterno's pet project since the Youngstown, Ohio native stepped foot onto the University Park campus.

The younger Paterno even lobbied his father, and boss, for Clark to receive more snaps under center as a sophomore during Anthony Morelli's disappointing senior season (at least in perception value, in truth -- as told in the book -- some of Morelli's stats were among the best in PSU history).

After an electrifying junior season, Clark has served the notice of not just his quarterbacks coach, but also the nation.

Clark is on the Watch List for the 2009 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award. Who were the last Penn State quarterbacks to take home the award?

Sounds like an entry in Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide To The World of Sports.

Answer: Two, Todd Blackledge (1982) and Kerry Collins (1994).

New Cover for Penn State book

2009-08-11T16:56:00.000-07:00

The book is at the printer...and we here at Nittany Lion Notes are about to embark on a new football season.

Come back DAILY for the latest on the 2009 Penn State football team, and for updates on the history of the program courtesy of my new book -- Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports.

The cover has been re-designed for the book's release. I hope you stay with this blog for insight and information on the 2009 Nittany Lions, book teases and updates.

For the Glory!

Jared Trexler

Penn State not just football

2009-07-01T17:17:00.000-07:00

Mike Poorman concludes his foreword (a preview for blog readers) with highlights about the success of the Penn State football program...in the classroom.

A chapter opening is spent discussing Todd Blackledge's Academic All-American career and numbers tell stories of other PSU football scholars Scott Radecic and Levi Brown to name two.

That's why today's story strikes a chord with the upcoming book. The football team had 46 members earning at least a 3.0 GPA during the Spring 2009 semester. 42 of those players are returning in the fall -- to continue their pursuit of degrees and a second straight Big Ten title.

CLICK HERE for the names and the full article from www.gopsusports.com.

Student Section SOLD OUT

2009-06-30T06:22:00.001-07:00

It's June 30th -- and the student section for the ENTIRE 2009 football season is sold out, meaning two months before the football is put on a tee, every single student ticket is gone.

Do you think the students are excited after a Rose Bowl berth last season and a mid-90s like recruiting class heading into Happy Valley both this season and next (more on that later in the week)?

CLICK HERE to read the entire release.

Kick Times Set for Penn State's First 3 Home Games

2009-06-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

September 5, 2009 at 12:00 pm ET vs. Akron
September 12, 2009 at 12:00 pm ET vs. Syracuse (Syracuse's first visit in 19 years)
September 19, 2009 at 12:00 pm ET vs. Temple (date of 1st Penn State book signing)

CLICK HERE to read the full release

Nittany Lion Notes is on Twitter

2009-06-26T12:27:00.001-07:00

We have entered the age of instantaneous information, as Nittany Lion Notes is now on Twitter! Look up "NittanyNotes" to get the latest breaking news and links on Penn State football, and follow along for all updated book signings, marketing partnerships and more for Penn State Football By The Numbers: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports, due out in August.

Book Signing September 19th!

2009-06-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

The first of hopefully many book signings has been scheduled for Saturday, September 19th from 9 am until kickoff at the Stadium Book Store at Beaver Stadium.

So, before you need into your seats for Penn State's third game of the season against in-state Temple, stop by the Stadium Store, say hello, and get a signed copy of Penn State Football By The Numbers -- the perfect historical perspective on a program rich in history.

More information to come as the date nears.

Penn State Football to Hit Bookstores Soon

2009-06-26T11:22:00.001-07:00

We are back...after well, an extended hiatus. Yet, from here -- through the dog days of summer -- and into and throughout the 2009 football season, this space will be the one-stop place for Penn State news (courtesy of releases from Penn State athletics), opinions and features.

We will also mix in some book news -- including marketing partnernships, book signings, book availability -- etc.

The book was ready for print last November, but in a wise move by the publisher, it was shelved until this season so Penn State fans can gear up for the season with the ultimate historical guide to the storied program's rich history.

FOR THE GLORY. WE ARE PENN STATE.

What is Wrong with Daryll Clark (if anything...)?

2008-11-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

The question bouncing around Nittany Nation after Saturday's 34-7 methodical beatdown of under-manned and overmatched Indiana is, "What is wrong with Daryll Clark?"

To answer the rhetorical plea for assistance, one must play the expectations game -- a particularly fickle roll of the dice for quarterbacks at marquee college programs.

Clark had little expectations entering the 2008 season. Most casual and ardent Penn State fans knew Clark could move in the pocket and run -- thanks to his cameo appearance in the Alamo Bowl victory over Texas A&M.

Many likened his skill set to Michael Robinson, who at least played the position in bits and pieces over his first three seasons (For more on Robinson's plight, read Penn State Football By The Numbers: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports). Like Robinson, Clark was seen to have a strong, if not erratic arm with likely up-and-down results. Most guessed that the learning curve would be steep, but that a soft out-of-conference slate could establish solid footing while a great offensive line and plenty of running back depth was enough to carry the Nittany Lions to a 4-0 start.

The 4-0 start came, and Penn State's front five proved to be as capable as advertised. Yet, Clark played the dynamic lead character in a revitalized offense with a gimmicky yet very uber-cool nickname, "Spread HD," and plenty of points to back up its 21st century transformation.

He led a 66-point assault of Coastal Carolina, completing 11-of-14 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. His offense put 55 points on the scoreboard at the Carrier Dome, as Clark threw for 166 yards and two more touchdowns in a 52-point waxing of Syracuse. Clark threw for 193 yards and two more touchdowns in a 45-3 win over Temple.

Yet, it was the game in-between the Coastal Carolina prep and the Syracuse mismatch that made Nittany Lion fans take notice. A capable Oregon State squad (which now sits just two wins away from a possible Rose Bowl re-match with the Nits) lined up in a regional ABC television encounter to show its mettle against one of the Big Ten's best.

The result: 31-0 before you could blink and 45-14 by the final gun gave the conference some much-needed gusto and again left Clark as the trigger man behind an offensive masterpiece.

After four games, Clark had thrown seven touchdowns to just one interception while leading an offense that was averaging an eye-popping 52.75 points per contest.

The very un-Paterno like numbers continued to the early part of conference play: 38 points against Illinois, 48 in Madison, 46 in a revenge game against Michigan.

Yet, the last three games have made those faithful followers take a step back and reassess. Oregon State has proven to be the only early-season adversary worth its mettle. Michigan is terrible, and Wisconsin and Illinois are vastly overrated.

In his last three games, Clark has thrown just two touchdowns with two interceptions and only about 150 yards through the air on average. Very pedestrian numbers by comparison, but are they more than we expected when the season began?

The expectations game may say, "no." In my view, Clark is a slightly above average passer with good mobility and an above average arm. He is in no way Kerry Collins' clone nor is he the second coming of Matt Senecca.

The slight concussion he suffered against Ohio State may have made him slightly gun-shy in the early moments at Iowa, though a constant 25 mph wind may have played a larger role. His case of fumblitis against the Hoosiers doesn't appear to be cause for concern, as both fumbles were the result of great defensive instincts not the careless ball handling of the runner.

The answer to the question, "What is wrong with Daryll Clark?" is likely "nothing" with the caveat, "because his high-level early play escalated expectations to a level that doesn't match his ability at the present time."

The key to that phrase is the last part. If Daryll Clark manages the game next Saturday, Penn State is headed for the Rose Bowl. And if the Beavers are again across the field, familiarity will likely bred comfort for the signal-caller.

Yet, with a month to practice and prepare, if USC stands on the opposing sidelines we may see telling signs for Clark's future at the position. If he responds with precision and purpose, we may see Penn State's offensive leader in 2009. If not, Joe Paterno or whoever is roaming the sidelines should open up the competition to include Pat Devlin.

If for nothing else, so fickle and loyal Penn State fans can ask this question next season: "What is wrong with Pat Devlin?"

Where Do They Go From Here?

2008-11-13T16:58:00.000-08:00

Sitting against a blowing blast of heat, Derrick Williams wanted to stay warm. And he didn't want to watch.

Standing like a wounded soldier at the front lines of windy, bitter Big Ten afternoon, Daryll Clark had to.

Two men who have been a vital part of Penn State's revitalized Spread HD offense, and an even bigger part of a national story that has brought college football fans to ailing Joe Paterno's doorstep.

One played well (Williams with 53 yards rushing and a score, 43 yards receiving and even 23 yards passing). One played poorly (Clark with just nine completions in 23 attempts, 86 yards passing and an interception that led to his long, slow walk to the front of the firing squad).

And in that moment, as sparsely-used Daniel Murphy trotted onto the stage for his chance at glory, Williams couldn't watch. Clark felt it was his obligation.

Two different decisions made with same emotion: agony. Derrick Williams came to Penn State with this exact scenario in mind. The No. 1 high-school player in the country took a leap of faith and committed to a Penn State program in disarray after three of four losing seasons for one reason.

To deliver Joe Paterno one last national championship.

And it was slipping away. He couldn't watch.

Darryl Clark was a Michael Robinson clone, patiently sitting behind much-maligned signal-caller Anthony Morelli and waiting for his turn. It finally came this season, and Clark made his opening statement to the nation in a scintillating performance against Oregon State (which ended up beating Southern California).

How could a concession speech come so quickly after "Hello, world." He had to watch.

Murphy made the kick. So where do the Nittany Lions go from here?

Scenario #1: Follow the footsteps of the superstar-laden 1999 squad that started the season 9-0 before one Minnesota Hail Mary and subsequent field goal started a three-game skid to end the regular season. That was a Penn State team led on defense by Brandon Short and LaVar Arrington, a team that dismantled Arizona 41-7, found a way to win at Miami and downed Ohio State. Yet, the air of invincibility left after the 24-23 loss to Minnesota (the exact same score as this past Saturday's loss at Iowa). The Nittany Lions lost to Michigan and at Michigan State before a month of mental rehab allowed them to take out their frustrations on Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl. The nation's top-ranked team on the morning on November 6th ended up playing a bowl game during late December in San Antonio.

Scenario #2: The 2005 Nittany Lions started 6-0 with victories over upstarts South Florida and Cincinnati out of the Big Ten and a hard-fought, emotionally-taxing 17-10 home victory over Ohio State. A trip to sweep out the demons at the Big House ended it a horror sequel, as Chad Henne's pass to Mario Manningham as time expired gave Michigan a 27-25 victory. Yet, Michael Robinson wouldn't let the Lions fold. Penn State took out its frustrations in a 52-point thrashing of Illinois one week later and won each of its remaining regular-season contests by nine points of more before a wild 26-23 victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl. One of the nation's top teams on the morning of October 15th ended up with a BCS bowl victory and a third-place finish in the final polls.

Joe Paterno was asked ad naseum which scenario he envisioned for the 2008 Nittany Lions, and his ambiguous response had one loud, clear point. We will see on the field this Saturday.

Good thing Indiana is on the other side.
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Penn State Football By The Numbers...On This Day

2008-11-13T16:40:00.000-08:00

7: The number of tackles (7) recorded by defensive tackle Jared Odrick in last Saturday's deflating 24-23 loss at Iowa. Odrick's seven stops were a career high, and he totaled a pair of sacks as well. The Penn State defense held the Hawkeyes to 272 total yards (101 yards rushing to the vaunted Hawkeyes ground attack) on a bitter, blustery day in Iowa City.

11: The number of consecutive wins (11) for the Nittany Lions against the Hoosiers. In fact, Indiana has never won a game in the series. The two programs are squaring off at Beaver Stadium for the first time since 2003--circa the Antwaan Randle-El years in Bloomington. Penn State took a narrow, 36-31, decision last year and will meet the Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium again in 2009.

60: The number of rushing yards (60) over the 1,000-yard barrier totaled by Evan Royster through 10 games this season. Royster is the 13th Penn State running back to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark with Lenny Moore (1,082 in 1954), John Cappelletti (1,117 in 1972) and Curtis Enis (1,210 yards in 1996) still very much in his sights. Royster is averaging 106 yards per game, which ranks third in the conference and 20th in the nation. The Virginia native has also found paydirt 11 times to date.

80: Penn State's winning percentage (80.0%) in its last fifty overall games. The Nittany Lions have won 40 of those contests, and despite last Saturday's loss, still control their own destiny for a Big Ten championship and a BCS bowl berth.

Joe Paterno's Weekly Press Conference

2008-11-13T11:03:00.000-08:00

Q. Your offense has scored three touchdowns in the last two games. Is that more a reflection of the problems you might have on offense or the strength of the two defenses you've played?
Well, I think it's a combination of both. I don't think we've done a particularly good job when we've had opportunities to score. I think we got a 15 yard penalty when we're 3rd-and-3 and a couple little things we're messing up on. So I think it's a combination of both. I think we...at one time we was probably the best team around in the red zone. Last couple games we've had some troubles. But, I don't think you can take away from the fact that Ohio State is a solid defensive football team and that Iowa played a really good game, well coached game, but it's a combination.

Q. How are Josh Gaines and Drew Astorino? And not having them, what kind of impact does that have on your defense?
Well, I think obviously Gaines might have helped us as far as at the end of the game, get a little bit of pass rush. But I think he's going to be okay. He was in practice yesterday; was on the practice field. And Astorino will be okay. Astorino gives us another player that we can play so that when you go to a nickel scheme, you've got another guy that can make some plays. So that's bothered us a little bit. But he got into the game. He hadn't practiced a lot, so that's the reason why we didn't play him more.

Q. Daryll Clark has been beating himself up pretty good and saying he's not been playing well. I wonder if you could talk about his last two games.
Well, I think he's being too tough on himself. In fact, I told him that yesterday on the practice field. I think he's doing fine. We dropped passes, but we haven't been dropping any passes. That's the other thing when you talk about not being a little more productive offensively. We haven't made a lot of great catches, and we've dropped some catches that would have had an impact on whether we go for a field goal or do we get a touchdown? So, I think he's being too tough on himself.

