The Penn State Football Show

It's that time of year again. It's better than Christmas and Thanksgiving multiplied by the 4th of July. Penn State football is back. Every year bring new stories, new players, and new excitement. Players graduate and move on to careers in and out of football, and the remaining players have to be the next man up.

The most marked losses from last year lie at quarterback and linebacker where experience and depth are exceptionally thin. Matt McGloin is chasing the impossible with the Oakland Raiders, while two young guns battle out the starting QB role without a single NCAA snap between them. At linebacker the loss of Michael Mauti and Gerald Hodges (both now Minnesota Vikings) leaves a lone returning starter in Glenn Carson.

Many around the nation wait in suspense to get a glimpse of Christian Hackenberg, the highly touted true freshman quarterback. He has all the tools to be a great quarterback, but regardless of how good he was in high school, facing a tough defense like that of Syracuse is going to be a challenge for him. He and Ferguson, who has impressed me thus far (though I think he will be relegated to the backup role even in Week 1), have the great fortune of being coached by one of the best and also having arguably the best skill position players in the Big Ten. With so many weapons on offense, it will be an easier transition for Hack or Ferg into big time college football than most true freshman would have to endure, and they are setup in a position to succeed.

Linebacker worries me the most of any position, and it's not because of the starters. Carson is an underrated player, but will get some accolades this year as he is no longer overshadowed by Mauti and Hodges (both finalists for the Butkus award last year). Hull is another great player that is going to have a breakout season. I expect 100+ tackles, 5 interceptions and at least one defensive touchdown. He is a dynamic player with tremendous work ethic, and he is going to be unleashed this season. The other outside backer will be Nyeem Wartman, a true sophomore who is an absolute load. He looks like he should fit in fine, but after these three, there is little depth. Kline is coming off of some injuries, though he is very capable, Wooten doesn't seem ready for the big stage yet after a pretty lousy performance in the Blue White game, and Bell, a true freshman will likely be getting most of his reps on special teams. O'Brien will likely move Amos or Obeng-Agyapong down from safety to be a hybrid linebacker in certain situations to help out with the lack of depth.

The defense as a whole could be very dynamic this year, but lack depth at almost every position besides defensive back (who would have thought we'd be saying this a year ago?). I honestly believe that the secondary may be the backbone of the defense. The pass rush will be solid, and if the unit can stay healthy, they should be one of the Big Ten's top defenses. Oh, yea....Deion Barnes...watch yourselves...he's coming.

Offensively there really isn't much to say. If the QB can limit mistakes, they are going to be explosive. That's kind of a weird statement, but it's true. The offensive line is the best it's been since 2008, the running backs are fantastic with power (Zwinak) and speed (Belton) and the combination (Lynch), and we all know what the receivers and tight ends are capable of.

If this team stays healthy, I swear to God, they could go undefeated. Why not? Where's the weakness? The schedule is set up nicely with the first six contests being very favorable, and by then hopefully whoever is playing quarterback has developed a rhythm to carry into the Ohio States and Michigans. I'm always pathetically optimistic, but these guys are going to be good. I'm going to predict a 10-2 record, and they're going to start that off with a 31-13 victory over a Syracuse team that thinks they have a chance. HA

For the past fourteen months I have refrained from commenting publicly about the Jerry Sandusky scandal and the related actions by the Board of Trustees, Louis Freeh, the President of Penn State and the NCAA. There have been many times, of course, when I wanted to speak out, but I needed time to deal with the loss of Joe and I believed also that this was a situation that demanded careful, thoughtful, objective analysis. The last thing Joe would have wanted is for me to become just one more voice making claims and assertions that were unsupported by the facts.  

The crimes committed by Jerry Sandusky are heartbreaking. As a mother of 5 and grandmother of 17, it is incomprehensible to me that anyone could intentionally harm a child. I think of the victims daily and I pray that God will heal their wounds and comfort their souls.

As this story unfolded, Joe and I believed strongly that the first priority must be to uncover the full truth. Despite the Board of Trustees' rash and irresponsible decision to fire Joe without ever speaking with him, we remained hopeful that the investigation they initiated with Mr. Freeh, along with simultaneous investigations by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, The Second Mile and other entities, would produce a clear and comprehensive record of what transpired. We also hoped that these investigations would result in an actionable set of lessons that other institutions could use to help prevent similar tragedies from unfolding. Sadly, neither outcome has developed.

