I have a pretty lengthy post for later in the day, but there are some newsworthy links out there I wanted to point out for you first.
Jay Paterno talked to the Daily Collegian about quarterback recruiting, and from the sounds of it, our days of recruiting guys like Anthony Morelli are over.
"If you can get a guy that can throw the ball and is athletic, you'd like that over a guy that's just stuck in the pocket, if they're similar throwing the ball," Paterno said. "If it's third and ten, and the left tackle gets beat, if you have a guy that can't evade anybody, you're punting the ball."
He noted a shift in the game, which he attributed to an emphasis on defensive line speed.
"There's so much athleticism and speed on defense, and everybody is out there trying to recruit the great pass rushers," Paterno said. "So you better have a guy that can make them at least hesitate a little bit, and make sure those defensive ends have to play contain."
I wholeheartedly endorse this endeavor.
Speaking of quarterbacks, it's hard to believe there are still people out there bitter about Pat Devlin leaving the program, but yet reporters still keep bringing it up.The Big Ten Network is showing Penn State's unbelievably disappointing loss at Iowa in 2008 right now (Sunday night). The Lions, ranked No. 3 and undefeated in week 10, were up by nine in the fourth quarter and blew it.
The game remains a very bad memory to PSU fans for many reasons, not the least of which is the quarterback decision.
To many Lion fans, the game is still essentially the "Pat Devlin fiasco."
I'm calling B.S., Mr. Giger. I've never heard anyone refer to the "Pat Devlin Fiasco", and I charge that you just made that up to lend credibility to your story. Pat Devlin got beat by Daryll Clark, and he didn't want to wait until 2010 to play football, so he left. End of story. Get over it already.
I keep saying the real story for the 2010 team is going to be the offensive line. The Daily Collegian gives us an update from Stefen Wisniewski and Quinn Barham.
"We've certainly got some work to do still," Wisniewski said. "But we've got a month here until camp, and then we've got all of camp to get better. I think we can be where we need to be by the time the season starts."
I wasn't aware of this, but apparently recent Penn State defensive line verbal Shawn Oakman is a pretty good basketball player. So good, in fact, that the 6'8" 250 lb athlete is going to play basketball for Ed DeChellis too.
The 6-8, 250-pound Oakman verbally committed to the Nittany Lions on July 1. However, it looks like what is good for Joe Paterno is good for Ed DeChellis, too, as Oakman, also a Division I basketball prospect who has helped Penn Wood High School to two consecutive PIAA championship games, plans to play both sports for Penn State.
"They [the Penn State football coaches] encouraged it. They fully support it,'' Oakman said in a phone interview from a team camp at Albright College in Reading. "So, that will be good.''
In Scores Of Other Games
- Andrew Quarless has signed on with the Green Bay Packers. Good for him.
More BSD action later today.