Q. A lot has been made about how players bounce back from disappointing losses. How do you bounce back from these kind of things?
Well, I don't know. I've always had rubber legs; we'll see. I'm looking forward to getting this thing going again. You know, I've reflected on some of the tough games we've lost through the years. In '82, when we won the National Championship, in the middle of the year we got creamed by Alabama. We blocked our own punt. We had a personal protector back up into the punter, and we lost about 41 to 20; I forget exactly what the score was. And we went on and won the National Championship. In '05 we lost a ballgame on the last play of the game (Michigan). We still came back and had a good year and bounced back. I think you feed on your players, and hopefully they feed on me and our staff. So, I was pleased with the way they came out yesterday. We didn't have any pads on, but we got some things tied down. Maybe I felt after the football game that I hadn't done a particularly good job for them. I think we'll all bounce back.
Q. You just mentioned the 2005 season. You have a decent number of guys who were on the team then that are still around. We saw how that team rallied after the loss in Michigan. How do you think that experience will help this team going forward?
Well, they have to understand that they've had...some of the seniors and some of the kids who we red shirted as freshmen back in '05, those kids have been in three bowls, won three bowls in a row, and if they can pull this off this year, they could win two Big Ten Championships in the four years they were here, which is pretty good. So, I think we're trying to keep things in perspective. It's tough, obviously it's tough to go all the way. There's a lot of football still to be played by a lot of people around the country, and I think we just peck away. We've got to think about Indiana. We've got to make sure we're ready to play Indiana and not dreaming about other things or moaning about things that might have been. And the saddest words of all are, "what might have been," so I think that we'll be okay, I really do.

Q. What have you told your players about 1999, and do you address that, specifically that season, with them?
Well, that was a different kind of cast of characters. We had more superstars. We had the first and second guy drafted in the whole draft, and we just got a little bit...you know, again, that's 1999. To me, that's years ago because there's been so many kids who we have had to work with and play football with. So it's hard for me to remember exactly why we weren't able to get that club to re-group and go on and win some games. But part of it is personality; the people that played were used to doing a lot of big time things and big time players, and I'm not so sure what happened, whether they got distracted by agents calling and all those kinds of things and all that happened. I don't know, and it would be unfair for me to say it was that or what, when I really don't remember. I do know we obviously took a real flop, and we're going to try to prevent that (from happening) again, obviously.

Q. You mentioned just a little bit ago some of the problems on offense that you've had in the red zone and some dropped passes. Did you have any thoughts on maybe why some of those things popped up now in week ten or week nine as opposed to earlier, maybe with practice or anything else?
No, we thought we practiced well last week. I think, you go through a season, and one of the things if you to win them all is tough if you're playing anybody pretty good, and I think you've got to be lucky sometimes when you're not playing particularly well. You get a break here, break there, a good call from the official here, something happens that helps you get through the tough times. Even in '94, we were that close to getting licked, even though we had a really great football team. I think you've just got to say, "hey, forget that one, let's go on and play the next one. " We had kids drop passes Saturday that I haven't seen them drop that many passes in practice and in games combined, and yet in the pre-game warm-up, I talked to the coaches about "does anybody have any reasons why certain things happened," and they were confused because they caught everything in the warm-up before the game. So it's hard to tell, you know. They're human beings and they make mistakes, maybe get a little careless, maybe want to make a big play when you're having troubles. You know, your team is in trouble, and all of a sudden, you're the guy that's going to deliver for them. Those little things, you make it harder on yourself. Even Daryll (Clark). Daryll is making it harder on himself because he's saying, "I should have made this play, should have made that play" and all that stuff. That's not fair. You go and play your game, everybody else plays their game, and hopefully it comes out.

Q. Joe, when Clark was struggling on Saturday, was there any consideration to giving Pat Devlin a series or two?
Yeah, obviously you always think a little bit about that because Pat is a good football player. But you know, I didn't know whether Daryll was struggling or who was struggling. I just don't think that Daryll was that bad. I thought he was playing a pretty good, solid football game. He hadn't thrown an interception until that last one, and that was a tough call. I mean, he had the guy open but it was thrown into the wind. The coaches have to take a little blame for that. But, we were trying to get that ball close enough so we could get a field goal into the wind. As I said, I second guessed myself in the second half. We should have gone the opposite way and played the fourth quarter at the end of the game and gave the ball to Iowa with the wind, and then we would have had the wind the fourth quarter. But, I thought we had pretty good control of the ballgame. In the first half we were the dominant football team. I think we had the ball 23 minutes of the first half, 24 minutes of the first half. So when we had to make a decision at halftime, I said, "we'll be all right, we'll just keep playing our game." Now, if I don't make that decision, who knows what's going to happen? So there are a lot of little things going on.

Q. It looked like Iowa in the second half blitzed a lot more than it had pretty much all season, and that's a week or two weeks after Ohio State did pretty much the same thing, blitzed a lot. Do you think the offense has handled the pressure well, and do you expect to see it to continue?
I thought the worst we were was in the beginning of the game because they put a twist in there and our kids didn't quite we didn't pick it up up front. The blitz didn't hurt us so much. They beat us a couple times up front. I don't think it was the scheme. I think they knew what they were doing; they played some formations, and they reacted well to the ball. No, I don't think it was the blitz scheme. I thought at halftime, we came out and we knew what we wanted to do, and we did a pretty good job that way, but we didn't make any plays. We didn't make a big play when we had to, and when we had the wind in the third quarter, that's the time we should have been able to put it away, but we didn't.

Q. You've had an undefeated team in every decade you've been the head coach there except this one. Is it tougher to go undefeated now as opposed to the '90s, the '80s, the '70s?
I think it is because I think there's more good kids around, there's more parity, and there's more exposure. Kids get to see people play, and they're watching television all the time now. So I think they get more familiar with the kids who are going to play, so I think it is a little tougher.

Q. Can you talk about the weather last Saturday and the impact it may have had on the game and Clark's interception?
I think it may have had a little bit of an impact. It may have taken a ball off on one or two of them. But, I don't think that he's the wind may have had it. And the fact that we've been inside so little. This has been such a mild fall for us. We haven't thrown the ball against the wind. We haven't had a lot of the problems that the weather created for us Saturday. We've handled the noise, but we know we're going to get the noise. We practice three days a week when we're on the road with very loud speakers all over the place. We kind of laugh, but I never thought the other thing was important, but I might be wrong.

Q. After the game on Saturday, you said that regarding the interference call late in the game, you said you were going to send after you looked at the tape you might send something to the Big Ten about it. Did you do that? And having seen the tape, what's your reaction to that call?
I thought it was a bang bang call, and I don't think you could...feel like it was a real bad call. It could have gone either way, obviously. But there were one or two others I thought that we've talked to Dave Parry about. I think the intentional grounding was a tough call when we had the kid trapped and we didn't get the intentional grounding call. There were a couple other things. But you're going to get that, there again, every game. I'm sure they could turn around and look at us, "hey, why didn't they call this one, why didn't they call that one?" But the pass interference, I don't know. That would be a tough call.

Q. Can you talk specifically about Indiana, what they like to do on either side of the ball?
Thank God (laughter). Indiana looks like a very good at times. Other times they've killed themselves. They were moving the ball against Wisconsin in a heck of a football game, and a kid puts the ball on the ground and a Wisconsin kid picks it up and runs it 40, 45 yards and that gets them all out of whack. They hustle. They're in the process of getting better, as a lot of good young teams are. One week they play very, very well, and the next week they play very well in parts of the game. I think they'll be very tough for us. I think everybody will be very tough for us right now. When you get licked, people get encouraged, and I think that Indiana will come in here with a very determined group of kids.

Q. I know you often say that everything that's new is actually old and is just coming back around again. That wild hog formation that Arkansas began running a few years ago with Darren McFadden, it seems like more teams are using that. You had that package in more than ever with Derrick (Williams) this past week. How did that come to be? Was that something that Galen (Hal) said, "let's try to get more touches for Derrick," and is that something we can look to see more of, or at least stay in the game plan for the rest of the season?
Well, part of the reason we did that with Derrick was because we were concerned about Clark having...still had that concussion. He'd be out of so much of the stuff that we have in and really not built for people, made for people who can run. I wouldn't put (Pat) Devlin in a situation where if Clark went down, we'd put him in and we had to run him, so we had that package ready. Devlin is an excellent quarterback, but he's a different style quarterback. He's more...really good touch, good arm, he's smart, but he doesn't give you that other dimension that we were worried about earlier in the year because we weren't quite sure just how strong our offensive line would be against some of the people we had to play. So we drifted away a little bit from that. So there were reasons why we wanted to go to that, but we've done that before. We did that with Morelli. We did that before Arkansas did. We had Morelli as a wideout.

Q. Is that something that everybody says that was an innovation of Houston Nutt, not of Arkansas a couple years ago. Is it something that they were running at Brown or something in like 1940?
Well, yeah, a lot of that stuff, I've told you years ago, many times, in 1944, I was a shotgun tailback, and we never huddled, never huddled. We were spread out and did a lot of the things that people are doing today. But again, I go back to the one premise that I think you've got to always remember is -- you do what you think your kids can do the best, and you don't...it isn't like this bunch of guys can do this as well as this bunch of guys. They might not have the one or two things that this group has that this group doesn't have. So you always try to and injuries have a big bearing on what you want to do. You get a couple kids bumped up and then you want to you've got them at practice the whole week and then play one game. So you're always trying to say, "okay, how do we make up for that?" Well, you make it up with a freshman kid or someone that hasn't played a lot of football. You get a kid like Derrick Williams in a position where he can do something tighter and in together. That might not be necessarily true in what we did for this ballgame, but they're the kind of things that go through a staff when you start getting ready for a game.

Q. You guys script the first ten offensive plays each game. How much are those about kind of exploratory plays to find out what the defense is going to do and how they'll respond to different things you guys do?
Well, we put a script together as you know. We literally program the first 10 or 12 plays. If we're comfortable with 12, we'll put 12 down and we'll work from that script. If we don't have 12 that we're comfortable with, we'll work with 8 to 10 to start the football game. But part of that is to see...we know pretty much what we're going to see this late in the year. So you look at the scheme, you look at the personnel that you're going to play against, and you say, "okay, this should be okay with this most of the time," whatever. And then you try to probe. You put one or two players in that would give you an indication how they're going to play one formation, two or three players are going to play another one, so that you're really building the background for what you may have to do in the clutch when you've really got to put it to them. But, hopefully what you put in early works. And we were fortunate early in the year that the coaches did a great job with the script, and we were good the first half on Saturday. We were not I know we did a pretty good job, going into the wind and the whole bit. We just blew the we came away with three when we should have had at least 17 points instead of nine. That's the way I looked at it.

Q. When can you tell if a team has moved beyond a tough loss, and is it something that's going to show up during the practice sessions or is it something you may not know until the next Saturday?
Probably won't know for sure until next Saturday, but you can kind of get a feel for what they're thinking, the way they react to things, the way they take to coaching, how they...I don't know. You know, when you date a girl and you go home that night, all right, you've got a pretty good idea about your status, you know (laughter)?

Q. You said earlier that you were concerned about Clark, that's why you ran Williams several times. Are you still concerned about that, and will we see more Devlin this week?
I can't tell you right now. Right now the guys are working on how we're going to refine everything. I really don't know what to tell you about that. We've got a couple kids bumped and bruised that I'd rather not talk about because they'll play, but how much they'll get to practice I'm not sure yet, and I think we'll have to play that a little bit by ear. But I know Devlin will get the job done if we decide that. But, we will have to get some other things established because even Saturday when we were in the shotgun, when Williams ran the ball, that was a pretty darned good (touchdown) run. That takes a good runner, not a guy that is an adequate runner. And Devlin may be better than we are giving him credit for running the football. He's really a good football player.

Q. Another one on Clark along those same things. A lot of people thought he would be running the ball a lot this year. He's got 230 yards rushing. I just wonder if concerns for him getting injured, is that a reason why he doesn't run more?
Well, I'm not sure I know what I'm talking about here. But you're absolutely right, we're not running him as much. But when he got banged up, and he runs a tough we were doing very well. You've got to remember, we were averaging 40 something points, and we felt we were all right. And even coming out of Ohio State, I thought we were fine. We played solid, didn't turn the ball over, and no interceptions, and I didn't see any reason for us to do a lot of different kinds of things and particularly expose him to a lot of hits. We didn't think it was necessary to do that. I think now we're probably going to have to drift away a little bit from that, start the guy running the ball a little bit more. That was one of the reasons why Williams was inserted in there as kind of a backup guy.

Q. And to follow that up, if Clark isn't running a lot and you take that away, how much better is he than Devlin?
He's not that much better than Devlin. But I don't want to start moving guys all over the place because we lost a game by one point on the last play of the game. I mean, we just made too many mistakes for me to get in there and say, "hey, we've got to do this for Clark, we've got to do that for Clark." Heck, we let him go down the field...we didn't stop him coming down the field. I worry more about that than I do about anything else really, because the same thing happened to us with Michigan State a year ago.

Q. Have you found yourself dwelling on Iowa a little bit more than usual? Has it been tougher than usual to look ahead to Indiana next week?
Well, I wasn't looking behind as much until I came over here. You guys are talking about Iowa. I'd prefer to talk about Indiana and put it behind us; put Iowa behind us. You don't have the luxury...Saturday night was a tough night for me, no sense kidding you about that. Football games are tough on me these days because you go out there and you get in the cart and you go across the field and the whole bit, and it's all...and then you're back in, and then you take the flight home and all that stuff, and then you get home and you play the game 10 times in your head. So that's tough. You don't get any sleep Saturday night. I've never had trouble sleeping the night before the game, but I've always had trouble sleeping after the game, whether we win or lose. So in that sense it was tough. But Sunday afternoon, you've got to get your head on. I was looking at Indiana Wisconsin TV tape, which we take off the thing (satellite), the TV tape on Sunday morning.

Q. Trying to get the team to keep focused on Indiana, how much of that falls on you and how much of that falls on the players?
Well, I think it falls on everybody, the staff and the players. That's what I said. You can't be...I mean, I can talk, talk, talk, but the players...if you've got a good squad with good leadership, we'll be okay, and I think we do. .Now, that doesn't mean we walk on the field and we beat Indiana, because Indiana will come here ready to win. We're going to have to play well. We're going to have to play better, we're going to have to do a better job coaching, we're going to have to do a lot of things better than we did last week to win. But, I think everybody has got to go to work and say, "hey, let's put that one behind us and go."

Q. Are you sending enough people at the quarterbacks, or are they getting too comfortable back there in some of these games?
We had them running around a little bit. I thought we did that all right. There's a couple change ups we probably could have done. But the trouble is when you've got them in that kind of a situation, you start sending a lot of people, you're going to have to give up somebody in the secondary. And that kid, he did a good job. You get a couple third down passes, you get a couple on the button, but if you start sending people and he gets it away, okay, then they get a run out of it, boom and all they needed was a field goal. That's all. You couldn't say, "okay, well, they've got to score a touchdown; as long as we keep them out of the red zone we're okay." But we couldn't afford that luxury, so then you start to be very careful about putting yourself in a position where you're vulnerable to a big catch or a catch and a run, because if you send them, and you don't get them, there's somebody out there roaming free.

