Penn State football: PSU players aim to earn respect
Print
Share
Email to a friend
Add This
Article RatingConfident and taking an all business approach to the 2007 season, members of the Penn State football are looking at the upcoming season as a “job.” Some, like linebacker Sean Lee, feel there is unfinished business and is leading the charge of Nittany Lion players who feel their team needs to earn some respect, nationally and around the conference.
Lee is also one of a group of players oozing confidence headed into upcoming season.
Over the past four months or so, the 2007 version of the Nittany Lions have grown together, formed an even stronger bond than they already had as a unit. They've learned from mistakes, although they've yet to face the daunting, most serious punishment stemming from an off-campus fight in April. That will come on Sunday morning Sept. 2 when they step foot inside Beaver Stadium and begin cleaning up after the first of seven home games.
But it's the maturity this team has developed. On paper and in spoken word it all looks well and good headed into the dog days of summer.
“Summer it's been going great,” said starting safety Tony Davis, “really great for the whole team and individually.” Everybody's doing great, everybody's improving, no one is slacking, no one is falling behind, everyone's getting better.”
There's the sense of unfinished business from members of the Nittany Lions. A season ago, how close they came in losses to Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin. How badly they don't want to repeat the issues that plagued them in South Bend. How much they want to prove that their 20-10 beatdown of Tennessee in the Outback Bowl wasn't a fluke.
How satisfying they want this 2007 season to be for themselves and their legendary head coach Joe Paterno.
“I think we need to earn respect,” said linebacker Sean Lee. “People think we're underrated, well we didn't win the close games when we needed to last year. We ended on a high note but we need to come out and earn respect in the beginning of the year and win football games.”
Those close games, losses to Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, were decided by a combined 42 points, not that close on paper, but consider Penn State led Ohio State 3-0, and trailed 7-3 until a five minute span in the fourth quarter.
“You keep winning just like we did going into the Orange Bowl (in 2005),” Lee continued. “We kept winning football games and that's how you do it. You go out, you play as hard as you can and you win.”
But is national championship talk warranted with this team? Is the ability to potentially send Joe Paterno out on a high note reachable? Can this year's team finally, finally, beat Michigan?
“There's belief,” Lee's linebacking mate Dan Connor said. “We're confident in ourselves. We're not going to make claims this early before we even see ourselves play, but we're a good football team and we're confident in our abilities and if we can band together come August I think we'll be a contender.”
It's ironic to think a fight brought this team closer. All summer long at his various alumni stops across the state Joe Paterno has expressed disappointment that the leaders on his team didn't step up and stop the kind of behavior that landed All-Big Ten safety Anthony Scirritto and several others in hot water.
Scirritto's status for the first game against Florida International is still undetermined. Paterno alluded to “probably sitting one or two guys,” during his stop in Camp Hill earlier this summer. Then there are some departures, such as Chris Auletta, Antonio Logan-El, Elijah Robinson, all for one reason or another.
Still Paterno will return 13 starters from a season ago, his starting quarterback has a full year under his belt, his offensive line has some experience, and his defense, while young, will be fast.
“I think we have guys who are ready to step up, “ Lee said. “I think Coach will see we have a lot of great leaders on this team and we're going to do well because of it.”
“I'd like to have a good impression in Joe's head of me and our senior class and our whole journey through Penn State football,” Connor added. “That's one thing we work for, just trying to impress the coach.”
Morelli is one of those guys that have put in extra work. Countless hours of film study, hanging out with his wide receivers. A year ago Morelli was a marked man, he could do no right and never enough in the eyes of some fans. He played with a chip on his shoulder in the Outback Bowl.
He's taking his off field routine to a different level this summer. He told reporters recently that he's been watching an excess amount of New York Jets film in order to prepare for week two's showdown with Notre Dame.
The Irish recently brought in former Jets secondary coach Corwin Brown as their new defensive coordinator.
“I have a whole season under my belt and the guys know they can count on me when it comes game time,” Morelli said. “You never know, we might need an 80-yard drive or a big play and they know they can count on me and I know I can count on them so it's just being a leader vocally and leading by example. I just know I have confidence in myself to get it done.”
Players have said along with Connor, Morelli and wide receiver Terrell Golden have stepped up and accepted the leadership role this off season that Paterno has been searching for stemming from the fight.
“I already consider myself one of those guys,” Morelli added. “You can't be around to baby-sit guys all of the time. They're going to be out and about and they have to know to have a good head on their shoulders and stay out of trouble. I'm going to be a leader as much as I can, do as much as I can, to keep those guys out of together as a team and focus on our goals. I'm going to do whatever it takes.”
The Nittany Lions will open preseason practice in August before hosting Florida International in the season opener on September 1.
Notes: According to the Nittany Lion football office, 93,500 season tickets have been sold for the upcoming season...tickets for three Big Ten home games with Iowa, Wisconsin and Ohio State are sold out...a limited number of tickets remain for the season opener with FIU...according to the Nittany Lion Club, membership for the NLC is close to surpassing 23,000.