When the Freeh report was released last July, I was as shocked as anyone by the findings and by Mr. Freeh's extraordinary attack on Joe's character and integrity. I did not recognize the man Mr. Freeh described. I am here to tell you as definitively and forcefully as I know how that Mr. Freeh could not have been more wrong in his assessment of Joe. I knew Joe Paterno as well as one human being can know another. Joe was exactly the moral, disciplined and demanding man you knew him to be. Over the years I watched as he struggled with countless personal and professional challenges. Never - not once - did I see him compromise his principles or twist the truth to avoid bad publicity or protect his reputation. Joe was tough, sometimes difficult, always opinionated and extremely demanding. He was also scrupulously honest, rigidly moral and absolutely unafraid of the consequences of doing the right thing.  

After the Freeh report was released I knew immediately that the situation demanded further review. Unfortunately, the Board's response was to panic again. They embraced the report without reviewing it. They never met with Mr. Freeh or his investigators. They asked no questions and challenged no assertions. Although they never officially voted to accept the report, they endorsed its findings and allowed the NCAA to impose unprecedented sanctions. To claim that this ill-considered and rash process served the victims and the university is a grave error. Only the truth serves the victims. Only the truth can help prevent this sort of crime from occurring again.  

Although it was not something I ever imagined doing, I directed my lawyer, Wick Sollers, of the King & Spalding firm in Washington DC, to undertake a review of the Freeh report and Joe's actions. I told him to engage the best, most respected experts, to take whatever time he needed and to go wherever the facts led. Sunday morning at 9am we are releasing the full Report by Wick and his team of experts. The report and additional information will be available at Paterno.com.  

I will not attempt in this letter to summarize the Report of the experts except to say that they unreservedly and forcefully confirm my beliefs about Joe's conduct. In addition, they present a passionate and persuasive critique of the Freeh report as a total disservice to the victims of Sandusky and the cause of preventing child sex offenses. I hope you can take the time to review the report and share it with friends and family.  

In closing, I want to address two issues that have come up frequently over the last year. First, some critics say it is no longer appropriate for me or my family to comment further on this case and that the Freeh report and the actions of the NCAA should close the book on the Sandusky scandal. This cannot happen. The Freeh report failed and if it is not challenged and corrected, nothing worthwhile will have come from these tragic events.  

Second, there has been endless speculation about what my family and I ultimately want to achieve. Is it the return of the statue? The restoration of Joe's wins? His name on the football stadium? On this point I also want to be clear. Joe Paterno's legacy wasn't a statue, a winning record or public adulation. He was grateful for the many accolades he received but he never believed they defined his life. His legacy is his family and you his players. How you live your life speaks louder than any report. The great fathers, husbands and citizens you have become fulfill the dreams Joe had. All that we want - and what I believe we owe the victims, Joe Paterno and everyone who cares about Penn State - is the full record of what happened. On this point, I know the advice Joe would give. Don't give up. Don't be afraid. Do the right thing. And make sure your actions serve the greater good. This is the path I will continue to follow.

I thank you for your support and kindness. My heart and home will always be open to you.  

Sincerely,  

Sue Paterno

The media wants everyone to think that Penn State lost to Ohio because of the sanctions. It certainly didn't help not having Silas Redd in the backfield or Justin Brown catching passes, or Anthony Fera not shanking punts. But the real issue that was exposed was the same thing that Houston went to work against in January...our secondary. None of the guys that transferred were starters on defense, and no defensive backs (except for a walk-on safety) were included in that bunch. Ohio would have had the same success throwing the football regardless of the sanctions. With the injury to Stephon Morris in the game, Ohio went right after DaQuan Davis, a true freshman cornerback, and they had some success. Penn State has also not yet installed a nickel or dime defense because of their lack of depth in the secondary. This is a huge concern, but at the same time, you also have to give Ohio and their quarterback Tyler Tettleton a lot of credit. He made some great throws, and their offensive game plan essentially neutralize Penn State's defensive line. I was disappointed in the run defense in the second half, but I think the linebackers were so concerned with the pass that their first steps were into their coverages. Luckily the next time Penn State faces a passing attack like that will not be for some time, and this week against Virginia should be a better one for Penn State's defense.

