SB Nation - Jordan Norwood

Is Penn State Really a Top 5 Team?

Law Buckeye — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:00:35 -0000

(Editor's Note: Never ones to welch, we present for your approval the musings of a real winner. Having soundly defeated us as our own predictions play this fan has earned the right to hijack The Rivalry, Esq. and recast the front page for her own purposes: in 500 words or less. Want to be our next guest contributor? Stay tuned for Week 3 of the Obligatory Predictions Competition.)

IS PENN STATE REALLY A TOP 5 TEAM?

By PATERNOSGRANDDAUGHTER

Week 1 Obligatory Predictions Winner and Special Guest Contributor to The Rivalry, Esq.

Living in Columbus, Ohio, and being a dance teacher who teaches on Saturday mornings and afternoons, I haven't had a chance to actually see Penn State play this season, other than in the highlights on SportsCenter. And let's be honest, when their first two match-ups have been against Akron and Syracuse, ESPN isn't going to devote a lot of time to those highlights, are they?

So all I've had to go on these past two weeks are stat boxes and analysis from my favorite Penn State blog, Black Shoe Diaries. As an avid Penn State fan, the first few weeks of the season always frustrate me because I don't know what the team really looks like.

Evan Royster says, "It's nothing a DVR box can't fix."

Here's a generic assessment from the information I have available to me:

The O-Line needs to buckle down and get tough. Evan Royster is a freak of nature and when I see that his stats against Syracuse were 12 carriers for 41 yards, that makes me very upset. This guy had over 1200 yards last season. There's no excuse for such things. The line has got to make some holes so Royster can get the ball moving. These stats may have got us the W's against Akron and Syracuse, but that's not going to fly in Big Ten play.

The passing game is looking good. Daryll Clark has a completion percentage of 69 percent, which is pretty decent. He has already racked up close to 600 yards in the air. Graham Zug and Derek Moye have slipped into the hugely empty shoes of Deon Butler, Derrick Williams and Jordan Norwood and they both seem to be doing just fine. All the pre-season worries were for not- although I wasn't worried. But like I said, passing alone won't get it done once we hit Big Ten play.

The D is very solid and Linebacker U continues to remain intact. Can't really argue with 2 touchdowns allowed in two games. I always prefer a shutout, but I'm pretty greedy. This team has faced mostly rushing teams, though, so they're going to be tested when they meet the pass. Still, as long as these guys keep holding strong, they could prove to be the saving grace later on down the road.

Here's Hilary's take on NW's near death experience at Ryan Field against Eastern Michigan.

Here's my take on the CMU upset in East Lansing.

The recap of the Forcier Experience in Ann Arbor

Law Buck comes out of his cave, haggard and lonely, to discuss the death of Tressellball against USC.

Summary of the wild Purdue-Oregon game.

I love the Nittany Lions with all my heart. But can someone tell me who is looking at this squad and seeing the number 5 team in the nation? Don't get me wrong, they have played two solid games, but hasn't the whole world been yelling about their strength of schedule this off-season? Is it just the result of upper teams losing or am I missing something?

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little apprehensive as we look towards conference play. I'm certainly not upset by the two victories we've notched, but I definitely see room for improvement if we want to contend for the conference title this season.

Potential Penn State Problem #4: Catching On

Run Up The Score — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:30:09 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

7 months ago: Penn State wide receiver Brett Brackett, left, leaps with tackle DeOn'tae Pannell to celebrate after Brackett caught a touchdown pass during the first half of the Blue and White spring scrimmage football game at Penn State in State College, Pa., Saturday, April, 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Continuing our countdown of concerns heading into the 2009 season.

Innovative offensive systems are great and everything, but you can't just replace three of the all-time leading receivers in school history without missing a beat. Can't happen, especially considering that two of those three former receivers are locks to make NFL teams and the third is making a hell of a run at a roster spot in Cleveland despite being the smallest guy in camp. Essentially, Penn State is trying to replace four years of starting experience (not to mention a ton of talent) at each of its top three receiver spots.

