Joe Paterno's Getting Old Again, And It's Killing Penn State's Recruiting

You lost any credibility as a knowledgeable commentator on Penn State’s situation as soon as you typed this sentence: Conventional wisdom has it that defensive coordinator Mark Bradley
became the de facto head coach
around then, with JoePa’s lack of contribution made up for by his PR
value.

First of all, there is no Mark Bradley associated with Penn State football. The defensive coordinator is TOM Bradley and it takes about ten seconds of research to find that out. If you did any sort of research into the program, which clearly, you havent, you would have found that Paterno still does a ton of the coaching himself. The reason he had hip surgery two years ago was because he hurt it while showing his players how to properly execute an onsides kick. Something a figure-head coach wouldn’t do. If you ask anyone associated with the program, they will tell you that Joe is anything but a figurehead. He still has full control over this program.

Your assertion that our quarterback situation is a disaster is ridiculous and again off-base. Penn State will likely start a former 4-star prospect this year, and we have a 5-star and 4-star freshman waiting in the wings.

Furthermore, if you fully read that blog you quoted, you’d learn that Penn State only has a few scholarship positions available this year (unlike SEC teams, we are not in the business of oversigning players) so they are being selective in who we give offers to.

Penn State won’t be 11-2 this year, but they are a long way away from returning to the dark years. This article, I’m afraid, is unsaveable. Seriously, do some actual research before you puppet the "JoePa is old" line over and over.

Thomas Bradley’s full name is Thomas Mark Bradley, and he routinely goes by Mark.

Just saying.

Bradley’s middle name may be Mark, but he definitely does not go by Mark.   He is called "Scrap" by his players and "Tom" or "Coach Bradley" in more formal settings.  No one calls him Mark.

Had you called him "Scrap" that would have demonstrated some knowledge of the program, but I have to agree with kmartin that your article was poorly researched and highly speculative.

First, I didn’t write the article. 

Second, what does it matter what the players call him?   I’ve more than a few times during conferences and camps heard other coaches refer to him as Mark.  

Now did the author know that when he wrote this article?  Probably not, odds are he just half-assed a sporting news blog entry on a wednesday afternoon.

Well as someone on the far outside, but still a Penn State fan, I’m glad Joe PA still grabs the headlines. Call him a figurehead, call him a coach, I call him PENN STATE FOOTBALL! The guy has got class and dignity. Has he coached beyond what everyone expected? OF course he has. Coaches are leaders , teachers and people you want to emulate.Joe PA has done all that and more. Would you rather have a younger coach who lack good qualities and is only concerned about their program? Whether that means offering scholarships to kids who have other kids take their tests, or get paid under the table? Not me.

JoePA is the classic example of age=wisdom. A SMART kid realizes this and is succesful as a student and an athlete and will attend the school. Sometimes there’s more to life than a BCS Bowl game.

The only guy above JoePa in the pantheon of college football is The Bear.  JoePa is freaking timeless, and I just can’t imagine his current health really affecting their recruiting.  Let’s wait until next Feb. before we decide whether or not PSU’s next class is a success or not.

Even after the Lord finally calls Joe home, we’ll still be talking about how the ghost of JoePa is feeding PSU top recruits for years to come. 

Joe, I hope you coach another 20 years.  You sir, are all that is right about college athletics. 

After reading the blog and all the comments about it, I have come to the realization that there are times when a writer is told he needs to have a column written by a certain deadline on a topic that needed to be researched better than it was. For years, Penn State has not sent out offers to Seniors-to be preferring to wait until the season is over to make sure they have made the right choices. They have had sucsess with this in the past. They do not have a lot of scholarships to offer at this time. They have been ranked in the TOP 25 for recruiting for several years. As to the QB situation, that is JoePa’s fault!! He should have played Newsome more last year during lopsided games. Penn State will be either 9-3 or 8-4 this year(depending on how good Mich/MSU are), get into a bowl game and then the speculation will start again!! 

As long as he can be effective(figurehead or not), JoePa deserves to do it his way!!

JoPa belongs in the exact same class as Robert Byrd and Strom Thurmond.  Or Queen Elizabeth for that matter.  They held (and hold) a mythical status beyond any idle impulse to question.  In fact, there is no cogent thought or statement to be said about any of the four.  That is why we jump to quibble over the real name of his assistant coaches.

