Big Ten Football Preview: Penn State
There stood Joe Paterno, Penn State's 83-year-old legend of a head coach, talking about his young, inexperienced football team at Big Ten media days.
It was a strange sight, a paradox of sorts.
For as long as Paterno is roaming the sidelines in State College, he's always going to be the story. But it seems disingenuous to suggest Paterno's longevity is the only narrative surrounding Penn State's 2010 season.
After all, with an overhauled roster, this could be one of Paterno's toughest coaching jobs in his 45 years with the program. Only 13 starters return from the Nittany Lions' 11-2 campaign in 2009.
"I have a young team," Paterno said. "Obviously, we've got some growing up to do."
Paterno is without former quarterback Daryll Clark, defensive end Jared Odrick, and linebackers Navorro Bowman and Sean Lee — all were All-Big Ten selections at one point in their careers.
The loss of Clark, a two-year starter at quarterback, is particularly troubling for the Nittany Lion offense, if only because his successor isn't easily determined. Clark spent the last two seasons abusing opposing defenses for 5,595 passing yards and 43 touchdowns while only throwing 16 interceptions.
After Paterno opted to redshirt promising freshman quarterback Paul Jones, the race for the starting position is down to three — sophomore Kevin Newsome, redshirt sophomore Matt McGloin, and true freshman Robert Bolden.
The trio has thrown 13 career passes — or, as Paterno says, "We don't have a quarterback who has played much."
Senior running back Evan Royster said, "I think everybody feels a little bit of pressure [in replacing Clark], even the defensive guys. Losing that many guys — and we lost all our linebackers, too — we've got some spots to fill."
Despite all of Penn State's questions at quarterback, the preseason pundits predicted little drop-off in the Nittany Lions' success. Paterno's squad closed out 2009 ranked No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and it opens up 2010 No. 14.
A major reason for that is Royster's play at running back.
A Heisman candidate, Royster has compiled 2,918 yards in his three years on campus. He sits just 481 yards away from becoming Penn State's all-time leading rusher.
At Big Ten media days in Chicago, Royster minimized the significance of obtaining the rushing crown, saying, "If I set my goals the way I have the past couple years, then that rushing record that everybody is talking about will come."
Perhaps more important than the record is the fact that Royster's mere presence will alleviate a substantial amount of pressure from the first-year starting quarterback, whomever it may be.
"Our offensive line, and Evan are going to be a big part of the offense to get that quarterback eased into the season," junior cornerback D'Anton Lynn said.
But Paterno and Co. won't have much time to get eased into the season.
The Nittany Lions open with Youngstown State at home. And then in Week 2, they travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to play Alabama, the defending national champions and prohibitive No. 1 team in the country.
"[That game is] going to tell us a lot about how the season is going to go," Royster said. "If we can even go down there and stick with them and give them a good game — or even win the game — we know we can be good and we'll have a lot of confidence."
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