Just looking at last year's statistics, here's what we're trying to replace:

RECEIVING	GP	No.	Yards	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Butler, Deon	13	47	810	17.2	7	70	62.3
Williams, D.	13	44	485	11.0	4	39	37.3
Norwood, Jordan	11	41	637	15.5	6	55	57.9

None of the returning players (including the returning tight ends) averaged more than one catch per game. One! Here's what is coming back:

RECEIVING

No.

Yards

Avg

Long

Avg/G

Brackett, Brett	13	13	160	12.3	1	20	12.3
Zug, Graham	13	11	174	15.8	2	49	13.4
Quarless, A.	12	11	117	10.6	1	17	9.8
Shuler, Mickey	13	9	120	13.3	1	24	9.2
~~McDonald, James~~	10	5	72	~~14.4~~	0	25	~~7.2~~
Moye, Derek	10	3	71	23.7	1	33	7.1
Powell, Chaz	13	2	37	18.5	0	22	2.8

This is not exactly inspiring. Not when our quarterback is adjusting to life behind three new offensive linemen and two others who are playing new positions. But let's take a look at the returning personnel, and see if we can't find some light in the darkness:

#5 Graham Zug (Jr., 6'2" 183) - Former walk-on, vaporizer of all that is evil, caught two touchdowns last year (Temple, MIchigan State) and a 49 yard bomb that set up PSU's opening field goal at Ohio State. The type of player you love to have on the field as a third or fourth option, but not exactly a guy who you expect to beat the other team's #1 or #2 corners with his quickness. Sure-handed and smart. Really, he's a less-quick version of Jordan Norwood who can find the soft spot in a defense and catch the ball.

#83 Brett Brackett (Jr., 6'6" 232) - Obviously, the sheer size is Brackett's main attribute. He scored one touchdown last year, a tough catch over the middle for Penn State's first touchdown against Temple (2:20 of this video). He's quicker than most people probably realize, but for all practical purposes he's a fast tight end. Like Zug, he has good hands, but also has the advantage of creating mismatches with his height. Also caught three short passes (all on first down, curiously) against USC in the Rose Bowl.

Zug and Brackett are both possession types whose success mostly depends on other offensive threats to stretch the defense. Bypassing the tight ends on the list (they should actually be a strength of this year's team, assuming Andrew Quarless seizes upon his last chance as a collegiate player), we find two guys who can be those explosive offensive threats.

#6 Derek Moye (So., 6'5" 198) - Caught three whole passes last year, none of which meant anything. Only one of the receptions was in Big Ten play, and it was in garbage time against Indiana. It's hard to underestimate how badly Penn State needs Moye to be a reliable target this year. His height will be quite useful, but Moye is also deceptively fast and is likely to end up at Penn State's primary deep threat in 2009. He might not break a cornerback's ankles on a ten yard out pattern, but should fly by most safeties if he has a 10-15 yard running start.

#2 Chaz Powell (So. 6'1" 197) - Fast as anything, but can he catch? That's the main concern with Powell, who was moved from defense to offense for good after he took a short pass 55 yards for a touchdown against Coastal Carolina. That was pretty much the extent of Powell's offensive contributions last season -- two catches and eight rushes. He's extremely likely to be one of PSU's kickoff returners, having averaged nearly 29 yards on nine returns.

These are your top four wide receivers for 2009 -- not exactly a group that strikes fear in the hearts of defensive coordinators across the country. Having Daryll Clark at quarterback helps, and they'll have a few games in which to settle into their new roles, but will they be able to get open and catch the ball when Iowa comes to town? Will any of the speedy freshmen, including Curtis Drake (#7, 5'11" 169), Justin Brown (#19, 6'3" 208), Shawney Kersey (#4, 6'1" 187), and Devon Smith (#20, 5'nothin" 100&nothin'), be getting any playing time by then? Maybe, but considering the experience in front of them on the depth chart, don't count on those guys being major contributors anytime soon.

