It's Wednesday, so time for another round of the Blue & White Roundtable. Your humble blogger offers the questions this week, so this is the awkward part of the rotation where I talk to myself. Amazingly, I was still stumped at some of the questions and had to think pretty hard to answer them. That either means I'm a brilliant interviewer or I'm the village idiot. Anyway, make sure you go check out Run Up The Score and The Nittany Line to see if they did any better than I did. As always, we want to hear your input so tell us if we nailed it or blew it.
Alright, first off, which one of you guys is sending death threats to Anthony Morelli?
It had to be this guy.
Hello? Is this Anthony Morelli? YOU SUCK! YOU'RE A LOSER! I HATE YOU! (click)
What is your reaction to comments Morelli made about his former high school football coach? Does this help or hurt his situation?
It definitely hurts his situation with his teammates. Here they are two weeks away from their bowl game and he's creating distractions and drawing attention to himself. What was the point of his comments? So what if he said some high school kid was further along than he was in high school? It's in the past. Let it go. In commenting on it Morelli showed his insecurity, selfishness, and immaturity. If I were his teammate, I wouldn't have much faith in him at this point. I certainly don't as a fan.
Enough with the negative crap. We have a bowl game to talk about. With three weeks of practice, many second and third stringers are getting extra reps. Give me the name of a player that will have a breakout game in the Outback Bowl ala Kerry Collins in 1993.
I believe this will be Maurice Evans' breakout game. He's been getting more playing time all season. Now he's had three weeks to go back and review the fundamentals and watch some film. He's ready to step up and be a force at defensive end. Phillip Taylor and Jared Odrick are two other freshmen to watch.
Let's talk recruiting for a moment. The Lions have focused heavily on getting linebackers and offensive linemen this year. They have also landed some wide receivers and tight ends. They probably have 3 or 4 scholarships left to give. Which positions should they focus on and do you have any favorite high school players in mind?
We've done very well on the offensive line in getting Josh Marks and Stefen Wisniewski. With J.B. Walton and the rest of the guys from last year's class, we should be set on the offensive line for the next few years. We also recruited well in getting Colasanti, Dailey, and Stupar to fill the linebackers for the next four years.
I think we need more explosive talent on offense. The Penn State offense needs that feature running back in order to be productive. We get Austin Scott back next year after Tony Hunt graduates, but he has been plagued by injuries his entire career and there is no guarantee he will stay healthy. Who knows who comes in after Scott graduates. Evan Royster is supposedly tearing it up on the scout team, but then so did Morelli. It's tough to say how he will play until we actually see him. So I think Penn State should focus on going after a top notch running back. LeSean McCoy is heavily favored to come to Penn State, but he has some issues with his SAT scores before that happens. Broderick Green is another one the Lions are looking at, but he has already verbaled to USC. Other than those two guys the Lions don't have anyone else on their radar.
Mitchell, Cappelletti, Warner, Dozier, Thomas, Carter, Enis, Johnson, and Hunt. Will the next great Penn State running back be on the 2007 roster?
Unless Austin Scott runs for 2000 yards it won't be him. His career has been riddled with injuries and he has one year left to try to break 1000 yards. And unless he proves he can pick up a blitz and catch a pass he will never be the feature back.
Evan Royster is reportedly impressing the coaches in practice leading to call him a "great all around back." With all four years of eligibility left he has a great chance. He too fought some injuries with some shoulder stingers this year, but he's reportedly 100% healthy now. I think he has great potential to be a great one.
Stephfon Green was having a spectacular senior year in high school before breaking his leg. But the Lions project him to play defensive back in college.
If the Lions can land LeSean McCoy he has tremendous potential. I guarantee he will redshirt his first year to focus on his grades. As long as he goes to class and keeps his grades up the sky is the limit for him.
Finish this sentence: You know you're a Tennessee redneck if...
You take your whole house to the tailgate party.
Ok time for the lightning round Jim Cramer style. BOOYAH! Buy or Sell?
BOOYAH!!!
Anthony Morelli?
Hold this one until after the New Year, then SELL SELL SELL! I was willing to give Anthony Morelli the benefit of the doubt for the longest time. I figured he just needed some experience to get better. But I'm not seeing any improvement. Worse than that, I'm not seeing any motivation or fire in his eyes. Now he's getting into a media war with his former high school coach? This guy is not a winner. I'll keep my mouth shut when he plays well, but from now on when he plays poorly I will be the biggest Pat Devlin fan in Nittany Nation.
Derrick Williams?
I'm holding this one for now. He's got skills, but until he gets a coach that knows how to call his number, a quarterback that can get him the ball, and an offensive line that can protect said quarterback he's not going to excite me.
LeSean McCoy?
BUY BUY BUY!!! But sell at the first sign of trouble. He's got the skills to be a star, but his grades are going to make this a risky investment.
Tickets to next season's Rose Bowl?
BUY BUY BUY!!! We can always sell them to Michigan fans if things don't work out.