LVL,A more apt comparison might be George Burns, a man who clearly changed his style over the years but was still effective long after most of his peers had passed on.  We might also compare JoePa to Ronald Reagan, if we were feeling mean and wanted to insult one of the greatest coaches of all time.   

One bad recruiting year doesn’t mean anything.

I still believe that their recruiting funk in the late 90’s and early 2000’s had more to do with Joe being hard-headed about playing true freshmen that it did with his age. 

When people saw Andy Katzenmoyer start from day one at OSU because he was a flat-out beast, yet one year later or so, Lavar Arrington was only playing special teams as a true frosh at PSU, even though he was clearly better than what they had (and the defense STUNK that year, this was the defense that allowed 2 200 yd rushers in one game against Mich State), kids notice that.

Amazing how much better their recruiting got once Joe told Derrick Williams and Justin King in 2004 that, yeah, you probably will play right away, and then ACTUALLY PLAYED THEM!!

Guys that are thinking NFL when they’re 16 don’t wanna hear about being red-shirted and waiting their turn.

Reading this article is extremely irritating.  As an avid Buckeye fan, I personally think that JoePa is THE face of college football.  I think he is great for the Big Ten and college football. He has class and has more accomplishments then you could ever dream of having.  The guy has earned his place and our respect.   Let Penn State manage the relationship with JoePa. Let them determine what is best for Penn State.  I hope he feels better and hits it hard in the fall. JoePa rocks! 

Sexy Pete, my Buckeye brotha from anotha mutha, I think JoPa would be honored to be associated with Ronald Reagan, much as Bobby Knight, I believe, would. Conservatives all. Nothin’ wrong with old school and traditions.  

And "imzhamez:" "Would you rather have a younger coach who lack good qualities and is only concerned about their program?"  When I read this, the first thought I had was, Rich Rod.

Read more: http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sporting_blog/entry/view/70241/joe_paternos_getting_old_again,_and_its_killing_penn_states_recruiting#ixzz0sabJCBru

I agree with "buckeyefan3." JoPa is like the closest one could get to a Woody Hayes or Bo Schembechler, in 2010. He’s like the Betty White of college football…maybe that wasn’t the best analogy. Forget it.

I didn’t know that Mark Bradley hag taken over for Vinny Paterno. You learn something new every day. Where did you get this guy? He is a real tool.

Correction

I didn’t know that Mark Bradley had already taken over for Vinny Paterno. You learn something new every day. Where did you get this guy? He is a real tool.

NevadaNittanyy, you are soooo far off base you might have to change your name. 

Derrick Williama
Justin King
Paul Poz
Dan Connor
AJ Wallace
Drew Astorino
Curtin Drake
Sean Stanley
Stefen Wisniewski
Jack Crawford
Devon Smith (till the concussion)
D’Anton Lynn
Stephon Morris

All saw action as frosh, many with significant contributions.

Lavar was so last century!!

78Lion, I hope your PSU degree isn’t in English or Reading Comprehension. They may want it back.  Everyone you named, with the exception of Poz and Connor, DIDN’T COME TO PENN STATE UNTIL AFTER DWILL AND JUSTIN.

If anything, you just proved my point.  I said not playing true frosh, in my humble opinion, played into their recruiting funk in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.  The earliest anyone on your list got to campus was Poz in 2003, and while he’ll go down as one of the greatest ever at PSU, he wasn’t anywhere near as heralded a recruit as some others.

And yeah, true freshman played before that, DJ Dozier, for instance.  I didn’t say he NEVER played them,  but nowhere near like today.

What extravagant courtesy and kindness to assume 78Lion has a degree, from anywhere.

Why the hate LVL?

My bad Nittany.  Misread your post.  I believe it has more to do with Joe losing his brother, Fran’s wife’s passing and Adam.  All caused Joe to question his priorities.  He just wasn’t that into it as he should have been.

buckeyedude, you are right.  Joe Paterno is a conservative.  It is Jay Paterno who supports Democrats.  My mistake.

Leave Joe alone. He is one of my favorites. I will root for him and his team all but once this year.