Five Reasons For Hope For Penn State In 2009

BSD — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:00:13 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

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I love this time of year. Another college football season is just around the corner. Everyone is 0-0 and full of hopes and dreams for a National Championship. But everyone has their holes to fill as well, and Penn State is no exception. So with that we'll start a series that has kind of become a BSD preseason tradition: Five Reasons for Hope and Five Reasons for Concern for Penn State. Since I'm the heavy Kool-Aide drinker I'll be handling the Hope end of things while RUTS will be playing the part of Debbie Downer. We'll count down starting today with...

Reason for Hope #5: The Spread HD Offense

In the spring of 2008 it was a running punch line that started just after the Alamo Bowl when Jay Paterno described the offense Penn State planned to employ in 2008 as the "Spread HD" offense. Penn State was going into the season with a new quarterback, a new running back, and a group of wide receivers that nobody outside of the Penn State family could find much of anything good to say about. But after a few games the critics were silenced as Penn State's offense showed it could light up the scoreboard with the best of them.

In a lot of ways the Penn State offense reminds me of Purdue. Stick with me here for a second. Year in and year out the Boilermakers rank near the top of the conference in passing offense. But who was the last Purdue wide receiver to go in the NFL draft? (Answer: Vinny Sutherland in 2001 - 5th Round to Atlanta) They don't overwhelm you with amazing athletes. They just spread the ball around and mix up the play calling to keep the defense guessing.

There isn't anything particularly innovative about the Spread HD offense. A lot of people, including Joe Paterno, have drawn comparisons to the Wing-T offense of the 1940's. It's just an offense that is highly diverse in its personnel and play calling. They spread the defense and distrubute the ball getting everyone involved. The defense can't just focus on shutting down Evan Royster.

A main talking point for those who doubt the Nittany Lions this year is the new receiving corps. They say Daryll Clark will not be the same quarterback without Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, and Jordan Norwood. These same people were the ones calling Butler and Norwood average at best and Williams a bust a year ago. And I suspect they were the same people who said Michael Robinson wouldn't have any receivers back in 2005.

But I say Penn State doesn't need a Michael Crabtree that can catch 12 passes a game for 185 yards and three touchdowns. When you look back at Penn State's stats the past few years, we didn't have a dominating wide receiver. But all three guys would usually finish the day with three or four catches for 50-70 yards. At the end of the day none of their stats jumped out at you, but Daryll Clark would get his 250 yards and two touchdowns. This is what made Penn State so effective.

When I look at this team this year I see plenty of talent for Clark to work with. Chaz Powell will play the Derrick Williams role with the quick slants, screens, and crossing patterns. Graham Zug will be the mid-range to deep threats. Though he lacks Butler's speed, he runs precise routes and has good hands. Brett Brackett will be the guy in the middle replacing Norwood. He's not as shifty, but he's a big physical presence that can fight off linebackers and safeties with his body. Add to this mix some of the talented freshmen like Justin Brown and Curtis Drake and I think there will be plenty of weapons for Clark to work with.

An Early Look: Penn State

Sam @ WWAHT — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:00:16 -0000

Let's excuse our Penn State friends for a moment. I've just given them beaucoup spank bank material.

2009 is going to be a very, very important year for the Penn State program. It may end up being the most important of the decade, outside of 2005's Redemption Tour. The Age of JoePa is coming to an end, and soon. The program has largely put the struggles of the early 2000s behind them, and on the strength of a Big Ten championship and a shocking win in Columbus last year, Penn State is considered by many to be the Big Ten's other program-of-the-now, as Michigan has placed itself firmly in the midst of a massive rebuilding project. What is it exactly that Penn State has to do in 2009 to have a successful season?