Q. Bani Gbadyu didn't play against Iowa. What's his status? And where is Devon Still at in his rehab?
Still is still not doing anything. He still doesn't suit up for practice. Gbadyu, we took a linebacker out of that game a lot. We played with a lot of nickel. So when the linebacker comes out, you're really only play with two a lot of the times, and Gbadyu is not a first stringer; he's got a couple ahead of him. Now, if you're playing with three linebackers most of the ballgame, then it's a little different ballgame because you want to give them a blow like you do your down guys. So I don't think there was any need to use Gbadyu. He certainly is on the kicking teams and things like that, but he was hurt, he lost some time when he got hurt, fell behind a couple of the guys. He's going to be a good player, but Saturday was not a big day for linebackers because we didn't play with three linebackers a lot of those times.

Q. Indiana has been using two quarterbacks. Are they much different with either one of those guys in the game?
I don't think so. I don't think so. I've got to study what they do with one guy and what they do with the other guy for me to answer that question and know what I'm talking about. It looks like they're pretty well solid. I think they're in the process of building a football team, and they like their personnel and they like some of their skill people, and I think they're in the process of just "let's let them both grow a little bit, and there's certain spots I want to use this one and certain spots I want to use the other one. " I honestly couldn't tell you that. I'm sure the defensive coaches have paid closer attention to it than I am right now. I mean, I've got a good feel for what they want to do. I've looked at their personnel. But if you said to me, "what are they going to do when they get this guy in the game as opposed to this guy in the game?" I'm not ready to answer that yet. Hopefully I could tomorrow.

Q. Deon Butler will break your receptions record with one catch Saturday. Can you just reflect on the career he's had coming on as a walk on and ended up leaving as your school's career receiving leader?
And one of the great people. You know, he had some offers, comes from a wonderful family. The dad and mom made a lot of sacrifices to send him here as a walk on, picked up the bill and the whole bit. He's just..there again, we probably didn't do a good enough job getting him involved in the (Iowa) game. You've got to give Iowa credit because Iowa really was sound. They didn't...we had a tough time making a big play. And it wasn't because we didn't have the right players. A lot of those players had really excellent calls against it, and the formations were really good against the things they had done. If we go one on one, just say, "okay, we use this guy against this thing and put the tight end here," we thought we could do some good things with the tight end going into the football game, and we dropped a couple, a couple big plays. But what do they say, "deal the cards again?" I'm ready to deal.

Royster Named a Doak Walker Semifinalist

2008-11-13T11:01:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of PSU Athletics

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - Penn State sophomore Evan Royster (Fairfax, Va.) has been selected one of 10 semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award, an honor presented annually to the nation's top collegiate running back. The Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors made the announcement.

The Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will narrow the list to three finalists on Monday, Nov. 24. A second subsequent vote by the committee will determine the recipient. The 2008 Doak Walker Award winner be will announced live on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards on Thursday, Dec. 11.

In his first season as a starter, Royster has quickly established himself as one of the nation's most productive runners and a centerpiece to Penn State's potent offensive attack. Gaining 90 hard-fought yards last week against Iowa's highly-ranked defense, Royster became the 12th Nittany Lion to break the 1,000-yard barrier (18 times), finishing the game 1,060 yards.
His 1,060 yards rank 13th on the school season list, with Lenny Moore (1,082 yds, 1954), John Cappelletti (1,117 yds, 1972) and Curtis Enis (1,210 yds, 1996) next. Royster's 106.0 yards per game average ranks him No. 3 in the Big Ten and 20th in the nation. His 6.6 yards per rush average is fourth best in the nation among the nation's top 20 rushers.

Royster gives Penn State a 1,000-yard rusher for the fourth consecutive season and fifth time in the last seven years (four different players).

A hard-nosed and fearless runner, Royster has scored 11 touchdowns. The former Westfield High School football and lacrosse standout ranks 10th in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 6.6 points per game. Royster also has shown the ability to break the big play, as he has delivered 14 of Penn State's 53 plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or longer this season (13 runs, 1 reception). He also has 14 receptions for 121 yards this season.

Royster posted his fifth 100-yard game of the season and contributed one of his finest career performances in Penn State's 46-17 victory over Michigan on Oct. 18. He broke his career-high with 174 yards on 18 carries (9.7). He also made one of the momentum-swinging plays versus the Wolverines, with the Lions trailing 10-0 in the second quarter. Appearing to be stuffed at the line of scrimmage, Royster did a 360-degree spin, found a hole and burst up the middle for a career-long 44-yard scoring run.

Penn State boasts one Doak Walker award winner, Larry Johnson, who earned the honor in 2002. Former Nittany Lions Ki-Jana Carter (1994) and Curtis Enis (1997) were finalists for the prestigious award. Joining Royster as Doak Walker Award semifinalists are: Donald Brown, Connecticut; Glen Coffee, Alabama; Tyrell Fenroy, Louisiana-Lafayette; Shonn Greene, Iowa; Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State; LeSean McCoy, Pittsburgh; Knowshon Moreno, Georgia; Javon Ringer, Michigan State and Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State.

The award is named after three-time SMU All-American running back and 1948 Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker. Later a four-time All-Pro and two-time NFL champion with the Detroit Lions, he is a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. Candidates for the award must be in good academic standing and on schedule to graduate, and have demonstrated leadership, good citizenship and exhibit the characteristics of sportsmanship and fair play associated with Doak Walker.

Coach Joe Paterno's No. 8/7 Nittany Lions (9-1, 5-1) host Indiana on Saturday in the first meeting between the teams in Beaver Stadium since 2003. The contest will kick at 12:00 p.m. and air nationally on the Big Ten Network. The Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com also will air the contest.

Your Re-Introduction with the One Stop PSU Place

2008-11-10T16:13:00.000-08:00

Let me introduce myself -- again.

The final touches of getting a book prepared for print is tedious and time consuming. From last-minute editing changes to index work, the newest novel on Penn State football consistenly was a test in patience.

But it has prevailed. I don't have an official release date yet, but sometime between Thanksgiving and the 1st of December feels like a perfect accurate date.

At that time, the Amazon.com link will cease to exist in this space, although I'm sure you can purchase a cheaper used version if that's what you want to do (fine by me).

It will be replaced by a link directly from our publisher and my bosses at Sports By The Numbers. By purchasing the book at that link, you will not only be purchasing a historical glance at one of college football's predominant programs -- or a great holiday gift -- but you will be donating to THON -- the largest student-run philanthropy in the NATION with proceeds from the 46-hour dance marathon going directly to kids with cancer.

You can make a difference, in fact that will be the name of a campaign I will be running through this blog, and hopefully my Sports By the Numbers friends will pick up on, until February's THON at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center.

The kinks are being worked out, but you will be the first to know.

Until then, this space will be seriously overloaded with Penn State football opinions, press conferences, press releases and the overall state of Nittany Nation -- a somber one I will touch on later this evening.

It also will be the up-to-the-minute look at every radio interview, newspaper article and much more dealing with the book, which you can purchase by clicking on the image to the right.

WE ARE PENN STATE!

What We Learned in Madison

2008-10-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

Penn State is really, really good. And that isn't just the hyperbole of a writer with a certain stake in the Nittany Lions' success over the final two-plus months of the season.

The Nittany Lions dominated in every facet of the game over 60 minutes at Camp Randall as head coach Joe Paterno observed from above his perch in the press box. Ironically enough, Madison was the site of Paterno's leg injury that started his whole discussion about age as it relates to coaching.

Is Paterno still too old to produce? It's a subject ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski delved into in a Monday column and it's a topic of discussion I will offer an opinion on later in the week.

Yet, the proof is in the pudding. The Nittany Lions' depth, once a question at the season's outset, now appears to be one of their strongest assets. The suspensions of Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma allowed Mike Lucian (a converted offensive lineman), Jared Odrick, Aaron Maybin and company to show their mettle. It also saved bumps and bruises on Evans' and Koroma's bodies, keeping them fresh for the rough-and-tumble Big Ten slate.

The wide receiving corps, always thought to be a strength, has lived up to expectations, even with the injury to always-steady Jordan Norwood. Deon Butler has been the homerun hitter, sophomore Graham Zug has served the Ethan Kilmer role (long and lanky with a wide target between the numbers) and Derrick Williams has shown numerous highlight-reel bursts that made him the nation's top high-school star four years ago. Williams' trademark burst is back, and his effect on the special teams game may be even more important than his many contributions to the offense.

Williams returned a punt for a dagger in the second period Saturday, and in the process set the school-record with his fifth special teams touchdown. Sounds like a perfect Sports By the Numbers story, doesn't it?

We can continue to wax poetic on Daryll Clark, who continues to handle adversity with the combination of grace and determination that likens him to Michael Robinson. Clark patiently waited his turn behind much-maligned, and now-graduated Anthony Morelli, much like Robinson played all over the offensive side of the ball as Zack Mills continued to set school records.

You can read about Robinson's perseverance and guiding faith in the Chapter Eight opening of the book (shameless plug).

But back to the task at hand. 48-7. I still can't wrap my head around the physical beatdown the Nits defensive front put on a BIG and bruising offensive front for the Badgers. It is true a one-dimensional Badgers offense did the front five no favors, but the revolving door of strength and speed led by co-Big Ten Player of the Week Maybin (he shared the honor with Clark) was mighty impressive.

It's as deep a defensive line as there is at Alabama or Texas or Oklahoma. And it's a front four that set the tone for the new Spread HD offense, a dynamic return game and the return of Penn State pride.

Paterno may have been firmly planted (safely) above Camp Randall Stadium, but his fingerprints were all over the structure and organization of the Nittany Lions' methodical thrashing on Saturday night.

If Penn State continues to play that sound, that smart, that opportunistic, not even the Buckeyes -- who didn't score an offensive touchdown against a Purdue team that Penn State racked up over 400 total yards against -- will derail the train trip down memory lane.

An 82-year-old head coach, sitting upstairs, back on the national stage. This is Penn State's first 7-0 start since 1999, a team well-chronicled in the book for its quick start and equally quick fall that started at home against Minnesota and ended with an Alamo Bowl-saving victory over Texas A&M.

This Penn State team is really good (I said that earlier). The oddsmakers agree as the early line against Michigan is -24. Over three-touchdown favorites against the Wolverines, even in a transition year for Rich Rodriguez and his new Maize and Blue?

Wow. Penn State must be really good.
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Want to support THON? Have a Penn State loyalist in your life who would love a great football read for the holidays? Purchase Jared Trexler's new Penn State book at Amazon.com.

What the Nation Learned in West Lafeyette

2008-10-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

Penn State's namesake, "Linebacker U" somewhat overshadows the prodigious group of running backs who have lined up in the Nittany Lion backfield through the years.

John Cappelletti. Tony Hunt. Ki-Jana Carter. Curt Warner. Blair Thomas. Charlie Pittman. The list goes on and on...

..and now includes Evan Royster. Purdue played a conservative two-deep scheme on Saturday, refusing to let Penn State's speedy wide receivers behind the defense. The expanded zones, coupled with the defensive linemen playing contain on Daryll Clark, gave Royster an OPPORTUNITY.

Notice the phraseology. An eager, anxious, overzealous, impatient (and all words in-between) running back would have fallen trap to bunched formations and gap-controlled linebackers. But Royster showed off another one of his dynamic traits against the Boilermakers, placing his left hand on the back of a pulling guard and recognizing a hole before hitting it hard.

There is a fine line between tentative and aware. Royster walked the tight rope with great success, recognizing the defensive scheme and using his blockers to his advantage instead of out-running or just plain not using them at all.

The Nittany Lions averaged 5.1 yards per rush, and Royster lost just two yards on 18 total carries. That's the stat line of a smart, judicious runner, a back who realizes his limitations when the big play isn't there.

And that's saying something for a running back who averaged 7.8 yards per carry with a long run of 26 yards. He consistently churned out six, seven and eight-yard carries, plodding behind his big beef up front while avoiding the temptation to BOUNCE a designed inside run to the outside.

Purdue's scheme stuck out the bait, and Royster didn't bite.

That's the sign of maturity. It's the sign of a rapidly growing young man who understands the offense, his role in the game plan and who heaps a tremendous amount of respect on Penn State's best offensive line since 1994.

The defense shined, especially in the secondary against a solid veteran signal-caller in Curtis Painter. Clark was solid, if not spectacular, while again proving that he flees the pocket to pass first, run second.

Yet, the story was in the backfield. And it was a fairy-tale ending.
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DON'T FORGET TO PURCHASE JARED TREXLER'S NEW PENN STATE BOOK. IT IS THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT FOR ANY PENN STATE FAN. SUPPORT THE UNBEATEN NITTANY LIONS AND THON AS WE CONTINUE TO SEARCH FOR A CANCER CURE.

Joe Paterno Weekly Press Conference

2008-10-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

Q. Is it a big adjustment going from playing a finesse team such as Purdue to playing a more physical team such as Wisconsin?
Well, it's a different game, obviously. You expect certain things to be different. It will be a little more smash mouth kind of football, because Wisconsin's a tough football team and prides themselves in their physical toughness. But, I think you've got to line-up properly, and you've got to tackle and you've got to get to the football. You may not have quite as many lineup problems ordinarily, but Wisconsin gives you so many different looks with two or three tight ends that move around and jump around that you really don't get any benefit out of that. So I think it's just a question of mentally. You've got to get ready to get into a tough football game. I don't know. It's football.

Q. Could you give us an update on the health of Mickey Shuler, Andrew Quarless and Jordan Norwood?

Norwood's going to be okay. Quarless and Mickey didn't do much yesterday, but it was only Monday. Today's Tuesday so, I think I'll know more after today. But they both tried to do a couple things (Monday) and I told them just take it easy, don't overdo it. But there's no question Norwood will be okay, unless something happens this week.

Q. Can you give us an update on your health situation? Is your leg feeling any better?

Yeah, it gets a little better. It's up and down. It's one of those things I'm going to have for a while, so I've got to live with it. We'll see by the end of the week whether I feel I can get on the sidelines or coach upstairs. I don't think it's a big concern for the squad. It's not a big concern for me because with the staff we have, as I've said several times, it isn't a big deal. But, you know, I'm going to have to live with it for a couple of weeks, maybe more than that. But, hey, that's why I get that big money (laughter).

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the fact that A.J. Wallace started the last game, and he was on earlier talking about the lingering hamstring problems. Is that all that's kept him out of the starting lineup?

