Penn State Season Preview--Wide Receivers

Here I am, all ready to heap praise on the receiving corps (to include the stud tight end) and Quarless decides to get cited for underage drinking. In his presser today, Joe Pa mentioned that he (Quarless) is likely out at least 3 weeks. Would have been longer had the team captains not intervened...in fact, Joe probably would have kicked him off the team. Bravo to Morelli, Golden, and Connor for speaking up for their teammate...shame on them for letting this kind of thing happen. After the apartment fight in the Spring, you would have thought that the team leadership would have laid down the law, promising a blanket party to anyone that stepped out of line. Guess the message didn't get out to everyone.

Anyway, the receiving unit for the Lions should be pretty darned good. Butler, Norwood, and Williams all had more than 30 catches last year. Butler set the record for receptions in a game (vs Northwestern), and seems to be a consistent performer. Norwood is unreal. His toughness and hands more than make up for his lack of size. As I mentioned earlier, DWill showed up this year about 10 pounds lighter than last season. Last year he looked as if he had lost a step. Hopefully he got it back over the summer.

Terrell Golden is a decent slot option, but not one that will scare defenses. Chris Bell has the makings of a Randy Moss type receiver. Outstanding size and speed will make him Morelli's favorite target inside the red zone.

I'm not worried about this unit. If Morelli has time to throw, they will put up some big numbers.

Next Up--O Line and Defense

Oh, and the line for FIU is -38. Still, Joe says he is as nervous for this game as any opener he can remember. Sounds like a little bit of the Lou Holtz act. You know..."William and Mary? We can't beat them! Jeez...we're talking about William and Mary!!! There's no way we beat these guys."

Penn State Season Preview--Running Backs

There aren't too many college running backs that can have 2 straight 1000 yard seasons, run for more than 3,000 yards in their career, and leave as unheralded as Tony Hunt did. The guy was a brute, often making most of his yards after first contact. His performance in the Outback Bowl single-handedly wore down Tennessee's defense, even when they knew he was coming.

Hunt was a luxury that Morelli doesn't have this year. 2007 running back duties fall on the enigmatic Austin Scott. Once a heralded RB prospect out of PA, Scott was destined to take his place with Thomas, Dozier, Warner, and Carter. Something happened on the way to stardom. Scott had trouble holding onto the ball in his first season. He got dinged up, and eventually lost his job to Hunt. Work ethic, weight, and discipline made sue that he never got the job back. His one flash of recent good-ness was the 2006 Orange Bowl where he ran for 110 yards and 2 TDs in the 26-23 win against Free Shoes University. Last year, Scott wisely redshirted, knowing that his chance to shine would be 2007.

Scott has the size to be a good back. 6'0, 215 pounds, Scott has the size to run between the tackles. While not a burner, he has the speed to get into the secondary. Scott's issues are pass catching and pass protection. Most die hard Penn State fans realize that Tony Hunt was an asset in the backfield. He led the team in receptions in 2004, and amassed nearly 900 yards receiving in 3 years. Hunt was also adept at blitz pickup, something that Scott needs to improve dramatically.

Scott's other issue is his health. He suffered an injury his senior year of high school, and had another injury in 2006 (leading to the decision to redshirt). If he can stay healthy, he could be good. His performance this year will have a huge impact on the success of the team.

Others in the mix: The talent in the backfield is untested, but by all accounts the youngsters are good. Evan Royster, Rodney Kinlaw figure to see quite a bit of time. Royster seems to be turning a lot of heads, and could be REALLY good.

Bottom Line: If Scott manages 1,000 yards this year, the Nits could be an 11 win team. If Paterno decides to go to the fatally flawed running back by committee, last year's 9-4 record will seem like a distant memory.

On a different note...

Next up: Wide Receivers

Interesting rules changes this year in college football. Moving the kickoff back to the 30 yard line will be huge, as the number of touchbacks should decrease dramatically.

Ran into Tony Hunt's uncle in a supermarket here (Stafford VA)...looks like I need to buy a #29 Eagles jersey this year.

For the Glory.

Penn State Season Preview--Quarterback

I just read the last blog I posted (right after the Illinois game--a wholly unspectacular 26-14 win sealed by an Anthony Scirotto return of an onside kick for a TD). Wow, I was pretty unhappy. An Outback Bowl win over an SEC team makes things a little better, but still, 2006 was a disappointment.

A lot of pundits are really high on the Nits this year coming out of nowhere to contend for the Big Ten title. With a favorable home schedule (OSU, Wisky, Iowa, ND), and a cupcake non-conference slate (FIU, Buffalo, Temple), I can see where they get their optimisim.

I, for one, am now a proud sipper of the Kool Aid. I think this year could be a special one for the Nits, if some key elements come together. I'm going to spend the next couple of days breaking down the team, position by position (except where boring...like the O line...no one cares what I think about the center, right guard, etc). At the end, I will give some season-defining questions to start some thoughts.

Quarterback: It is now or never for senior Anthony Morelli. An uninspiring season last year has a lot of folks wondering if he has the ability to lead Penn State to a BCS bowl game. A lot has been made of his 11 TD/8 INT performance last year. ESPN analyst Robert Smith seems to think that Morelli's lack of accuracy (sub 60% completion rate) will be a major hamstring to the Lions' offense. Maybe. Or, maybe he has a breakout season a la Kerry Collins in 1994. I don't think THAT will happen, but I do think he will be better than he was last year. He'll have to be, since he doesn't have a proven horse in the backfield.

Morelli has a major league arm and good size. What he lacks is mobility (I think gravity must pull harder on him than others) and a quick release. Last year he seemed to hold the ball too long at times. It also seemed he stared down his receiver and never found his secondary or tertiary target. Hopefully Galen Hall and Jay Paterno have worked on this.

As for targets, Morelli has as much receiving talent around him as there is in the conference. Derrick Williams is looking to erase the memory of a bad 2006 and has come into summer practice about 10 pounds lighter than last year. Justin Norwood, Deion Butler, and Terrell Golden all return and provide experience. The wildcard of that group is sophomore Chris Bell. The tallest receiver in the bunch, Bell had an outstanding Spring game, and should provide a huge target inside the red zone. Andrew Quarless should also cement himself as the premier TE in the conference.

Others in the Mix: Darryl Clark, Pat Devlin, Paul Cianciolo.

Bottom line: If Morelli can effectively distribute the ball, and if Hall somehow decides to develop a passing attack that works the middle of the field, the offense could be hard to stop if there is even an adequate running game. If Morelli continues to show the deer-in-the-headlights mentality he showed at times last year, then Joe Paterno better hope his defense is ready to win games.

Next up: Running Backs

For the Glory