TodayPaterno, QBs focus for Blue White game
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The outcome means little, but all eyes will be focused on the 2008 version of the Penn State football team this afternoon at Beaver Stadium.
Hard to believe that just a few months ago, Anthony Morelli was playing his air guitar on the San Antonio turf after a 24-17 comeback victory over Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl.
There’s plenty to watch in today’s contest, which kicks off at 2 p.m. However, there is no live television for the contest. A tape-delayed version will air on the Big Ten Network next week.
The focus of the scrimmage will be on the quarterback battle.
Will it be Daryll Clark, dubbed the possible second coming of Michael Robinson? What about Pennsylvania’s all-time high school leading passer, Pat Devlin?
Is redshirt freshman Stephfon Green the real deal at tailback?
Maybe more importantly, how will the linebacking corps respond without the recently injured Sean Lee?
Penn State needs to find depth at the wide receiver spot and groom a second-string tight end behind Mickey Shuler Jr. as well. Young defensive linemen must fill holes left by injuries or suspensions.
But the one to always watch when it comes to Penn State is, of course, head coach Joe Paterno.
Is this his final Blue White game?
It has to be asked, but there will surely be no concrete answer. The only known with Paterno’s status past 2008 is the great unknown, despite what President Graham Spanier said in a recent e-mail to the Associated Press about the coach being reviewed annually.
The focus is, and always has been, Paterno.
Now it’s a question of whether this is really his final Blue White scrimmage.
Even money says it’s not.
Nor will it be next year’s game.
At some point, time will catch up to him, but he’s been defying time for so long already. At any normal job, age 65 likely means someone is calling it quits. That would have been 16 years ago for Paterno.
This isn’t a normal situation, nor a normal man. He is an iconic cornerstone of college football. He is one of the last great, loyal figures that isn’t afraid to stand up for what he believes in.
Winning this season may buy him a little more time.
But there will always be those questions throughout.
Now Paterno will put his faith in a new quarterback, a tweaked offense, an experienced offensive line and talent all over the place and hope they can come through for him one more time.
If they do that, he might get all the time he wants.