Bill Belton is out, Silas Redd is gone, and now Derek Day is the starting running back for Penn State. Thankfully, I believe that Curtis Dukes will get some significant touches this week. Last week he was relegated to special teams (where he was still making some plays). Virginia's pass defense might be even worse than Penn State's so if McGloin and Co. can take advantage, I think that Penn State can get the monkey off their back and take home a good win. I don't know what to expect this week, but I think that this team will improve greatly with each week as the coaches and players get more accustomed to the new system and correct mistakes. The team still has a lot of talent, but depth is and will continue to be the biggest concern. In the past if a linebacker got hurt, there was another to fill in adequately. It certainly was a different feeling last week.

Although I was very depressed with the outcome of the game, just being out there watching football and tailgating again felt great. The NCAA and others were quick to say that Penn State's culture was to win at all costs, but they couldn't have been farther from the truth. The entire region depends on this football team and school, and though we all know how to celebrate a big win, a loss has never been that big of a deal. It's all about having fun, watching a competitive football game, and then getting back to the fun. Let's just hope that the fan support can stay strong through these tough years....I fear that a loss to Virginia will really kill attendance for the following two home games. But I don't see either of those things happening. Lions pull out a victory 27-17

I wasn't able to watch the Ohio game live, so I recorded it and just watched the replay. Even without the scandal and the subsequent sanctions, Penn State was already going to have somewhat of a down year this year just because of who they were losing. I'll be honest though, I did not think for a second that Penn State would lose to Ohio. The first half was actually pretty good, but the second half was pretty pathetic. With that said, I think the team is capable of turning things around. The schedule doesn't get any easier though as they travel to UVA then face Navy and Temple. Here are my observations from the game: I really like Kyle Carter. Great size. Reminds me of Gronk. The way O'Brien utilizes tight ends, he could be a force for Penn State this year. For the most part I thought the defense tackled well, but the defensive playcalling and scheming was just awful. Not a good debut for Ted Roof/Graham Spanier. Why the hell is Gerald Hodges returning punts? Belton does not seem like a Big Ten running back to me. He's a great athlete, but he's not a running back. Doesn't have the size and doesn't know how to protect the football. He will fumble plenty more if he doesn't correct that. Surprisingly, Derek Day looked pretty good. Does a good job of getting North and South. I still can't figure out how Curtis Dukes can't get on the field. He's either the worst blocker in the world or he's got some off the field issues. Because he is big and he can run and he would be effective. Man I miss Silas. That was such a huge loss. Massarro and Stanely were non-factors. Lets hope that changes soon. Allen Robinson looks great. Offense much more complex than we are used too. Some crazy routes. Well thought out schemes. Mcgloin seems to have pretty good handle of it. Really impressed with o-line, especially pass protection.

There are certain situations in life that instantly add maturity and responsibility onto the shoulders of people that, prior to that situation, were young, innocent, and care-free. Old western movies show a young boy whose father got shot, and just like that he has to be the man of the house. At just 11 years old, a boy went from playing in the fields with his younger brother, to protecting his home, mother, and entire family from harm.

For Penn State football players, students, and alumni, we have, in a way, gone through something similar. Last year at this time, juniors at Penn State were enjoying the best times of their lives. They were turning 21, going to the bar (legally) for the first time, tailgating, and cheering with pride for their football team before getting back to the rigors of homework on Sunday. They were going to class, skipping every now and then to catch up on sleep. They were going to the gym, the Creamery, doing crossword puzzles in the HUB, and relaxing on the lawn in front of Old Main. Months later, those same students have aged years. They're still turning 21, but now they're forced to defend themselves, their university, their institution. They have learned how to analyze and tear apart legal documents, pointedly make intelligent arguments, and how to stand up for what they believe in, while trying not to come across as fanatical. The spotlight is on them, these 18-22 year old kids. Their peers at Ohio State or the University of Georgia continue to live care-free, going through college as the rest of us have. If they vandalize a car it's just because their dumb college kids. If they protest something, there's no one there telling them they are stupid, blind apologists. But those Penn Staters, they've got some white streaks in their hair, a few extra wrinkles by their eyes. They've been through a year that their counterparts at Alabama or Oregon or any other university in the world would cringe at, but there they stand, proud, fervent, and loyal.

Students that go to Penn State will still have fun, and much will remain unchanged from the years that I enjoyed. Kids will be kids, but they will also learn very quickly how to be an adult and how to properly represent their university. Everyone preaches the importance of academics alongside athletics, and Penn State, regardless of what the NCAA says, has not just preached, but practiced this, and they will continue to do so now more than ever. Life isn't over for Penn Staters, life has just changed. We are Penn State, and like it or not, we are the man of the house now. Let us all move forward and do everything we can individually, and together, to restore the pride that once was and forever will be Penn State.