Well, first off: the program has its doubters. Despite the lopsided Rose Bowl loss to USC, Penn State is a program that has largely been innocent of the non-conference embarrassments characteristic of other Big Ten programs lately; the Nittany Lions had won two bowl games prior to the Rose Bowl meltdown, one against an okay Texas A+M squad in Texas and another against Tennessee, a game prior to which Tennessee boasted a top-20 ranking and the Lions had been unranked. The program, however, still bears the mark of what its fans call The Dark Years, and up until 2008, the struggles against Ohio State and Michigan had held the program back from rejoining the ranks of the truly elite. 2008 was in many ways a breakthrough year; Penn State beat both Ohio State and (an admittedly down) Michigan, and if the Big Ten's championship-deciding rules weren't so archaic, the Lions would have won the conference outright. Up until the final weeks of the season, Penn State was seen as a national title contender, whose legitimacy was questioned - in my mind, unfairly at times - due to Ohio State's falls-from-grace in the prior two championship games. While the losses to USC and Iowa stung for Nittany fans, 2008 provided renewed confidence in Paterno and the newly-explosive offense.

But they still have one more hump to get over. They have to be able to repeat that success to at least some degree, and channel it into another solid (i.e. no more than two loss) conference season. If they don't, the "once-a-recruiting-cycle" nature of Penn State's national relevance will continue to stain the program. The Big Ten will have to suffer through another year of being considered Ohio State, and then everybody else. No pressure or anything, guys.

But if they're relatively successful, Big Ten detractors will have a difficult time deriding the conference as a "one-team league", and it'll only get more difficult if the Rich Rodriguez experiment shows signs of life at Michigan. I frequently find myself reminding my fellow Ohio State fans that if the conference is to truly get better, the Buckeyes will have to take their share lumps in the process.* Personally, as a fan who wants to see his team win every game, I don't think it's worth it, but perhaps that's just me. However, if you're one of the people who really, genuinely cares about "conference strength", you want Penn State to show some sort of staying power. They don't necessarily have to win the conference, but they have to be competitive in every single game, win about ten of them, and ideally, they need to win their bowl game as well.

Penn State players you should care about:

On a schematic level, Jared Odrick had about as much to do with Penn State's win as Aaron Maybin swallowing Bryant Browning whole. Odrick literally tore up the offensive interior for four quarters, and was a big reason why Beanie Wells was held to 55 yards rushing on 22 carries. Of course, Navarro Bowman, he of the 106 freaking tackles in his redshirt freshman year, had a bit to do with that as well. Both will terrorize the offensive line, and if neither can be blocked, Ohio State's offense will be done. Evan Royster didn't quite tear up the Buckeye defense last year, but he provided some consistency on a night where Daryll Clark could provide none, toting the rock 19 times for 77 yards.

Fun with statistics:

Penn State's rushing defense last year was a killer, killer outfit, and given that they return Odrick, Bowman, and Sean Lee (from injury), it might be even better this year. Five teams - Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Illinois - went over 100 yards rushing on the Nittany Lion defense, and all of them except Wisconsin had one run that went for 30 yards or more on its own. Oh, and Iowa. But Iowa had Shonn Greene. Basically, if that one run that killed them against Indiana, Illinois and Michigan didn't happen, it would have been in the conversation as one of the most dominant rushing defenses in the Big Ten this decade. USC, a little busy torching the Lions' secondary through the air, managed only 61 yards on 35 carries in the Rose Bowl.

Penn State had nine guys with over 100 yards receiving at the end of the season to Ohio State's five. Fortunately for us, the three most productive of those guys - Deon Butler, Jordan Norwood and Derrick Williams - are gonesie.

How big was Aaron Maybin to Penn State last year? Well, he account for more than 1/3rd of their 33 sacks. Odrick was their next-leading sack artist, but Josh Gaines and Maurice Evans, a due that accounted for seven combined sacks last year, are lost to graduation and the draft. All told, Penn State lost more than half of their sacks off of last year's unit.

