Wednesday, April 21, 2010
As Saturday approaches, we are faced with a very interesting and one of the most important spring games in recent memory. A few years ago, the QB situation was up in the air, but the two candidates (Clark and Devlin) were well established and had been with the team for a few years. Now we enter with a true freshman, and two true sophomores. Newsome displayed some of his terrific athleticism last year, but also his inexperience as he was prone to put the ball on the ground and tended to be pretty inaccurate with the football. Word on the street is that McGloin, the walk-on, is outplaying Newsome and Jones and is the most polished passer of the group and currently has more backing from his teammates than the other QB's. I am all for the best quarterback playing, but I also look at this year as a rebuilding year. This is a young team, and there will be some games that are lost because of the inexperience of the team. In the future, however, McGloin is not the answer. I would accept a two-QB system a la Rashard Casey and Kevin Thompson, but I think having McGloin start would simply be a temporary solution, and it would hurt the team for 2011. Newsome needs to get game experience even if he isn't the best QB this year. I can't stress this enough.
The running game on the other hand looks stellar. Royster has proven himself over the years and might not even participate in the game. Green has improved and seems to play his best football in bowl games. If he can become a better runner between the tackles, watch out. Silas Redd and Curtis Dukes are the guys to watch though. Thunder and lightning, and the future of this ground game. Reports indicate that Redd is ready to go and most likely will not be redshirted this fall.
The wide receiver position is another one in good hands, and a few new faces will bring even more talent to the most stacked position for the Lions. Brandon Moseby-Felder and Shawney Kersey who redshirted last year are two of the fastest players on the team and have really impressed this spring. Guys like Drake, Smith, and Brown are sophomores with experience and have pushed Chaz Powell to the defensive side of the ball. Powell is a big dude and could thrive on the defensive side of the ball. You need him on the field and I think that this move is a good one.
The secondary will be something I take a close look at as well. They could be a terrific unit with the return of pretty much everyone (Wallace should be easily replaced). This years squad is very aggressive and should produce more turnovers with their play. We saw what Stephon Morris could do in coverage, and now Derrick Thomas will join him on the field. He is reportedly a bigger version of Morris, but due to the fact that he started school in the summer and not winter, he redshirted. This could be a dominating force.
Linebacker and defensive line got decimated by departures, but these are the positions that Penn State has thrived off of, and I expect them to be solid. Defensive end should be at an elite level, and Devon Still might be able to make the kind of impact that Odrick has the past few years.
The offensive line is a giant mess, and I have no idea who will be starting where come September, but for now, Wisniewski has been moved back to guard and Doug Klopacz has taken over at center. I think the coaches were hoping one of the young guys like Shrive and Howle would be able to push for a starting position, but they look to be a year away from that. There is still a lot of talent on this line, but with the way JoePa has been ripping on them, it appears they just aren't there right now. The fact that he does tear into them on a regular basis means he believes they can be good.
Should be an interesting game, and I'm thankful that this year I don't have to pay some jabroni $10 to watch it in shitty resolution on my computer and I can enjoy it on my 46" Sony Bravia instead. Wish I could be there, but I've got a 10k to run tomorrow and a sister to beat or God have mercy on my soul. I remember back in the day when I was in college, I'd go to these games mildly hammered and start cheering for the White team hardcore and boo when the Blue team was doing well. People thought I was weird.