This blog has been completely silent throughout the entire coaching search, and that was probably for the better. Anything we would have posted would have been pure speculation anyway. I spent a great deal of time every single day reading the latest rumors on the message boards about the coaching search, the rumored candidates, and the direction people believed the search committee was heading in. I’ve never been so obsessed over an impending decision. In the end, this proved to be a colossal waste of time, because it became abundantly clear pretty early on that NOBODY had any clue, what was going on. Somehow, the search committee managed to keep the entire process completely quiet, without many leaks at all. Which, in this day and age, is quite impressive and should be commended, even though it was incredibly frustrating!

Even though I knew nobody knew anything, I still couldn’t help reading. I’m not going to act like I know what went on behind the scenes, because I don’t, and only those involved do. It certainly seems like Petersen and Munchak were two of the top choices, and it appears both turned down the job. Where O’Brien was on the list, we will never know. But he is our coach now, and I’m excited about it. I will admit it was pretty underwhelming after some of the names that were rumored to be interested. But sometimes a young, hungry coach, anxious to prove himself, turns out to be a much better (and more affordable) hire than a big-name coach.

I didn’t love the hire at first, but I didn’t hate it as much as most seemed to initially. First and foremost, if he’s on Bill Belichik’s staff, he has a great football mind. No doubt about it. I know people always bring up the fact that his assistants don’t succeed as head coaches, but that doesn’t scare me at all. Just because the others failed does not mean O’Brien will fail. Everybody’s different. Doesn’t anyone remember the main reason Aaron Rodgers fell so far in the draft? It was because quarterbacks in Jeff Tedford’s system don’t succeed in the NFL: David Carr, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, Kyle Boller. So 23 teams all bought into that bullshit and passed on Aaron Rodgers. So much for that thought! I’m not saying O’Brien will be the one to end this curse, I’m just saying it’s not a reason to discount all Belichik assistants. That’s just foolishness

I liked O’Brien better than Clements and Roman. He is younger than Clements and I like the fact that he is an Ivy Leaguer and from all accounts, is a man of great integrity and believes strongly in the academic side of being a college football coach. While it sucks he isn’t able to start right now, I respect the hell out of the fact that he is staying with the Patriots and not just bailing on them as many coaches do these days. As a Penn State fan, yes, it’s inconvenient, but it says a lot about his character and his loyalty, which is much more important to me in the long run. I liked the way he stated it in the press conference too, “I couldn’t come up here today and talk about commitment and loyalty, and then turn my back on the Patriots in the middle of a Super Bowl run.”

Along those same lines, after Munchak stated publicly that he had no interest in the PSU job, there were rumors floating around that he was still thinking about it. As much as I wanted him to take the job, I was not comfortable with the thought of Penn State’s coach being a guy that just a few days earlier looked into the camera and said “I am not interested in coaching at Penn State.” All the fans talk about what it means to be a “Penn State guy.” Well I don’t think being a “Penn State guy” means lying to the media, the public, and your players and bailing on them after one year. That’s why he stayed, I respect his decision. You could tell he was tempted, but the timing was not right for him. I hope he succeeds in Tennessee.

Right off the bat, though, I did have two main concerns about O’Brien: 1. Is this guy just going to bolt after a few years when another job, possibly an NFL job, opens up? 2. How is this guy going to assemble a coaching staff?

The answer to number 1 we won’t know until it happens or doesn’t happen. He has spent most of his career in college football. He seems to be big into teaching kids both on and off the field, so he seems like a better fit for college than the NFL. But we will just have to wait and see.

Here are the reasons I was concerned about him putting together a solid staff: He’s currently with New England, and promised to finish out the season with them, which could take a while, knowing how Bill Belichik operates. How much time and energy can he put toward hiring a staff? More importantly, who is he going to get? Certainly not many, if any members of the New England Patriots staff are going to pick up and leave a perennial Super Bowl contender to coach at a college in the middle of the biggest scandal in college football history. Other than that, his coaching experiences have been mainly at Duke, Maryland and Georgia Tech. All solid academic schools, but not exactly football powerhouses. Not to mention, the way things were going, it was looking like Penn State was trying to clean house, despite the fact that they had some of the best assistant coaches in the country.

