The biggest buzz coming out of the open practice session last Saturday was easily the 40 yard run by redshirt freshman Stephfon Green. Today another two accounts of the run popped up in the media. First from The Centre Daily Times.
As Stephfon Green bounced to his feet, reporters in Holuba Hall, who hadn't previously seen Green in action, exchanged looks. His teammates, who had, exchanged yells of excitement.
There is a new weapon in the Penn State backfield this spring, one that is literally turning heads with each step.
And then from The Daily Collegian.
Here was Stephfon Green, fresh off his high school graduation, breaking a simple screen pass 80 yards against Penn State's defense.
"I thought he was a beast from Day 1," former Penn State cornerback Justin King, who watched that play from the sidelines, said in a phone interview yesterday. "I was like, man, that kid's got that 'it' factor. ... I've never seen that happen here."
Evan Royster, the team's leading returning rusher, returns. But if Green's productivity matches the hype, Green could see his share of time this season.
Another defensive back, Lydell Sargeant, has his story. Sargeant saw Green create big play after big play but was unconvinced it was anything more than Green just outrunning the defense.
That perception was thrown out the window the day Green ran a 4.2 in the 40-yard dash.
"We realized he's a legitimate 4.2 guy," Sargeant said. "Last year, he showed going against first and second teams he can do work against quality competition."
Sargeant flashed a wide smile when asked about Green and barely waited for the question to be finished before he started raving.
Not long before he spoke after Saturday's practice, he had seen another highlight. Green lined up behind quarterback Pat Devlin when a basic handoff off the right side of the offensive line turned into a dazzling run.
Green displayed his home run threat by busting loose for a 45-yard gain. He was hardly touched before Anthony Scirrotto tackled him from behind.
"He's got the speed to do just about anything," center A.Q. Shipley said.
Shipley didn't see much of Green last fall, but he heard all about him.
"All last year, Dan Connor was talking him up," he said. "He must have been doing something right."
I don't know if you noticed on that play, but Green was running with the second team offense against the first team defense. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. GoPSF.com has video from the practice session, which soon worked it's way on to Youtube. It's a very entertaining watch. You can catch Green's run at around the 0:30 mark. My favorite part is when Joe gets done chewing out Gerald Cadogen for improper blocking technique and casually turns to Lou Eliades and barks, "Get that shirt pulled down!"
Etcetera
Trial date is set for Chris Baker
They're messing with tickets again
Rich Kotite was spotted having dinner at the Tavern
Notre Dame is joining the Big Ten