We thought we had three corners coming into the season that had experience, could play and everything else. And when A.J. got hurt, we thought A.J. would play a little bit of offense as well as defense just as we started out with him in mind of doing that as kind of a back up guy to Derrick Williams, in case Derrick got banged up or got tired. Then he (Wallace) got the hamstring pull. So that set him back a little bit. But (Lydell) Sargeant, he (Wallace) and (Tony) Davis, they're three good corners and they all should play, keep them fresh. Nowadays, when you have to be ready for a lot of spread, you need that extra defensive back. We're fortunate that (Drew) Astorino's come through the way he has. That's really given us two extra backs. We've got three inside guys now and three outside guys, which is a big plus for us.

Q. Are you pleased with (Navorro) Bowman handling his responsibilities this year, having to deal with the team and losing his father?

I think so. He's played well. He played Saturday a little banged up, so I think you'd have to say he's done well.

Q. Did you think the spread offense would be as successful so far as it has been? Do you think it can be successful in a place like Camp Randall Stadium?

You guys ask me such hypothetical questions, and I really haven't given much thought to it. I think it can be successful anywhere if you have the right people,in the right places, doing the right things, at the right time, as I've said a thousand times. I think that would be up to their coaches and their coaching staff as to whether their personnel would be better suited to the spread than it is to what they're doing right now. They're playing awfully good football right now. They lost two tough games that they let slip away from them against two good football teams. I don't know whether they'd even be interested in talking about the spread. It depends. We've gotten a little bit more of it. Not quite as much as some of these other people because we have a quarterback that can run and some of the things that he can do from the spread are suited for him.

Q. We saw Chaz Powell back there on one of the kickoff returns this past weekend. Should we expect to see more of him in that position? What do you think about what he can do for you?

I would hope we see more and more of Chaz as the season goes on. Chaz has not been a really confident kid, particularly since we've made him a wideout, and he played defense last year. We moved him over to back up (wideout), doing some of the things that Derrick Williams does as we thought we would do with A.J. But when A.J. got hurt, we switched over to Powell. I think he should be playing more and more. He's potentially a very good football player. He doesn't have quite the little confidence or the concentration he needs, but he is only a redshirt freshman. We're asking him to do a lot of things he's not done before. So I think he'll get better and better as the season goes along, and hopefully we'll get more and more out of him.

Q. What are the advantages and disadvantages to coaching upstairs as opposed to down on the sidelines? Actually, as far as making a significant contribution to the strategy side and on the tactical side, you're better off upstairs. You can see more. You can get, as long as we have the kind of communications we have now, you can I can talk to everybody on the sideline with the one microphone and the one set of ear phones, and they can all talk to me. So I think that's an advantage. But the disadvantage is you like to be on the field. You like to be down there, get a feel for what's going on. If somebody's gotten a little bit out of whack and you want to sit them down and say, "come on, forget that last one, let's do this one," and so forth. But there again, I know you guys say, "here he goes again," but I've got to go back to the fact that we have a coaching staff that's very, very sensitive to all the things that I should be sensitive to. I think they do a good job. If a kid doesn't get in as much or he makes a mistake, they kind of encourage him, bring him along and say, "let's get on with the next one." So, I don't think there's as much of a disadvantage of being upstairs. If I said to you, "depending on the people downstairs running the show for you," it might be an advantage.

Q. Can you talk about the defensive line and the injuries and suspensions the first half of the season? And do you think Wisconsin's line is going to be their biggest test of the season so far?

I think so. Although, I think Oregon State was a little better football team than I think we thought they were. I think this will be a real physical test for it (PSU defensive line). No question about it. Wisconsin is a very big, strong, well organized, precise, experienced offensive football team with a dynamic kid running the quarterback spot. He doesn't have the stats that a lot of these other quarterbacks have, but he really is a cocky kid and he plays well. He plays like a coach's kind of quarterback.Obviously, they've got great backs. At least three great backs and a big, strong fullback about 260 (pounds), I think, who knocks people back. It will be a challenge for the whole defensive football team, not just the down guys.

Q. Daryll Clark earlier today was talking about facing the Wisconsin linebackers. Did you see any of their game against Ohio State over the weekend? And what did you think of how they played and neutralized Terrell Pryor in that game?

I saw the whole game. I've seen the whole game twice, both on television and on tapes because we get the tapes on Sunday night. I think the Wisconsin linebackers can run. Both 11 (DeAndre Levy) and 2 (Jonathan Casillas), are fine outside guys and the guy inside (Jaevery McFadden) is a tough son of a gun. And I think they did a good job with Pryor. I thought they did a good job in both games. They let Michigan off the hook, and I think they let Ohio State off the hook. I think they had that game in pretty good shape. One or two mistakes here, and Pryor is a kid with a lot of ability who made a couple of tough plays for Ohio State and got them back in the ballgame.
Q. After what's happened with Wisconsin the last couple of weeks, if you wanted to sort of psycho analyze their team, you would say maybe that could be devastating to them or maybe it could be the kind of thing that will have them backs to the wall and come out really fighting. What is your instinct and your experience? What is your guess about what kind of temperature they'll have on Saturday? You know, I have enough trouble coaching my own team without trying to coach somebody else's team. But, you're not playing some people that are aren't used to winning. You're not playing people that don't have a great tradition, don't have a lot of pride. Certainly as they look at the tapes of the two last two games they're saying to themselves, "Boy, we could have had both of those games. Let's see if we can make up for it." You're talking about kids that are good football players, representing a great school, great tradition who are well coached. They're going to come out and play. They're going to play their game, I would think. I can't believe anything else. But it's up to us to go out and play the best we know how to play and see which team is the better team, period. That's why we play.

Q. Some of your players placed the blame for some missed opportunities on third down last Saturday to the poor footing on the field. Is that what you saw? Poor footing?

You can blame it on everything, you know. I was just telling the coaches this morning in the old days we had a guy around here by the name of Frank Patrick who coached the backs. He had played at Pitt, played on some of the great Jock Sutherland teams. Every time a kid slipped he'd say, "Don't cut on the inside foot. Don't cut on the inside foot." I can still hear him yelling it, "Don't cut on the inside foot." Sometimes young backs get excited and a little too cocky. I don't know whether it was the field, I really don't. Because they (Purdue) didn't slip. I think we were maybe in a hurry to make a cut and (didn't have) good balance, didn't make the cuts. I can't really tell you. You can't tell that from the tapes.

Q. The way that the Badgers use Travis Beckum, who is healthy now, is it almost like another running back?

I mean they pound away with Clay and Hill. Yeah, I think that they'll be close. I think they use Beckum really well. They use his talents. He's a big enough guy that he can cut off blocks on the back side and take an elite block with them. He's probably a 235 pounder, maybe bigger than that. He's got nice hands, can catch the ball well and runs when he catches it. So they're trying to get him the football as a receiver. They want to get him in the football game where he can block and help with their running game, so they can't keep sticking nickels in there on him. He's not a guy that can go in there and play with a 175 or 180 pound corner on him. He's big, he can run, he can block. He's not a wideout. He's good enough to be a wideout, but they're not playing him as a wideout. They're playing him as a wideout-tight end.

Q. It was two years ago at Wisconsin that you got the broken leg. How much did that individual play kind of change your life from that point until now?

Well, I don't think it's changed my life in a dramatic way. I think it's obviously made it a little more difficult to do some things I used to enjoy doing. But that wasn't the result of the broken leg. My (left) knee is fine. Dr. Sebastianelli did a great job with that. I don't have any problems with my left leg, it's my right leg. That's because I tried to overdo some things and it was poor judgment on my side without consulting with some people about how much I could put on my right leg. But that part's changed me a little. I can't walk like I used to walk all the time. I used to love to get up and walk five, six miles. But I can't do that and still go out and go to practice for a couple hours. It just wears down on me. But what I have can be fixed, so we'll work on it.

Q. Question about Evan Royster. When he came here you said you liked the fact that he was a lacrosse player when you were recruiting him. What was most attractive about his lacrosse background?

I never saw him play lacrosse. I couldn't really tell you. But I know what it takes to be a good lacrosse player. He was one of the better lacrosse players in the state of Virginia that has good high school lacrosse, and he may have been the best high school lacrosse player (in Virginia). But he's bright, and he's an excellent student. I saw some pictures (tape) of him with the football. He's got good hands. Could change directions, had good sight, could see things. He looked like he was going to be a good football player, a good running back. If he hadn't been a good running back, we felt he could have been a good corner.

Q. If he wanted to, would you consider letting him (Evan Royster) play on the Lacrosse team?

It depends. We've had other kids play lacrosse, other kids play baseball, other kids went out for track. I don't see any reason why he couldn't. It depends on his grades. Depends on where he is depth wise and how far along he is in his development as a football player. There are a lot of things that would go in to it.

Q. I know you've said you've taken week by week off on the sideline. But has this injury affected your thinking about your future after this season?

No, it really hasn't. I don't know. It hasn't, let me just leave it at that. It really hasn't.

Q. There's been a lot of comparisons to this year's squad to '05. Does this year's team remind you of 2005 at all?

Well, I think we've got to play a couple more tough games before you can compare them. (The ) 2005 (team) was three seconds away from playing for all the marbles and won a couple of tough games. We've got to play a couple more football games before I ...they can do a lot of things that the '05 team could do. But to put them (lifts hands) one's here, and one's here, one's like this, I don't know. I just think we've got a good young squad and we've got to just keep plugging away.

Q. If you could, one more mobility question. You used to put a lot of stock in walking through the team at the beginning of the game. How much do you miss that and how have you been able to replace that somehow, that interaction?

I try to spend a little more time in the locker room with them; walk around in the locker room during the week. I have a motor cart they drive me around in now (at practice). In fact, I can harass them more now than I did when I could walk. I can get there faster. Though, I have a lousy driver. He's going to put me in the wall one of these days (laughter).But, I miss running out on the field. I would be dishonest if I told you (otherwise). I used to love to get out there and the crowd fired me up and the whole bit. But there are a lot worse things that can happen to you.

Q. It's the mid point of the season. I'm wondering if you can assess the progress of your defense. What areas need to be improved on most? What are you most pleased with?

I think we're playing good, solid defense. You consider the injuries we've had up front, the people we lost for games and people we lost for the season that we could have had, and as I said, some really good prospects that have been hurt. I think they've done very well. People don't realize, but Purdue played a heck of a game against us. I think they had one penalty. No turnovers. They didn't give us anything easy. Our guys just hung in there and played them tough. One big pass was about the only play they were really out of position on. The kid made a great catch out of it. So, I think we've played good, solid defense. I really do. I think some of these guys that came back, both (Abe) Koroma and (Maurice) Evans will help us, particularly in a game like this where you've got to have more than a couple of (down) guys at a time in there. I mean, you've got to substitute for them, because they'll wear you down. So, I think that this (week) will be a challenge. I think most of the teams we've played, we've measured up to and could handle what they were doing. This is a little different. We're in a little different situation this week. It will be interesting to see how we handle it.

Q. Any areas specifically where you'd like to see more improvement?

I'd like to see them fluid everywhere all the time. I wish we could have come up with a couple more interceptions in the first games when we had a shot at it. But we weren't confident enough to go in there and grab the ball and knocked it away. Every once in a while we go around a block, which you've got to expect. But I think we're getting there.

Q. After talking to a lot of your players, it seems like you have a lot of thoughtful, very intelligent guys on this year's team. How does that make your job easier? What is the advantage of having so many guys who are of that caliber on the team?

Well, I think with all the things you said comes a little sense of pride of who they are, what they are, and what they can do with their lives. Football is a very big part of it right now for them, and they want to do well in it. They feel an obligation to their teammates. So it's easy to sit them down as a group or sit them down individually and talk to them about what they can do with their lives and how they can affect other people because of what they have going for them and how they're coming together and what we can do as a team. Sometimes you get kids that just don't understand that. They won't buy into it. They're used to being the big shot, the hot shots, they don't want to think about what they've got to do for other people. They're only interested in what's going to happen to them. So it is a lot easier. I've said this. They've been a good team. It's been a good group of guys to be around. I really have enjoyed this team.

Q. You've been able to change up the offense, and give the defense a different look every week. How much of is that is having trust in the offensive line to be in the right spot and make the right block?

Well, I trust in the offensive line, but I also trust in Bill Kenney and Dick Anderson. I think that Galen (Hall) is the organizer, but those two guys have to go out there and make sure they (O-Line) adjust to different stunts, give them the right drills to handle stunts. Give them enough situations to where they get to recognize what looks they're going to have to block. They've worked hard. It's a pretty good line right now. I don't think what we have to do, anybody else doesn't have to do. I think every good football team every week has to make some of those adjustments.

Q. A follow up to the offensive line. Wisconsin has five seniors and two juniors in their front seven defensively. What do they do well with their experience?

They come off the ball and knock your jock off. They don't make mistakes, all right?They're just a good football team. Good football. If the guys you're talking about, the seniors and two juniors, they're all very big, strong guys. They're not flopping around out there. They're not big, strong fat guys. They're big, strong guys who are good athletes and agile. They adjust well. They combo block you well. They're tough to get around on pass protection. They're just they're good.

Q. Will this be your offensive line's toughest test (so far)?

Yeah, I think so. They're going to play eight guys in a box. They're going to stop your run. They've got good corners. That number 17 (Allen Langford) is a heck of a football player. Number 25 (Shane Carter), their safety is really a big time safety. As I said, they've got three good linebackers. So I think it will be a test for us to be able to move the ball.

Q. I know you had a tough trip to Madison two years ago. But is this a trip you enjoy seeing their passion for college football and everything around Madison on game day?

I had a lot of fun going out, didn't enjoy it coming home (in 2006). I think it's a great place to play a football game. I hate to get down into some of these things that take away from the fact that there are two good football teams that are going to go out. It sounds cornball when I start to say it. I sometimes back away from it. They're going to go out there before a great stadium, a great crowd, very enthusiastic, very partisan. And I mean, if you don't like that, why do you come to a place like Penn State? So I think it should be a fun Saturday for a kid 18, 19, 20, 21, going against good football players on national television at night. The whole bit. You dream about those things when you're 14 or 15 years old. So now they have an opportunity, and I think it should be a heck of a night.

Q. When you look at your defensive line, you had essentially three ends in (Aaron) Maybin, (Maurice) Evans and (Josh) Gaines, do you want to just get the best players on the field? And if that means putting Gaines inside, how much of that comes into play just making sure you have your best players out there?

I don't think can you do that with defensive lines today because of how much effort it takes to rush the passer and how strong you have to be play after play. You play against a 340 pounder, 330 pounder and you're a guy like Gaines at 265 pounds, unless you've got somebody behind him, they're going to wear you down. So we've really got to have three or four guys inside, and three or four guys outside, because otherwise you can't hold it up. In the fourth quarter, they'll kill you.

Q. (Mickey) Shuler -- is it the ankle that bothered him earlier this season?

Yes, it's the same one.