Well this concern was quickly addressed in his press conference. He stated that he planned to have the entire staff in place in the next few days, which to me, clearly indicated that he had been working on this previously. I imagine part of the interviewing/hiring process consisted of questions about who his staff would be. More importantly though, was his announcement during the press conference that Larry Johnson was remaining on the staff. That was easily the best news of the day. If LJ isn’t the best defensive line coach in the country, I don’t know who is. Not to mention this helps tremendously with recruiting because he will help keep the commitments they already had for next year plus he’s just a great recruiter in general. The next piece of great news is that Ron Vanderlinden is also staying. After names like Mullen, Roman, Petersen, Clements and O’Brien were floating around, it became apparent that the coaching search was focused on bringing in an offensive minded coach (for good reason). I felt I’d be fine with a lesser known offensive minded candidate IF he retains two out of the three of Bradley, LJ and Vanderlinden. That way we could maintain Penn State’s sick defense and add a great offense. And O’Brien managed to do that. (At some point I want to dedicate a post to Tom Bradley because he is the man and deserved much better than what he got.) But back to O’Brien, I was thrilled he was able to keep those two. Even better, is the fact that he was wise enough and strong enough to let everyone else go. Nobody on the staff deserved to stay besides Bradley, LJ and Vandy. But I feared they were going to clean house and get rid of everyone. I was very happy to hear that he kept those two and got rid of the rest, that was the best way to handle it. Plus I loved the fact that people erupted in cheers at the presser when he announced LJ was staying. If O’Brien didn’t know how beloved LJ was before that moment, he certainly does now.

Then he started assembling his staff, which so far, I’m pretty pleased with. Just going off of resumes and prior experiences, my favorite pick up so far is Hixon, the wide receivers coach from the Buffalo Bills. First of all, we all know that wide receivers are the biggest prima donnas on the field. So if there is ever a position where having a former NFL coach will pay dividends in recruiting, it’s at WR. More importantly, look at the wide receivers they have at Buffalo. Stevie Johnson. David Nelson. Who are these guys? A bunch of no-name undrafted nobodies. And they have had a lot of success and scored a lot of points. Plus he coached a lot of great wideouts at LSU. So I think this is a great hire. An enormous step up from McQueary, who never even played WR.

The new o-line coach, McWhorter, has some great experience. He coached at Texas for many years, as well as Georgia and Alabama.

The biggest questions marks hires would be the TE coach and the new defensive coordinator. The TE coach only because his career has mostly been at smaller schools. But you never know. The new DC, Roof, has not had much success as a head coach at Duke or as a defensive coordinator at Auburn. For what it’s worth, Bunda’s buddy Mike, who is a scout for the Arizona Cardinals, said Roof is a great hire and is better than people give him credit for. While Auburn gave up a ton of points this year, Mike says they really only had one NFL caliber player on their defense. I guess we will see how this one plays out, but at this point, I will give O’Brien the benefit of the doubt. He wouldn’t have hired Roof if he didn’t have faith in him. Plus Roof has head coaching experience, which could come in handy.

The fact that these coaches are coming from all over the country will help with recruiting. Never before have we had strong ties to Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, New England, etc. This is completely different and should benefit recruiting. I also the fact that all of these guys decided to leave their jobs to join O’Briens staff says a lot about the respect they each have for him. Hixon left an NFL Wide Receivers coaching position for the same exact role at Penn State. McWhorter came out of retirement to join O’Brien’s staff. Roof just accepted a job A FEW WEEKS AGO at Central Florida to work for his close friend George O’Leary and is already leaving to join O’Brien’s staff. Clearly all of these guys must have a lot of respect for O’Brien. I believe they all realize the difficult position he is in, taking over a program in such turmoil, and they all are anxious to help him succeed and turn things around.

Although it’s extremely early, I’m very pleased with O’Brien so far. How successful he is depends largely upon how good his coaching staff is, and so far I like what I see. I actually have a theory… After the controversy and Erickson’s claim that Penn State would “de-emphasize football,” I don’t think Penn State could have dished out 4+ million for a coach. It would have been more bad PR and that’s the last thing this university needed. So they end up hiring a first time coach for under a million a year, and there are no bad headlines. But I have a theory that they promised O’Brien they would be willing to pay his assistants a shitload of money to help him assemble the best staff he could, which will really help him succeed. And the salaries of assistant coaches never make headlines, so there would be no bad PR there. I don’t know if that’s really what happened, but if it is, I think it was a pretty smart move and will end up paying off big time.