As a result, this is where I start salivating: Lydell Sargeant, Tony Davis, and Mark Rubin are no more; they have ceased to be, and the only returning guy of note in the secondary is AJ Wallace. And uh, yeah about AJ Wallace....

My prediction: Alright, you're going to have to bear with me on this. I think Terrelle Pryor is going to do fairly well against the Nittany Lions, and here's why: last year, he had his best passing day of the season, yards-wise, against the Lions. This year, he'll do much of the same. Expect him to get a good amount of time in the pocket and rack up some impressive stats, but the Penn State front seven is going to clog the rushing lanes at critical junctures late in the game. In the end, Penn State will walk away having given Ohio State a tough 17-13 loss, as the Buckeyes end up settling for one too many field goals after multiple promising drives. I should note that I personally do not think this Penn State squad goes undefeated in the Big Ten, losing probably at Illinois. Nevertheless, Penn State's front seven, featuring what might be the best linebacking corps in America , will be simply too good for a Buckeye offense that'll probably still be relying quite heavily on its ground game to overcome.

A Nittany Lion's Thoughts: Kevin from BSD was kind enough to oblige us with his opinions on the game, as well as whether or not this really is a rivalry.

1. Do you consider Penn State - Ohio State a rivalry? If so, why?

Yes, and I'll try to keep this concise.

I wrote a bit about this in the magazine, but basically I see the evolution of this thing following the path that the some southern schools have taken. For so long you had OSU and UM as consistent Big Ten winners, with others unable to maintain any lasting stature as a consistent threat.

The way this works is if Penn State is able to put the Dark Years behind them and become that third party threat. Purists on your end will probably claim there can only be one Game, but guess what: Michigan has a pretty solid rivalry with Notre Dame, and that's been able to co-exist for an awful long time with their conference finale.

So how is a school like Florida is able to have multiple rivals and no one gets into pissing contests about which one is best? FSU is an important game for them, but so in Miami, and they have the Cocktail Party with Georgia...it's all gravy and it only makes there season better.

And it's really only discussion about Michigan that makes this a question in the first place. PSU and OSU share a border and recruiting ground and your Best Player Ever is from our state. Only our two schools have won the conference championship in the last four years and we are picked 1-2 again in 2009. Gameday has been to this game four years in a row, they've only been to Ohio State-Michigan twice in that time.

I'm not trying to discount your game with UM, it's great yada yada, but I do find it funny how important it is for Big Ten lovers (from all schools) to put games into very distinct and well defined boxes rather than just looking at the reality of the situation: which is that when teams repeatedly compete for high stakes natural "rivalness" occurs.

I blame it all on the damn trophies.

2. Name a player opposing fans should be aware of; preferably one that don't already know about.

Well you might have heard we lost the three long time, well regarded receivers who dominate Penn State's career receiving records. Even though just about everyone bashed them in their 2008 previews as undersized and over-hyped (or alternatively: underwhelming and unimpressive), we are apparently all going to die and looking at the total abomination of our passing game.

But the team will try to throw anyway, and although I could pick a couple of guys who may or may not break out, I'll name-drop Derek Moye. He'll be the deep threat and at 6-5 has the ability to (in time) be a more imposing Butler-type because of his athletic ability. He can by most accounts fly and should help at the very least open the field up a bit.

3. Taking off the blue and white-colored rec specs, what do you think Penn State's regular-season record will be?

I hate making predictions and so prefer a kind of caveated cop out. We looked at some of the early lines and Penn State isn't a pre-season do g in any game they play. This makes me want to say 12-0 is saying something like below 11-1 is a kind of disappointment.

But I'm not really that optimistic. Ohio State as you know will be very good this year, Iowa is early enough to give a developing team some problems, and Illinois scares the hell out of me because if Williams shows up that offense will be impossible to stop. Basically: 9-3 is a very real possibility.