Q. Will (Andrew) Szczerba go in their place then?

Szczerba would play. And (Greg) Miskinis, who is a kid from down the road here (Lewistown).

Pregame Prep and Book Preview

2008-09-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

Joe Paterno, if you read his Tuesday media transcript below, loves Adam DiMechele. He recruited the talented quarterback, but discovered DiMechele's first love (baseball) would push the youngster south.

When DiMechele decided to again pursue college football, Penn State's quarterback stock was full. Still, Paterno heaped nothing but praise on the Temple signal-caller, and rightfully so.

He isn't over tall (6-foot-1) or big (202), but he's athletic (signed a baseball contract to play with the Toronto Blue Jays) and savvy. DiMechele rarely hurts himself, makes intelligent reads and leads his experienced offense by example.

That sounds a lot like his head coach, Al Golden, the captain of Joe Paterno's 1991 Nittany Lions. Another player on that '91 squad, Mark D'Onofrio, is Golden's assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.

This marks Golden's first trip back to Beaver Stadium in a playing or coaching capacity since his playing days. Matt Rhule, a member of that same Penn State team and a State High alum, is another member of Golden's staff.

It's a family affair, until the whistle blows and Penn State's speed and strength on both sides of the football wear down a game Owls squad over 60 minutes. I expect the game to remain close early -- maybe even a seven-point lead or so at halftime -- before the Nittany Lions put on the burners in the third and wear down the Owls over the final 15 minutes.

Prediction: Penn State 31, Temple 13

To celebrate this family reunion, I include an excerpt or two from the upcoming PSU book:

45: The number of points (45) Penn State scored in a victory over Temple in the first night game at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions won the season opener, 45-15, on September 6, 1986 behind four total touchdowns from John Shaffer.

803: The month and year (8, '03) that Penn State opened their season against Temple. The August 30th match-up was televised by ESPN Plus and another 101,553 PSU crazies watched the game from University Park as the Lions beat the Owls, 23-10.

Chapter 10: Linebacker U's Never-Ending Story

"The star-studded list of famous ‘backers extends longer than the line at the Waffle House on a weekend morning (really, really long). LaVar Arrington was a two-time All-American with a vertical leap on full display during a highlight reel play against Illinois in 1998. Brandon Short was the substance to Arrington’s style, manning the middle of Penn State’s defense for three of his four seasons. Brian Gelzheiser and Mark D’Onofrio were steady stalwarts, while Andre Collins, Trey Bauer, and Shane Conlan were All-Americans and national champions."

Joe Paterno Press Conference

2008-09-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

Q. Can you compare this Temple team to the last two Temple teams that your team has seen?

This is the best Temple team I think I've seen in a while. We played them early when I first came here when [John] Rogers was coaching down there, and when Wayne Hardin was there. They should have beaten us one time down in Philadelphia when Wayne punted the ball every down almost. But this will be the best team we've played so far this year. They're experienced and extremely well coached by Al Golden and a couple other Penn Staters on that staff. They're disciplined and they do a lot of really good things. Nothing fancy. They have a heck of a quarterback (Adam DiMichele). That kid had committed to us, and then he wanted to play baseball. He went someplace down south. I'm not sure where he went, but he's a really good quarterback. This will be a really good football team on Saturday. When I say really good, I mean solid and in the right position and not going to beat themselves, that kind of thing.

Q. Could you evaluate Jared Odrick's play at the tackle spot through three games? And I was also wondering if you're concerned at all about freshman Brandon Ware's weight?

Well, the second part is easy. Yes, I'm concerned; concerned for his own health and everything else. He's almost 370 pounds and he ought to be about 325 or 330 pounds. He has a tough time losing weight. He went down to 361 and he was very proud of himself. We keep urging him to go further. He goes up and down, so I am concerned about that. I think he could be a really good football player, but irrespective of that, he's going to have a problem the rest of his life if he doesn't start to get control of his weight. Jared has played very well. He's a very, very good athlete for a man his size. He doesn't have quite the stamina that you would like for him to have at this stage, but that's because he's lost so much practice time because of injuries. But he's doing very, very well.

Q. I was just wondering if you're getting a handle on your team yet and how good you think you can be?

I don't really know yet. I hate to be evasive, but everything has gone our way so far, so you like to think you're pretty good. But until we get into a good football game where we can't get some easy ones...and that's what I think we're going to find Saturday against Temple. They'll make us earn everything, because they line up properly and hustle, they do all the fundamentals well and tackle well, and they catch the ball. They're experienced. I think at least 20 of the 22 kids played against us last year. I think you've got to go step by step from now on in. I think we're going to have to earn everything we get. Not that we haven't earned it. I don't want take anything away from the kids that made the big plays for us, because that's not fair. But still, it was a little easier than it's going to be. I hate to say, "Hey, this is good, that's good." Let's see what happens in the next weeks.

Q. You referred to Adam DiMichele, the quarterback from Temple, earlier. How does he stack up against the quarterbacks you've played so far this year?

It looks like he has to pretty much do it all for Temple's offense. Well, he's the leader. He's the guy that runs the show. He makes the plays. He creates the tempo of the ballgame. The kid from Oregon State didn't have much of a chance to do much, but he would be the best I think we've played so far. In fact, I know he's the best we've played so far. But there again, what you give to one, you take away from the other. The other kids that we played that I thought were pretty good, really didn't have much of a chance to do anything. They were down so far so quickly. But this kid is a good football player. I liked him in high school. I don't know how many football scholarship offers he had. I watched him play football, I watched him play some basketball, and I said, "let's go get him." He's also a good student. I would probably have to say he's the best we have played so far.

Q. Is it a concern that any of your starters haven't had to play a full four quarters yet, or do you prefer they're not getting banged up already?

Earlier in the year when we were talking, I said I was concerned about depth in certain spots. I wasn't quite as concerned about depth on defense. Maybe in the secondary, but up front, I wasn't. All of a sudden we lost (Jerome) Hayes and we lost (Devon) Still. We had to do some things with a couple of kids who were a little bit out of line. Our line depth, is the one place that bothers me the most because of the way the game is played today. Your down guys have got to constantly keep pressure both on the run and the pass. They've got to put their ears back and go on every play. They've got to chase people and do a lot of things over and over again. So if you watch, and Larry Johnson does a great job, the substitution pattern that we have, you don't see a lot of substitutions except on the defensive line. Now, the wideouts, maybe when we go from two wideouts to three wideouts, and at times we will play with four wideouts. But we're moving the down guys in and out of there. I don't think we'll ever get to the point where we want to play one set of down guys. We are pretty much comfortable we could do that with the rest of the team.

Q. I'm sure you've seen it before, but what are some the characteristics of a team that's looking ahead, and what do you do this week that if you see those things you can put a stop to them pretty quick?

Well, talk, rant, and rave, that's what you do, and threaten. You can't. I've been pleased with the attitude of this football team. I think they have been all business. I'll be surprised if after they look at tapes of Temple that they would be careless with them. I think if they look at tapes of the way Temple plays and the way they hustle and the things that I mentioned that they do well, I think they'll be ready to play.

Q. Do you have any more of a feel yet for how serious Mike Lucian's injury might be? And also, as to whether Evans and Koroma could practice, if not play this week?

I don't want to talk about the second part of your question because it's not going to be helpful any way I answer it. But I think Lucian has got a chance. He didn't practice yesterday, but he's going to try to do a couple things today.

Q. What did you think of the way he (Lucian) did play on Saturday?

I thought he did very well for a guy that had only been there a little bit. But he had played defense in other years. He likes defense and he's a smart kid and a smart football player. He picked up things very well, so I thought he did well.

Q. You've had a number of players or assistants that have gone on to be head coaches with Al Golden being one of them. Having coached against some of them, do you see any similarities in the way they coach to maybe the way you coached them or coached alongside them?

Well, I don't think that would be fair to Al. To be fair, Al has always been a bright guy and he was always independent. I think he's going coach the way Al Golden should coach, not the way Al Golden thinks Joe Paterno would coach his team. I think Al is fine. I don't see any similarity in the way he coaches and the way I coach. I think it's a good thing for Temple.

Q. Do you take any extra pride when a guy like Josh Hull (former walk-on) becomes a starter and an important contributor on defense, too?

I think if I were him and I came into a situation where I started almost at the bottom of the pack and worked my way up to where I am one of the leaders of a pretty good football team, I think I would take a lot of pride in that. Plus, the fact he's an engineer, an excellent student, and handles it all together. I think he should be able to walk away from college football and college feeling very good about himself, because he's earned it.

Q. Along the lines of coaching against former assistants, how do you prepare for that mentally knowing that you once coached this guy and you have to now line up against him on the opposite sideline?

I don't really think we look at that and say, "We're coaching against that coach or coaching against this coach." You get into that and you get yourself all fouled up. You've got to look at the players you're coaching against and you've got to look at match-ups. You've got to look at whatever style of play that they've showed on the field. Not necessarily what you think might be behind this or try to read a motive in or something else. I think you look at what you can be sure about, and you can be sure about the players that are going to play the game. With all the tapes we have now and it's not a question of looking at them for one week, you're looking at them all summer and in the spring. You look at what the schemes are, what they want to do offensively, what they want to so on defense, what's their third down tendencies, those kinds of things. You don't say, "Well, what's he doing? Where is the coach? What's he doing?" Maybe some other people do, but that's never been the way we've done it.

Q. On Saturday you were able to get Pat Devlin in the game pretty early, and he immediately had success and took the team right down the field. What do you think that may have meant for his psyche in terms of the kind of kid he is?

You don't know Pat, do you? Pat's a very positive and very confident quarterback. He's a good quarterback. You've got to remember how much success he had in high school. He's been doing really well in practice. I said to them before the ballgame that I was going to get Pat some minutes and that it was not going to be a reflection of whether Daryll was playing well or not playing well. I just think that Devlin is a guy that can play. As I've said, I'm repeating myself, we have three good quarterbacks. We could win with any one of the three. And I thought Paul (Cianciolo) did a good job when he was in there. So I wanted to play Pat, and I made up my mind after Wednesday, after watching practice, that I was going to play him. When I was going to play him, in the back of my head I was hoping I could play him in the second quarter, and it worked out fine.

Q. Deon Butler said earlier today one of the advantages of the lopsided wins is that the starters are very fresh because they aren't playing deep into the second half. Do you see it that way?

I think they should be. It's a luxury if you can give people a break and have them ready. My only concern with the amount of time they're playing, is that this is ordinarily when you would play your team into shape. They could get into the game and play 65-70 plays maybe. Our offensive line played a lot of plays last week. You've got to be careful that when they don't do that, that you don't go out and start practicing and try to make up for it by saying, "We've got to condition them. They didn't get enough plays or they didn't do this." Then you end up with a tired football team going into the next week. So there again, it's a little tricky. But, obviously you should be ready to go in the fourth quarter if you only play two quarters and you sit around in the third quarter and something happens in the fourth quarter.

Q. Some of the players have said that the preparations every week are the same regardless of whether you're going to play Coastal Carolina or Temple or Ohio State. That sounds like the right way to go, but these are kids and human beings. Is it possible to keep the motivation level the same on a week to week basis?

I think so. The fact that we have a procedure -- Monday we do this, Tuesday this, Wednesday this, Thursday -- I think it's good, because kids can anticipate it and you don't have to spend a lot time on the practice field. One thing I've said many, many times, is the worst thing you do is waste their time on the practice field. That's when they get bored. Each week is a little different. Not the procedure, but the organization of the practice will be the same. We'll say we're going to go 12 minutes to "teach run" to the players, but the defenses that they're going to face will be different. Maybe not completely different, but there will be some defenses that are different, so they have to get themselves ready for that. That's a challenge.But you don't want to go out there and spend 22 minutes "teaching run" when you only need 12 because you've got a bunch of kids that have gone through it and know how to do it and have done it. You get in there and have a little fun with them and do it and get them out of there. So that's not a very clear explanation, but I don't think that's a problem.

Q. How important have Williams and Butler and Norwood been to the success the last couple years?

They're big. I said two things (in 2004). I said I had a great coaching staff, and I said that we had to get one or two guys. (Deon) Butler was not one of the two guys, neither was (Jordan) Norwood. Butler was a walk on. Norwood, I don't think he had another Division I-A scholarship (offer). I liked Norwood because I knew the family and because I watched him on television be part of the State High basketball team, and I've seen some things on tape on a football field. I said, "He's a player." I don't know what, maybe a corner or something. Williams and Justin King were the two guys that gave us the impetus. One guy, Derrick Williams, called attention to the fact that where were not going to...we still had some prospects as far as being a good football team. And King was the say same way. They were two of the most sought after kids in the country. But there's no question that the end result with Norwood, Butler and Williams and a couple other kids made a great big difference in the program, because we made some plays. Nobody gives Mike Robinson the credit he should have got. I think he had a heck of a year (in 2005). He was the outstanding player in the Big Ten the next year, 2005. I kept saying, "we've got to get a quarterback." And Jay Paterno said, "we're okay." I was not a big Robinson guy (as a quarterback in 2004). So, it was a combination of things. But you knew you were a spark away from being pretty good. But those three kids, obviously. They're awfully good.

Q. You described the quarterback situation as a fluid situation at the start of the year. Would you still describe it that way?

There again, I hate to say something that I'm not sure about. I don't know what I'm going to do yet. I felt after Wednesday and looking at enough tapes that I wanted to get Devlin in the football game. And if I could, I wanted to get Paul in the game. We've had one practice this week. I've got to get a better feel for it. And I haven't had enough time to look at Temple tapes to get a really very confident opinion of what we should do yet. I know you guys think I'm being evasive, but I don't know sometimes. I don't like to tie myself down to something when I don't have to. I'm not ready to say we're going to go with a quarterback. If the three quarterbacks came in and asked me the same question, I would say, "let's have a good week at practice and we'll talk about it later in the week."

Q. What's the strategy behind sometimes you'll have Derrick Williams back returning punts, but deep in your own territory you'll have Scirrotto. What's the strategy behind that?

Williams was hurt a little bit Saturday, and Scirrotto has been, until that bad play Saturday, a very sure handed guy. (Scirrotto is deep if) It doesn't look like you're in a return situation, field position and things like that. Maybe to give Williams a little blow once in a while, we'll leave Scirrotto in there. If we get into a situation where we're not quite sure where they're going to punt it, they're kicking the ball from their own 45 let's say, you're not sure what's going to happen. So, I like a guy back there because they may throw the ball, fake the punt. Michigan State really beat us on a fake punt last year. You're trying to get the best people in there for the situation, and Scirrotto obviously, being a defensive safety, would be better at reacting to passes and things like that. Plus, he has good hands.

