They do this shit every year. It's tiresome and JoePa agrees, let's talk football. Not me! Sports Ill ranks you guys as the #1 defense. hmy:
Tressel is a good coach but sometimes I wish he was a more aggressive one. Countless times during the season he does things that make me wish that he'd just grow a pair and go for it on 4th or actually let Pryor throw the ball.
Originally Published: 8/20/2010 McGloin looking like Nittany Lions starting QB Quarterback is the most important position on a football team. It's also the biggest unknown this season at Penn State, where veterans fill almost every other position. The Nittany Lions took the first step in finding a new quarterback when true freshman Paul Jones was told Wednesday that he would be redshirted, a development first reported by Fight On State.com. That leaves Matt McGloin, Kevin Newsome and Robert Bolden, another true freshman, as the remaining contenders. Fight on State reported that McGloin and Bolden, who enrolled in the summer, "appear to have an edge on Newsome at this point." If that's true, it paves the way for McGloin, a former walk-on from Scranton, to be the starting quarterback when Penn State opens its season Sept. 4 against Youngstown State and for at least the first five games, barring an injury. Why the first five games? The Nittany Lions play at defending national champion Alabama the second week of the season and at nemesis Iowa the fifth week. Because the Crimson Tide, although returning just two starters, and the Hawkeyes are expected to be strong on defense again, coach Joe Paterno and his assistants will not throw Bolden to the wolves by starting him in either game. McGloin seems to have the moxie, if not the talent, for the job. After playing high school ball with Penn State tackle Eric Shrive at West Scranton, he turned down Football Championship Subdivision offers to walk on. He's played in just three games, all last season, and has thrown only two passes, both incomplete. It's no wonder why Lions fans question his ability. "Every day I'm fighting to gain that respect," McGloin said. "So far I've gotten it from my teammates and coaches. Now I'm working to get it from the fans. If I make progress in camp, hopefully I'll get that shot." McGloin's strength appears to be his leadership, something that Paterno and his son, Jay, the quarterbacks coach, rank high in evaluating quarterbacks. "Usually it's 1 or 2," Jay Paterno said last week at Media Day. "It's right up there. I've seen it from all of the guys. They're not where they need to be. "They're not Daryll Clark, Mike Robinson or Kerry Collins yet, but you can't expect that. Those guys are rare guys. It's something those guys just had." That appears to be Newsome's weakness. He looked unsure of himself during the Blue-White Game and after it when he answered general questions from the media. Newsome is engaging off the field, according to a few folks who work at Penn State and who have dealt with him. But he seemed nervous again last week at Media Day when he was asked what he has to do in preseason camp to win the job. "Just execute and win," he said. Conversely, McGloin was asked the same question and gave a detailed answer of 71 words. Now talk alone won't win football games, but he wouldn't be contending for the job if Penn State coaches thought he couldn't get it done. "Some people don't think I have the speed or the arm strength," McGloin said. "I kind of disagree with them. I believe I can get the job done, and a lot of guys on the team feel that way as well." Bolden was a four-star recruit who received offers from Iowa, Nebraska, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin, among others. He was rated the third-best player in Michigan last year. He could be the quarterback of the future, maybe even sooner. "The coaches are looking for a guy who'll go into the huddle, command it and show a lot of leadership," wide receiver Brett Brackett said. "That's the biggest thing. All of them have the skills to play quarterback. They're looking for a guy who'll be that field general and be that leader." http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=242871
I've followed Tressel's career since the early '90s when Youngstown State would play Marshall, which is about 5 miles from my house. The guy has always tended to the safe side. It's a statistical thing with him and likely outcomes of situations. He handled Troy Smith exactly the same way as Pryor, and Smith wound up winning the Heisman. Anyway, back to the Nittany Lions. Do you guys have any games scheduled with WVU in the future? That is one matchup I miss watching.