Q. Given that he fumbled a couple times, is there any thought about making a change there? Having Williams back, or someone else?

We haven't talked about that yet, but I would doubt if we would make a change. Remember, underline doubt.

Q. What's your philosophy on when you have a big lead and that kind of thing?

Field position obviously has a lot to do with it. As I recall, Syracuse had the ball inside their own 30-yard line. If they had made one or two first downs we wouldn't have called timeout because they would have obviously had an opportunity to make a drive. But once we had them, and, in fact, I think that third down play was a pass, we stopped the clock. We still had a couple timeouts left, and we had enough time to take it down the field. We did, and we got the field goal. I call the timeouts in that situation. The official is right there. If I'm not right next to the official I yell at (Tom) Bradley, "get the timeout!" and Tom will call a timeout because you can make a mistake. You know, it's bang, bang, bang. I can't tell you exactly what we would do every time. Once we get them in the position where we have enough timeouts, that if you get the ball back in decent field position, all right, even if you don't have any timeouts left.If we had used all three timeouts and they punted the ball, I think we would have 50 something seconds as I recall. And we were moving the ball pretty well. We've spent a lot of time in that situation as far as two minute drills. I would have done the same thing: make them kick it. We might have blocked it and we might have run it back.If they didn't make a first down, I wasn't going to let them get up the field with no time left in the game.

Q. Do you have any memories of Al Golden, Mark D'Onofrio and Matt Rhule when they were here?

Not too much of Matt because he was never a real strong player. Al was captain of our team in 1990 (1991), I think. And do I have recollection of D'Onofrio? Do you have two hours and can we get the ladies out of here so I can use some language? Firey guy. Firey guy, Mark. Good kid. You hope things go well for them. Not this Saturday, but they've had tough losses. In that Connecticut game, they kicked the ball down to the one or two yard line and got a bad call. Connecticut isn't a bad football team. People don't realize that. Connecticut beat Virginia 45-10 on Saturday. And Buffalo is a good football team. We played Buffalo last year, so we know their personnel. Pitt had their hands full with Buffalo. That Hail Mary beat them. No, they're doing a good job. I'm pleased.

Q. I was wondering what your thoughts were on President Spanier's decision to invite Michael Madeira to speak to a group of about 200 freshman athletes about staying out of trouble off the field?

Well, he's the president of the university. He's got to be concerned about everything. If he feels that maybe there is something that ought to be addressed, I think he should do it. I don't know what was said or done and why. I don't even know if there were any football players in there. They probably were invited, but I'm not sure they were there because we were practicing. He's got a responsibility to the community and a responsibility to the university. He's got a responsibility to the townspeople. If he felt that that would be a good move to get Madeira to talk with them, I think that's his call.

Q. Could you assess the progress of your linebackers, especially Navorro Bowman and Bani Gbadyu?

Again, I go back to the coaching staff. Ron Vanderlinden is doing a really good job with them, because he has done it since he's been here. Bowman and Gbadyu are both really good athletes. They're not quite as comfortable, Bowman more than so than Gbadyu, about a whole a lot of things they may or may not see for the first time. But they're tough and they can run. They've got to have a little bit more anticipation of what's going to come from a certain offensive set so they can play just a step faster. We've got some other kids that are going to be good players. The local kids (Josh Hull and Nate Stupar) are going to be good football players. I think this is the best (Tyrell) Sales has ever played.I think it's a good group. The two kids you mentioned have potential all ahead of them. They're not anywhere as good as they're going to be.

Q. I wanted to ask you about something that's rarely brought up: long snapping. How tough is it to find kids that can do that?

Is it tough to find guys that can do that? Because most people really don't want to see to get their head caved in. I think most people don't want to get their heads caved in, even coaches, verbally or physically. I think that's really a good question, because sometimes you don't have one (long snapper) and you've got to make one. The kickers and the quarterbacks and the centers go out 15 minutes ahead of everybody (at practice). There'll be five or six guys practicing a long snapping. The quarterbacks and the centers will be working on the quarterback center exchange, the shotgun snap, while the other kids are sitting around the locker room. We don't want everybody out there. So you spend a lot of time with them. Every once in a while a kid sees an opportunity to make the football team like (Larry) Federoff. Federoff is a kid that transferred here and wanted to be a fullback. He wasn't quite good enough, so he made up his mind to do that (long snapping), and he's doing a really good job. For a while he was shaky, but he's worked hard. They go out there, and Bill Kenney will have four or five guys out there. There will be a guy snapping here, and two or three guys over there. Every time he snaps the ball you give him a shot. He puts his head down, snaps the ball, and boom. Try to make it as close to a situation you're going to get in a game. But sometimes you get a kid who comes in and he's a natural and he's really good. So, if you don't have a long snapper you've got some problems that you've got to address right away. Even in the recruiting sometimes. We have two walk-ons that are going to be doing the long snapping (Andrew Pitz and Federoff). When they decided they wanted to come, we didn't think they were good enough athletes so they come in here as a long snapper and we have some insurance. But I think that's an important part of the game obviously.

When Push Comes to Shove...

2008-09-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

...how will the Nittany Lions respond?

It is a fascinating question with multi-pronged themes. Adversity is not a bad stumbling block prior to conference play, as long as it is navigated to a triumphant finish. However, what if adversity isn't necessary because of outright domination?

Some thought Penn State would outscore Oregon State, but few dubbed the game what it turned into--a rout in the literal sense of the word. Would the Nittany Lions have been better served playing loose and undisciplined on defense, allowing a solid collection of Beaver receivers to run through open space unscathed?

Of course not. That is why the time-honored sports cliche of adversity is overused. Will Penn State likely face some adversity this season--ABSOLUTELY. It will even likely come on September 27th against Illinois.

In Penn State's favor, it would occur at home. Also in the the Nittany Lions' direction, it would occur with Daryll Clark under center.

Michael Robinson, a former Penn State receiver, turned running back, turned quarterback, turned NFL running back/special teams player, is well-chronicled in the upcoming book, not just for his stats on the field, but for his positive demeanor and leadership qualities.

I see a lot of Robinson in Clark. Not only during a play, when Clark's strong arm, big frame and nimble feet liken him to Robinson, but in the huddle and on the sidelines. Clark is quick to encourage and jump in a player's face if he feels effort is low or a mistake has been made.

He did it several times during the Oregon State game -- one Penn State won, 45-14.

The Nittany Lions will face adversity this season. And if they lose one or more games, it will likely be because they were outplayed.

Not because they haven't faced adversity before. Clark is ready and prepared for that.

What I learned...in Numbers

2008-09-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

166: The number of points (166) Penn State has put on the scoreboard through three weeks of the 2008 college football season. The Nittany Lions' 55-13 rout of Syracuse featured more of the same offensively, and even added another dynamic presence to the offense -- back-up quarterback Pat Devlin, who showed off his right arm with two touchdown passes. The previous record for points was 165 achieved by the 1929 squad.

393: The staggering number of yards (393) Penn State's new Spread HD offense accumulated in the FIRST HALF last Saturday in the Carrier Dome. The Orange were clearly overmatched athletically and physically, but Penn State's third straight first-half onslaught leaves one clear theme: Joe Paterno's club comes out of the locker room ready to rumble.

35: The points threshold (35) Penn State has surpassed in the first half all three games to date. The Nittany Lions opened a 38-6 halftime edge last Saturday with the aerial display featuring Daryll Clark. Devlin, Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood.

NOTE: All of these lofty offensive statistics have come with little out of Derrick Williams, who has just six catches for 88 yards and NO TOUCHDOWNS on the receiving end. Williams, however, did return a kickoff for a touchdown against Coastal Carolina.

For all of the talk about the offense...

0: The number of points (0) the Penn State defense has yielded in the first quarter this season. The "ready to play" theme above applies across the board. Penn State has outscored its opponents, 49-0, in the first stanza to date.

22: The average yards per rush (2.2) the Nittany Lions have surrendered so far this season. Penn State has given up 64.3 yards rushing per game and held opponents to 250.3 yards of total offense (compared to its offensive output of 536 yards per contest).

The final conclusion: Penn State, despite two games against BCS conference programs, hasn't faced a single minute of adversity through three games. Part of that is testament to crisp play on all sides of the football. Some is due to the lack of competition. It figures to be the same this Saturday versus Temple before the real fun begins in earnest September 27th in primetime against Illinois.

DON'T FORGET TO PURCHASE PENN STATE FOOTBALL BY THE NUMBERS!

Penn State-Syracuse Notes

2008-09-09T06:16:00.000-07:00

Game #3
Penn State (2-0) at Syracuse (0-2)

When: Saturday, September 13, 2008Where: Carrier Dome (49,262)Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET Attendance: 40,000+
Series Record: Penn State leads, 40-23-5
Penn State Captains: No. 47 Josh Gaines, Sr., DE No. 45 Sean Lee, Sr., LB No. 7 Anthony Scirrotto, Sr., Saf No. 57 A.Q. Shipley, Sr., C No. 2 Derrick Williams, Sr., WR
Television: The contest will be televised by ABC to a regional audience with Bob Wischusen and Brock Huard calling the action. The Nittany Lions are appearing on television for the 167th time in their last 169 games.
Radio: Penn State Sports Network (60 stations) Radio Team (9th year) Play-by-Play: Steve Jones; Analysis: Jack Ham Web stream: www.GoPSUsports.com Syracuse ISP Sports Network (Matt Park, play-by-play; Chris Gedney, analysis, Brian Higgins, sideline). Sirius Radio 126.

Coaches: Joe Paterno Penn State Record.....374-125-3 (74.8), 43rd Year Overall Record.....Same vs. Syracuse.......21-45 9th year on Penn State staff...tied for all-time lead in career wins among 1-A coaches...300 wins faster than any coach in NCAA history...College Football Hall of Fame inductee in 2007. Greg Robinson Syracuse Record.....7-30, 4th Year Overall Record.....Same vs. Penn State.....0-0

The Series: The Nittany Lions and Orange are meeting for the first time since 1990, with Penn State holding a 40-23-5 series edge. The teams met every season from 1944-90. The 68 games against SU are second-highest among all PSU opponents, trailing only Pittsburgh (96 games).
Syracuse visits Beaver Stadium on Sept. 12, 2009.

This Week: Penn State hits the road for the first time this season, visiting old rival Syracuse in the first meeting between the schools since 1990. The Nittany Lions are coming off a 45-14 win over Oregon State on Saturday in Beaver Stadium. The Orange lost to Akron, 42-28 on Saturday. Penn State has won 33 of its last 42 games overall, tied for the nation's seventh-best record over that span. The game will be televised by ABC to a regional audience, with coverage also on ESPN GamePlan.

Nittany Lions Thump Beavers: Penn State unleashed a big play offense for the second consecutive week, rolling to a 35-7 halftime lead en route to a 45-14 victory over Oregon State.
Sophomore tailback Evan Royster ran for a career-high 141 yards on 17 carries (8.3) and junior quarterback Daryll Clark set career highs for rushing and passing to lead the Nittany Lion attack. The Nittany Lions gained 454 yards, exhibiting great balance with 239 yards rushing and 215 yards passing (7.0). Penn State delivered eight plays of 20 yards or more from scrimmage, giving the Lions 16 such plays in the first two weeks. Royster eclipsed his previous high of 126 yards vs. Purdue last season en route to Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors. He became the first player under Joe Paterno to have six rushing touchdowns in the first two games of a season. Clark set career highs across the board, going 14 of 23 for 215 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a career-best 61 yards on five carries, including an 18-yard touchdown run, giving him 276 yards of total offense. Senior wide receiver Jordan Norwood tied his career-high with eight receptions for a career-best 116 yards, including a leaping 22-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.

Spread HD, '94 Comparisons, Saturday Show

2008-09-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

This blog will be updated with much more regularity -- with the help of my colleagues at The Phanatic Magazine -- over the remainder of the season.

My first attempt at the literary world, Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports is about set to hit the printer, which means it will hit book shelves near you shortly (that is if you live in the chosen areas selected by the publisher to "test" reader interest).

But have no fear. As soon as the book is available, you will be able to purchase a copy at www.sportsbythenumbers.com. Granted you can also purchase the book at Amazon.com, however, by purchasing the numerical look at Penn State's proud football history at the Sports By the Numbers website, $2 will go directly to THON -- a cause I will be pushing plenty as it coordinates with this book and, more importantly, with the major impact it has on children with cancer nationwide.

With Penn State off to an impressive 2-0 start and the holidays fast approaching (only four-plus months to Christmas!), what better way to give a Nittany Nut in your life a great gift plus contributing to a great, worthwhile cause at the same time!

I will be posting select excerpts from the book (a few every week), while also directing you to Sports By the Numbers blog and locker section, where even more detailed information on portions of the book can be found.

That's my sales pitch.

How about Penn State's? I'm sold on one simple fact. This offense is really good, and lost in the early-season awe is the play-calling of often-maligned offensive coordinator Galen Hall. The elder statesman was an intelligent offensive mind as a player and ahead of the innovative curve as a coach at both Oklahoma and Florida.

He and Jay Paterno's new Spread HD offense is a wonderful hybrid of smash-mouth running and pro style passing sets that put Penn State's speed and versatility in space. At times over the last two weeks, the Nits have lined up in I-form and single back sets to feature Evan Royster only to spread the field with four wides and quarterback Daryll Clark in the shotgun a play or two later.

Hall has walked the fine line between creative and gimmicky to perfection. He hasn't overthought a play, instead going with the flow of a particular drive. If something is working, he sticks with it.

Prime example: rolling Clark to Jordan Norwood's side on several occasions last Saturday after realizing the Beavers were sliding one of their two-deep safeties to the man coverage side of Derrick Williams.

This left Norwood in the slot man-up against a nickel back or safety -- a match-up Penn State will take all season.

Clark's accuracy has been the biggest surprise so far this season. Those fans with PA roots clamoring for Downingtown's Pat Devlin at the season's outset pointed to Devlin's strong, accurate arm as the best option to take advantage of the team's immense talent on the outside.

To invoke the Sports By the Numbers tradition, I turn to numerical evidence:

676 - The completion percentage (67.6) for quarterback Daryll Clark through two games of the 2008 season. Clark has completed 25-of-37 passes for 361 yards, three touchdowns and ZERO interceptions. Clark's 176.28 QB efficiency rating puts him just below USC's Mark Sanchez and above the likes of Georgia's Matthew Stafford and Missouri's Chase Daniel (lofty company).

Now, many pundits are throwing around comparisons to Penn State's last offensive juggernaut in 1994. Many stories in the book are devoted to the Kerry Collins, Ki-Jana Carter, Kyle Brady and Bobby Engram-led unit -- including a chapter opening on Carter's run to the roses against Oregon in the Rose Bowl -- but experts are missing the boat by just pointing at Penn State's skill depth as the lone mode of similarity.

The major point of reference starts up front. Yes, Penn State has the runners (Royster, Stephfon Green and even Clark), the catchers (Williams, Norwood and Deon Butler) and the throwers (Clark and Devlin), but none of it would be possible without the play up front of a unit that very-much resembles the caravan that led Carter and Collins into the end zone so many times.

Gerald Cadogan and Dennis Landolt are solid, experienced maulers at tackle. Mike Lucian and Rich Ohrnberger are beasts at guard. A.Q. Shipley snaps the ball, calls out the blocking assignments and handles run-stoppers inside at center. The glaring point, besides the overall talent, is that Landolt is the youngster in the group as a junior. The front five has Big Ten war wounds -- both good and bad -- and has developed into Penn State's best offensive line since...

You guessed it.

What did we learn Saturday?

Penn State can pick apart a mid-tier Pac-10 defense, moving the football at will against players far superior than those the Nits played a week earlier. Bigger, stronger, faster. That's a good sign for a chance in the Horseshoe later this season, especially if the Buckeyes passing game and pass rush stay in slumber like this past Saturday against Ohio. Clark looks more and more like Michael Robinson every day, perhaps with slightly more accuracy and a little less speed. He seems to display Robinson's candor on the field, and at nearly 230 pounds, his strength is a true asset in late-game situations. Royster is blossoming before our eyes. This kid isn't exceptionally quick, but his patience and vision more than make up for it. Penn State lost DE Jerome Hayes for the season on a punt return (ACL injury), further depleting the defensive line depth. Watch closely the case involving the pot party at Nittany Apartments. PSU needs Maurice Evans back in a big way to play alongside Jared Odrick and Aaron Maybin -- who has great upfield speed but takes himself out of too many plays with his one-trick-pony rush move around the edge.

Up Next: Syracuse, 3:30 ABC
Another game that will allow Penn State's offense to light up the scoreboard. Akron put 42 points on the Orange, so imagine what the Nittany Lions can do. The first test won't come until the Big Ten opener against Illinois.

Prediction: Penn State 49, Syracuse 14

Cup of Joe

2008-09-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

It's Friday, and a Hurricane is about to make its way up the Eastern seaboard, meaning Beaver Stadium could be a quagmire by Saturday's 3:30 p.m. kickoff against Oregon State.

Along with the weather, a developing story includes a loud party and a small amount of marijuana found at the Nittany Apartment where A.J. Wallace, Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma live. Wallace technically lives in the Apartment, but he maintains he has been staying at his girlfriend's place.

More at the story can be found at ESPN.com. Koroma, Evans and oft-troubled tight end Andrew Quarless will miss Saturday's game, and university president Graham Spanier agrees with Paterno's decision.

Back to the game -- there actually is one scheduled between the Nittany Lions and Beavers on Saturday -- for a moment. Despite the suspensions and bad weather possibilities, Joe Hermitt of the Patriot News writes about injured linebacker Sean Lee's new role in Penn State's season.

Joe Paterno's weekly transcript (official site)

2008-09-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

Q. Do you expect to learn more about your team this week against Oregon State? If so, are you looking forward to that?

I don't think there's any question we should know a lot more about ourselves this week. Yeah, you'd like to get excited about the fact that you're winning a game; I don't care against whom. I think we've got to be realistic that that was a tough assignment for the Coastal Carolina kids to come up here with that kind of crowd and the whole bit. But, they've got some good athletes, and I was pleased we came away from it, playing with no turnovers and minimum (number of) penalties. A couple of stupid penalties, and playing fairly disciplined football game and some kids played, for their first time in a football game, played well. But, that's a long shot from playing against a team as good as Oregon State. Oregon State's a good football team. So I think what we have to do is just see if we can get a little better. As most of you have heard me say before, if you've got a good football team, it probably gets better from the first game to the second game at any time in the season. We'll know a lot more about our football team this Saturday.

Q. Oregon State passed for more than 400 yards against Stanford in their opener. Is their offense comparable to anything you've seen in the Big Ten or is it a lot different? I think Oregon State got behind a little bit. I don't think that was necessarily their game. I don't know Mike Riley really well. I haven't coached against him. Except I know him by reputation and we've been on some Nike trips together. I think he's a really nice person, and obviously an outstanding coach. But I don't think I'd go by the fact that they threw the ball as much as they did against Stanford. I think they got behind a little bit and a couple of things happened there. We've got to be ready to handle the running game. So I don't know whether I would overreact to the amount of throwing they did last Thursday night. I think we've got to be ready for a more balanced attack. I think everybody saw it.

Q. You were talking the other day about your defensive line. I know Josh Gaines moved inside for a few plays. I wonder how much that gives you versatility, and how well Aaron Maybin played on Saturday? He played all right. Maybin's got a long way to go. We've got better players than he playing right now. Maybin some day will be good. But Gaines and (Maurice) Evans, (Jerome) Hayes, I thought those kids played really well. And I think Maybin eventually will be a good football player. But, he's got to be a little more disciplined. Not make as many mistakes and those kinds of things. But he hasn't played a lot. He's still young. I thought overall we did all right. I think Coastal Carolina, when they decided to do a couple things inside, they did it well. The kids ran hard. A couple of those kids are quick. Obviously, they don't have the kind of depth and the size and maybe the power that a team like Oregon State has. But I think overall we did a decent job. We've got to be better. Because, as I said, I don't think Oregon State's going to come up and throw the ball 50 times. I would be surprised. I think we've got to be ready to stop a couple running plays.

Q. If you would reverse roles with Oregon State, you'd been away last week, now this week you're facing having to go across country. How would that impact the way you prepare your team and how hard you can push them in practice? Well, I don't like to coach somebody else's team. I've got enough troubles coaching my own team. I think the one thing that I would think that Mike Riley has going for him is the fact that he did coach at San Diego, the pro team, and would have had to take a team across the country to play in the NFL. And he's got he would have a good feel for the problems that he faced the clock changing on you and all those kinds of things. So I think they'll come here prepared and they'll be ready to go. Mike will have them ready to play. And I don't think there will be any...we can't hope that something's going to happen in the way of their preparation that's going to make it easier for us. I don't believe that at all. I think he knows what he's doing. He's had the experience of taking a team across the country, and I think we just have to understand it. Forget about where they're coming from. Take a look at their personnel, take a look at the way they're coached and take a look at what we have to do better in order to win.

Q. How concerned are you with the ability of Oregon State's wide receivers being quick across the board? I think they're very good. I am concerned about them. In fact, we had a long talk Sunday night about it. Numbers are the guys I look at when I look at the tapes. And I stayed up until quarter to 1:00 eastern time on Thursday night to watch the game with Stanford. And I was very impressed with them, and I'm very impressed with their quarterback. I think the quarterback is a very poised kid. He had to make some tough plays to keep them in the ballgame. You know, Oregon State, (if) the kid doesn't fumble it in the end zone, they might be in an overtime game. They gave Stanford a lot, and they really beat themselves. Oregon State beat themselves. So I go into that game thinking we're going to have our hands full, and nothing's changed.

Q. How did you assess the linebacker play you got against Coastal Carolina on Saturday? I think it was good. It wasn't great. It was good. I think (Josh) Hull had a lot of pressure on him to play, and really run the show up front. I think he did well. I think maybe (Bani) Gbadyu and (Navorro) Bowman played well. (Tyrell) Sales at times played well. A couple of the younger kids we stuck in there played a little hesitantly. But, overall, I thought it was a good first outing for them.

Q. What kind of memories do you have about Irv Pankey? His son is one of the starting linebackers on Oregon State.Pankey was a great kid. I can still remember Irv in the locker room after we played Maryland. Irv was at the game. He came in. He was a great big kid, big smile. He was a heck of a player. As a matter of fact, one time I was trying to talk him into being a coach, and I might have hired him as an offensive line coach. You know, if the kid's anything like his old man, it will be a fun game for Irv. Irv was a great guy to coach, and I enjoyed coaching him. It's funny, last week (Wally) Richardson's brother's playing against us. This week we've got Pankey's kid playing against us. I don't know...I must be getting old (laughter).

Q. What did a kid like Josh Hull, a former walk on, what did he do to go from a walk on to now the starting middle linebacker at Linebacker U? Well, he came here as a walk on. We encouraged him. He's a great student. He wanted to come to Penn State. He's down the road (Penns Valley HS), in fact, I think his folks work at the university. So he started out with a little break on his tuition and some things. We took a look at the situation, thought he could play, and he went to work. You know, each year he's gotten better, and Ron Vanderlinden has done a great job with him. He's smart, tough, and very, very committed to being good. That's a pretty good combination. He's strong. He's about 230, 235 (pounds). He, as I said, he's an engineer and a great student. He handles the engineering classes as well as coming out to practice. He's a great kid. His kid brother (Ethan), we had had hopes for working him in. But he's got a bad knee. We haven't been able to clear him to practice yet. But it's a good family and he adjusted. Those are the kind of stories that you like to be associated with.

Q. The offensive line has been playing great the last year or so. It's also one of the smaller offensive lines in the country with average height and width. How hard do you guys have to work to keep the weight down on these guys? And how athletic do you think it makes them on the field? Well, there's a natural body weight. We take their body fat all the time. You can be 275 pounds and have a body fat percentage of 28, 29 percent, and, you know, you're just carrying dead weight. That's not going to help you. So the people in the training room, J.T. Thomas and Jeremy (Scott) and the doctors, they'll periodically just weigh them and test their body fat. We have a certain percentage of body fat that we think is acceptable for different positions. If you're over 22 percent let's say and I'm throwing that figure out there without being sure I've got the figures correctly if you're over 22 percent, I don't care if you weigh 400 pounds, you've got to get down. You've got to get down where your body weight, the percentage of your body fat, would be under 22 percent. If you're a wideout and you're over 8, 9, 10 percent body fat, you're too heavy. I mean weight is not the answer. It's strength and the power that you can generate, the shot, the quickness, all those kinds of things. And excess weight does not help you. It does not help you. We have two really fine freshmen kids and one is about 32 percent body fat. Until he gets down, he's not going to play. But he's a heck of a prospect. The other one's about 29 percent, and he's in the same boat. So we work hard to make sure they're at their optimum weight, whatever that is. It depends on their body structure and all the things that all of us would like. If we all had our body fat taken today, all right, where would we go? We're going to go to the Mayo Clinic.

Q. I was wondering if you had a chance to talk to Mike Mauti at all, and if his family's okay or if he's discussed anything with the hurricane down there with you this week? Well, actually we went out to practice yesterday. Monday's kind of a "let's get organized" kind of thing. And I had in the back of my mind to ask him how things are going. Rich, his dad and mom (Nancy), were up at the game this past weekend, and there was no mention of the hurricane. But this morning, Sue watches television early in the morning. I know you guys don't believe me, but I very rarely watch television. She said that New Orleans missed it. Now I'm not quite sure exactly where in Louisiana the Mautis would be relative to where the hurricane hit. I'll talk to him today about it, but I would think I would have probably gotten a telephone call from somebody saying the Mautis had to move or something like that. But Rich, the dad, and his wife were up here this past weekend and we spent a little time together.

Q. Are you worried about things like motivation and focus when a really good player, like a Pat Devlin, has to deal with the disappointment of not starting? Well, I think the biggest problem we have are you guys, to be frank with you. I think the kids go out there, practice hard, and they play well. (Daryll) Clark played; played well. (Paul) Cianciolo didn't play much, but he did good job when he was in there. They practice well. I don't see any difference in it. I think when you come into a program such as this one, you've got to figure there's going to be some competition. You know, Devlin's only a sophomore eligibility wise; he's got two more years after this. I think he's got a great future. I think Clark's got two years, they'll be battling each other for another couple of years. I think that's pretty good. It will make them both better. So I have not seen anything different. I pat them on the back after the game and said, "hey, nice going. You had a good day. Keep concentrating." Said the same thing to Clark. "Now you got that one behind you. Maybe you can relax a little bit more, but stay focused and let it go at that." I would hope that both those kids are mature enough and smart enough to understand the situation. They're working hard to be the best they can be.

Q. You talked about the improvement between week one and week two. Why is that the case? Why is that most important compared to any other week? Well, that's a good question, and I'm not sure why it is. In most of the really good football teams we've had, when you get that first one under your belt, particularly when you have a lot of young players, they're a little bit nervous going in there. Not quite sure of themselves. They haven't quite bonded together. They don't know what it is to be in a huddle in a game. Now you may not get as big an improvement in the first game and second game when the first one everything went so well for us early, as opposed to maybe a pretty tough first game. Then you go to the second game. I think it's just get it over with. Some of these kids haven't played before in front of 105,000, 106,000 people. Then you can build on some game mistakes. You can say, "well, we told you, you shouldn't do this." It could be an "I told you so" kind of deal. But my experience has been that's not always true. My experience has been we come out of a football game after the first one, if you've got a good football team, it seems to kind of be a lot better the second game, and you start to build on it. We're fortunate in this game that we're going into a game against a very good football team. Most of our guys stayed up and watched that Oregon State Stanford game. We were talking yesterday a little bit, and they were very aware of how good Oregon State is. The score, if we had not seen that game on television, the score might be misleading. So it's hard for me to pinpoint why, but I do think it's my fact is right.

Q. Stefen Wisniewski and Gerald Cadogan said this morning they felt like the line was better because they've got more experience playing with each other. Is it tough to have a really good line more than every once every two or three years, because once they get experience, they have to graduate? I think it's easier if you get a line. I think Oregon State's going through that right now with their offensive line. They started that game Oregon State's going to be a lot better football team this week than they were against Stanford, particularly with their running game because of exactly what you said. That's a new offensive line. Well, not the offensive line, but defensive. I've got myself turned around a little bit. I think that's a good observation. But, these guys play a lot of football. Now if we're fortunate enough that we don't have to use a lot of kids before they're ready and we can keep some of the kids behind them healthy, we can put them in practice. We can do a lot of things so that we really have a back up. And maybe next year when we lose 4 or 5 of the first stringers, we won't be in a situation you're referring to. It depends on kids. It depends on attitudes, mentalities, competitive confidence, those kind of things. There's no one there's just no way to say this is what's going to happen every year. It doesn't work out that way.