Injuries continue to mount in Penn State's secondary Published: Thursday, August 19, 2010, 8:30 PM BOB FLOUNDERS, The Patriot-News BOB FLOUNDERS, The Patriot-News http://blog.pennlive.com/bobflounders/2010/08/injuries_continue_to_mount_in.html#incart_hbx Inexperienced quarterbacks and slow-to-develop offensive linemen remain two of the biggest problems for Joe Paterno and the Penn State football program as the Nittany Lions move into their third week of preseason practice. You can add one more concern: defensive backfield injuries. The Patriot-News has learned starting strong safety Drew Astorino is dealing with a shoulder injury, one that prevented him from practicing Thursday. Astorino, a redshirt junior, had surgery on his left shoulder in January. It is unclear how long Astorino will be out and whether he injured the same shoulder. Three of PSU’s top cornerbacks are also dealing with injuries, a source told The Patriot-News. Sophomore cornerback Stephon Morris, a projected starter, suffered a minor neck injury Aug. 9 and returned to practice Wednesday. Junior D’Anton Lynn, another return starter, has missed practice time this week with a lower-leg injury and redshirt freshman Derrick Thomas has also been sidelined with an arm/shoulder injury. PSU spokesman Jeff Nelson said Thursday he had not received any information regarding an injury to Astorino’s shoulder. CURLEY UPBEAT ABOUT PATERNO: A lot has been written about Paterno’s health in the off-season. Penn State’s 83-year-old coach battled an intestinal bug for much of the spring and summer, forcing him to cancel three off-season alumni appearances in Pittsburgh, Hershey and Philadelphia. Paterno has lost some weight since last season. And he was less than his energetic self during news conferences in Chicago and State College earlier this month, leading some to speculate if he’ll coach the 2010 season on the field or in the press box. Penn State athletic director Tim Curley said Thursday he doesn’t sense anything amiss with Paterno. “Well, I think for those of us who are around him every single day, he’s got as much energy and passion as he always has had,” Curley said. “You know, the preseason practices, I go out to practice and everything’s going according to schedule. So at this point right now, certainly the summer, he had to deal with what he had and we all have those things from time to time. “It’s not something right now that I’m focused on. I’m looking forward to the season and I don’t have any reason to feel otherwise.” And if Paterno has to coach from the Penn State press box? It wouldn’t be the first time. He spent time there in 2006 and 2008 while dealing with severe leg and hip injuries. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Curley said. “The bottom line is, we did pretty well when he was upstairs [in 2006 and 2008], we did pretty well when he was downstairs. Our full intentions are that he’s going to be down on the field. And we’ll deal with whatever happens when it comes, if it comes.” ROYER REDSHIRTING: Former Manheim Central star Dakota Royer, a true freshman linebacker, will redshirt this season, according to his mother, Tina. She told The Patriot-News Thursday that her son, a 6-1, 218-pounder, is practicing with the team but isn’t expected to play in 2010. Royer enrolled in January.
JoePa can poor mouth and motivate all he wants but when Penn St gets to Tuscaloosa in week 2. You can bet the house Alabama is going to give PSU a beatdown!! Bama may rush for 250 yards in that game!!
Having gone to the game Saturday, Bolden is going to be good in time, but he was way overmatched against a defense of that caliber as a freshman.
Penn Football Player Who Killed Self Had Brain Disease 9/13/2010 8:10 PM ET By FanHouse Newswire http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/20...-disease/?icid=main|main|dl4|sec3_lnk3|170477 PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A detailed examination of the brain of a Penn football player who committed suicide showed he had the same disease caused by hard hits that has been associated with NFL players. The New York Times reported Monday that Owen Thomas was in the early stages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a disease linked to depression and impulse control-primarily among NFL players. A former Penn captain, Thomas was found dead in April at his off-campus apartment. The research on Thomas' brain tissue was done at Boston University, which has done much of the work on the impact of big hits on football players and others. Dr. Robert Stern, a director of the Boston University group, confirmed the findings to The Associated Press but otherwise declined comment. Katherine Brearley is Thomas' mother. She tells the AP she doesn't to know to what extent brain trauma caused her son to commit suicide, and doctors cautioned they could not necessarily be certain about the extent of a connection.