Q. The two conferences obviously have a long history playing each other. Would you like to see like a Big Ten Pac 10 type of challenge like they do in basketball with different conferences especially now that you're playing 12 games? I haven't thought about it. That's the first time anybody really brought that up. I have felt that the Big Ten ought to have a Big Ten championship game as they do with the Texas and Oklahoma people, and the Southeastern Conference. But I hadn't thought about we play UCLA, let's say, in a conference challenge kind of thing. It's a little tougher than it is in basketball, because in basketball you get so many more games. I don't know. I'd have to think about that. I'm not so sure I would want to take a team across the country every year and vice versa. If I was on the (west) coast whether I'd want to take a team east every other year. I don't know. But I won't have a say about it. Television will tell us what we're going to do.

Q. Brett Brackett is 6' 6", significantly taller than your other three receivers. What kind of advantage does that give him in the passing game? Well, he's 6' 6", but he's a good athlete. Now if he was 6'6", a big gangly kid there was a kid at Notre Dame a couple of years ago, he was a baseball player, and he was 6'5". Brackett's a good athlete, he just happens to be 6' 6". I don't know if he's quite 6' 6", he might be 6' 5". But he's a good athlete. Being taller helps when you're a wideout, because he can get them out there on the corner, and when you get really good with your passing game, we're not that good right now, not yet. You put the ball up for grabs and he can grab it. He can jump. He's a good basketball player. He's going to be a really good wideout. He's working his way into it right now.

Q. So Oregon State gets the sweep with the wide receivers and they've had success getting about 10 yards a clip with it. What makes that so successful, and what can you do to try to stop it? You've got to practice against it. But, yeah, that's a series they have. The kid goes out there, and they either give it to him, pitch it to him or they hand it to the guy coming up on the inside zone play. It's a good solid series. You have to be able to handle it. I we were going to play a wishbone with the option, we'd have to handle that. If they were running to play some people with the shotgun or running the handoff and the keep, and the quarterback option with the trail guy, those are all little things you've just got to go out there and coach it. Try to get them a little bit out of character. It's a clever series. It's a clever series of plays. We're working on it.

Q. Did you run that same theory back in Brooklyn? No, we didn't run that one. We'd didn't have a quarterback that could run. All he could do was dunk the ball on it (laughter).

Q. There is the potential of bad weather this weekend with the hurricane. Are you planning to prepare for that? How would that affect you? Not yet. Right now we're just trying to get organized. We spent most of the morning just trying to put together the plays we want to run versus what we think we're going to get, and the defenses that we have to make sure we're lined up properly to handle some of the formations and some of the things that Oregon State does. And then once we get comfortable that we've acquainted our squad with what they're going to see or we think they're going to see, then I think we'll start maybe one night we'll wet the ball. That kind of thing. It's pretty tough to prepare for the kind of weather that we may get. Except for the fact that you've got to get the people that handle the ball, they have to have a wet ball. Ordinarily we do that every Thursday night, anyway. We get some buckets out there and put the footballs in a bucket of water. If we have a prediction of weather, the snappers and punters and all that stuff, get used to handling a wet ball, try to be prepared. If the weather forecast still looks as if it's going to be a tough day on Saturday, we'll do a couple of things on Thursday a little differently. But I'm not going to change up the routine until I find out for sure.

Q. Joe Tiller at Purdue, Bobby Bowden at Florida State have succession plans for what happens when they leave. What kinds of conversations have you had about that and what kind of conversation would you like to have when you're done coaching here? I talked to Joe and I told him he's nuts. Oh, we haven't had any. Sorry, you're not going to get much response. I've answered that question 68 times already. I'm sorry to be rude. But, no, we haven't even talked about that. I'm trying to concentrate on Oregon State.

Q. You say you don't like to coach other teams, but the way Oregon State lost that game with that fumble, I'm sure you've had situations in the past where a guy's had a play at the end and the game's not going your way. How would you handle that and try to keep his spirits up? I don't know. If a couple kids from Oregon State walked in this room, I wouldn't know who they were. If it were one of the kids that I know and know their personality and know some things, that's one thing. All right? I mean, I haven't got the slightest idea how Mike should handle it. He knows his team. I don't know the kid who let the ball get out of his hands. I don't know him. I don't know whether he's a sensitive kid that needs a pat on the back. I don't know whether he's a cocky kid that maybe had been messing around with the football during preseason, and needed a kick in the rear end. I don't know. You treat everybody differently. I mean they're not a bunch of puppets out there. They're not robots. You're talking about people with different problems, different reasons things happen. So I think that that would be up to Coach Riley to make that decision. I couldn't. I wouldn't have the slightest idea what I would do until it happened. Then when it happened, hopefully I always call on Mark Twain. You know, he was a riverboat captain. He was talking about you've got to do things by the seat of your pants. He says every day a captain has to learn more than anybody should ever have to learn. Then the next day he's got to learn it again in a different way. All right? That's what coaching is. Everybody is, what happened last week with this group. It may be entirely different if the same thing happened with this group. So I can't answer that.

Q. Did you get out of the Coastal Carolina game injury free? Yes, we were fortunate.

Rip Engle: The Man Before the Machine

2008-08-18T18:45:00.000-07:00

Rip Engle is a forgotten figure in Nittany Lion football lure. In a list of important football figures, Engle's name is far down on a list below Joe Paterno, Todd Blackledge and countless members of Linebacker U.

Not in this story. The statistical and historical look at Penn State's proud pigskin program looks at Engle's legacy in Chapter 2 of "Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports."

Here is a list of pertinent information some know -- and many don't -- about the man in charge before Paterno took over in 1966.

Engle was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973
A game called "Angleball" was developed by the head coach to improve his team's fitness
Engle played collegiately at Western Maryland
One of his famous quotes reads "A team that defeats a far inferior team has accomplished nothing"
Everyone knows Paterno followed, but only the diehards know the name Joe Bedenk, the man who preceded Engle in Happy Valley.

You can read Engle's story in the upcoming book.

Stadium Personnel Needed for Home Schedule

2008-08-06T10:16:00.004-07:00

Courtesy of Penn State Athletics

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - Persons interested in working as gate attendants, parkers and ushers during Penn State's 2008 home football season can sign up in person or via telephone.

Full-time gate attendants are paid an hourly rate and remain at their posts throughout the game. Parkers are paid an hourly rate and receive admission to the game. Ushers are paid a game fee and receive admission to the game.

Interested persons may sign up in person in 103 XY Bryce Jordan Center on campus, or can telephone the athletic business office at 814-863-0270. Persons must submit I-9 paperwork before beginning to work.

All stadium workers must be at least 16 years of age. High school students must have working papers secured through their high schools.

Penn State kicks off its 2008 football season Aug. 30 against Coastal Carolina at 12:00 p.m. on the Big Ten Network, the Penn State Sports Network and www.GoPSUspors.com. The Nittany Lions play seven home games in Beaver Stadium this season, including five against teams that played in a bowl game last year.

Morning Cup of Joe

2008-08-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

Here are the Penn State pigskin headlines from around the country on August 6, 2008:

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg's blog showcased the conference's head coaches on a subjective ranking scale. Joe Pa finished behind just one other coach (think sweater vest).

Former Penn State running back Rodney Kinlaw stayed in shape and maintained a healthy diet with the hopes of getting a phone call after going undrafted. That day came recently, now Kinlaw has a chance to extend his dream with the New York Jets.

Our daily Bowden-Paterno age watch: The Wilmington Star News wonders when FSU head coach Bobby Bowden will call it quits, or whether he is just waiting for Paterno to reach his end in a battle of coaching wills.

New Beaver Field

2008-08-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

It stood in the area now known as Nittany Parking deck. History was once made where the SUVs and sturdy cement surface now sit. New Beaver Field opened in 1909 just to the northeast of famed Rec Hall.

The field was considered the Taj Mahal compared to Beaver Field -- a 500-seat structure built behind the current site of the Osmond Building. Penn State played its games there until New Beaver Field opened its doors, housing many memorable moments through 1960.

Want to know more about the former home of Penn State football? Simple solution: Purchase the newest book from the Sports By the Numbers franchise "Penn State Football: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports" by clicking the link to the right. Also, once the book is released, you can receive more in-depth historical information about New Beaver Field at the Penn State Locker on www.sportsbythenumbers.com

Cup of Morning Joe

2008-08-05T05:42:00.000-07:00

Here are the Penn State pigskin headlines for Tuesday, August 5, 2008:

* Following ESPN's controversial "Outside the Lines" piece, plenty of fingers have been pointed at the Penn State program's lack of discipline. One of the more documented brushes with the law involved all Big Ten safety Anthony Scirrotto. The safety's backyard newspaper, The Courier Post, details Scirrotto's mentality toward the incident and his future in football. "It is all water over the dam."

*Does another story -- occurring almost simultaneously to the "Outside the Lines" piece -- also paint Penn State in a negative light? The Tribune Democrat in Johnstown, PA takes a look at the correlation between off-field issues and party school rankings (Penn State stood at #3 in the latest survey).

*Who is the one big-time college football coach who can relate to Paterno's ongoing questions about age and coaching? Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden, who answered questions candidly for Penn State's student newspaper, The Daily Collegian.

*Derrick Williams was supposed to be Penn State's savior -- the ultra-talented Greenbelt, Maryland wide receiver with a magic wand, pixie dust and plenty of touchdowns. It hasn't been spectacular -- some argue Williams "lost a step" after a broken arm suffered during his freshman season -- but it has been steady. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review looks at Williams' numbers as he prepares for his fourth and final season in Happy Valley as a team captain.

*Each season begins with questions, and usually ends with answers attached to a team's win-loss record. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane asks five burning questions about the upcoming 2008 season.

*

"Witch Hunt" has merit, frowns upon big picture

2008-08-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

At 81 years of age, the last task on Joe Paterno's plate is learning to send a text message.

However, Paterno's daily priority list also does not include many of the vital tasks thrust upon big-time college coaches today and even the venerable Nittany Lions mentor a decade or more ago.

He rarely recruits in person, leaning heavily on Tom Bradley and Larry Johnson for face-to-face visits and relying on phone conversations and his image to lure major prospects to Happy Valley. He isn't heavily involved in game-plan implementation, leaving the game prep to Bradley, et al defensively and Galen Hall and son Jay on the offensive side of the ball.

Most importantly, Paterno doesn't spend hours maintaining institutional control of his once clean-shaven, blemish-free program, which has stitched itself with band aids and masking tape to the end result of a beaten, tattered Lion.

The roar is no more. At least to the level that reverberated through the opposition's locker room, out to the chorus of 100,000-plus screaming Nits and into the echoes of the Mount Nittany backdrop.

Penn State has problems. No matter what side of ESPN's Outside the Lines piece you fall on, admitting a lack of discipline is the first step to progress. Kids will in fact be kids, but the question remains, who are these kids?

Are they the Pennsylvania bred coal region crew who grew up surrounded by corn stalks and Sunday church visits? Or are they city kids with sketchy backgrounds who play football as a lucrative job with many perks, not as a passion born in Pee Wee scrimmages?

Paterno disputes the notion that he and has staff have taken chances on troubled youths in a quick-fix solution to the dark days at the early part of this decade. He rolls his eyes at the number of arrests, scuffs at the suspensions, and yells "witch hunt" at the entire finger-pointing process.

While much of Paterno's demeanor speaks "Grumpy Old Men" his words have some merit. 2008 college athletics is far different than 1998 and 1988. Kids face far greater, and far more dangerous temptations. Programs all over the country are dealing with arrests and underage drinking citations. In fact, just today, several Georgia football players were cited with crimes related to alcohol consumption with one player already suspended for similar offenses.

Yet, the national media will not cry. Georgia is the #1 ranked team in the preseason coaches' poll and the Bulldogs have been in the BCS picture for the better part of a decade.

That's a cruel double standard. If a big-time program (i.e. PSU and Florida State) is not winning, there must be a reason. Witch hunt is a good phrase for the media's attempt at digging for such reasons. However, that same double standard benefited Paterno during the program's dominance in the late 1970s-mid 1990s, when every player from Todd Blackledge to Bobby Engram surely drank a beer before turning 21.

Some may have even been involved in skirmishes never reported by the Centre Daily Times.

In no way does it excuse the charges brought upon Paterno's recent teams. Attempted murder. Rape. Disorderly conduct. Aggravated assault. Knowing you are going someplace to "beat people up."

These aren't slaps on the wrist, but rather black eyes that Penn State President Graham Spanier is well aware of. The big picture has caught Spanier's eye, and it isn't pretty for the 81-year-old icon who has generated a library filled of funds for the university and its athletic programs.

Joe Paterno doesn't know how to send or receive text messages. Otherwise he would have received an important message from his loyal and loving fans, those who have cheered him on the field and praised his philanthropy off the gridiron for more than four decades.

Get out now. Before the band aids and masking tape break. And all that's left is a dead Lion.

Welcome to Nittany Lion Notes

2008-08-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

By Jared Trexler
Nittany Lion Notes

For The Glory. For Those Who Came Before Me. A historical and current glance at the nation's preeminent college football program.

This media outlet will not be an extension of Penn State's once-dominate football program. Press releases will be posted, yes, if for no other reason than so well-respected SID Jeff Nelson can see his work in print.

This blog will serve three folds (an art project of sorts). First, Nittany Lion loyalists -- and those Notre Dame, Michigan and Ohio State fans who love to point out the blemishes on the PSU resume -- can count on a morning culmination of Penn State football articles from sports writers across the country. A You Tube clip may even make its way into "Cup of Morning Joe" -- a national look at the state of the program.

Second, this space will serve as a hard-hitting football forum for myself and hopefully equally talented, opinionated wordsmiths across the nation. If you have a comment on any column -- breathe first, then react. All comments with proper, post-able grammar will be available for the world to see.

I will tackle Joe Paterno's lasting legacy, and his decision to go for it on fourth down. I will break down position battles and look at the history of Linebacker U. In general terms, everything that deals directly with the past and present of Penn State football is fair game.

Finally, I am a writer. I -- believe it or not -- hone this craft for a modest living. In fact, I will have a book hitting shelves (and our world wide wide shopping carts) in late August. This blog will hopefully provide a snapshot of my writing and also serve as a vehicle to increase book sales, and with good reason: $2 on every book sold through www.sportsbythenumbers.com will go directly to THON.

What is THON you ask? Only the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, raising over $6.6 million last year for the Four Diamonds Fund, a charity devoted to defeating pediatric cancer through research and caring for patients at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center Children's Hospital. Over 700 dancers braved tired legs and heavy hearts to participate in the 2-day event at the Bryce Jordan Center in 2008.

So, I hope you enjoy a hard-hitting, informational look at Penn State football throughout this season and for years to come.