4. Make an off-the-cuff prediction for the Ohio State game.

Off-the-cuff? Sure: Penn State 16 Ohio State 10 on a cold as hell day where Royster and Green outplay Herron and Saine.

I can personally verify from extensive playing and replaying of this game on NCAA 09 that Derek Moye is indeed a terror to cover. Well, pixellated Derek Moye anyway. Leave your thoughts on the game below.

A Way Too Early Look At The 2009 Schedule - Week 7 - Penn State

JG2112 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:30:12 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

6 months ago: Penn State football coach Joe Paterno pauses after he talked to media, Thursday, June 11, 2009, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Penn State: At a glance:

Location: University Park, Pennsylvania
Stadium: Beaver Stadium (size: 107,282)
Expected Attendance: about 109,000.
Undergraduate population: 44,512.
First season: 1887
Number of Big Ten Titles: 3
All-time record: 800-349-32
All-time bowl record: 26-13-2.

Most awesome alum: undoubtedly Jonathan Frakes, better known as William T. Riker and "#1" on the new Star Trek series.

Most awesome Penn State fan site: Red, er, Black Shoe Diaries of course.

And here comes the Big Ten buzzsaw.

Much has changed since the last time these two teams played in 2006, a referee-assisted 28-27 overtime victory for the Nittany Lions at Metrodump. The Gophers have a new coach, a new stadium, and have switched offensive philosophies twice. For Penn State...errr......Joe Pa...errr....Darryl Cla......good linebac......okay, so much has changed for Minnesota since 2006.

This year Indiana and Michigan drop off the Gophers' schedule. It looks pretty bad, however, when one realizes that Penn State (11-2 in 2008) and Michigan State (9-4 in 2008) rotate on to the schedule. The Gophers get the "good" fortune to play their seventh game in 2009, and their second conference road game, in the pale fury of University Park, PA against the Fighting Paternos.

Why good? Well, Minnesota should be 5-1 or 4-2 going into the game (um, right?). If so, perhaps a repeat of the stirring victory over then #2 Penn State in 1999 could be in the offing. Whether that happens depends a lot upon injuries, morale, and players. Speaking of players, we're going to fly solo and analyze the Nittany Lions, starting with....

More after the jump.....

Penn State on Offense - You may have heard of Darryl Clark. Heck, your grandparents may have seen him play in the ‘40s. Clark returns as a fifth-year senior, but is six years' removed from high school, so he's closer to legally renting a car than he is to gaining the right to vote. In 2008, he completed almost 60% of his passes, throwing 19 TDs against only 6 INTs. He also ran for 10 TDs. His backup, Paul Devlin, transferred to Joe Flacco U., so true freshman (as well as Michigan and Virginia de-commit) Kevin Newsome backs him up. Seeing how Newsome struggled in the Lions' spring game, Penn State is an injury away from quarterbacking incompetence.

Penn State's five top rushing threats return, highlighted by Evan Royster and Stephon Green. Royster gained 1236 yards at 6.47 ypc, and Green gained 578 yards at 5.50 ypc. This will be the obvious focal point for the Gophers' defense, because.....

.....Penn State's three senior receivers (Deon Butler, Jordan Norwood and Derrick Williams) all graduated, taking a majority of the receptions with them. Top returning wideouts include Graham Zug, Brett Brackett, and James "DUI" McDonald. This part of the offense will likely be functional but non-threatening at the time of the Gopher game. The wideouts' inexperience should allow Traye Simmons to help the run defense, hopefully neutralizing Royster and Green.

The Lions also lose three all Big Ten offensive linemen, though they have Stefen Wisniewski moving to center and Dennis Landolt at right tackle. New 6'5", 313-pound left tackle (and gloriously named) DeOn'tae Pannell will have to step in and perform at a high level to ensure the rushing game does not stall.

Bottom Line - Penn State's Offense: The offense will likely take a step back from its production in 2008. If Clark, Royster, and/or Wisniewski spend any significant period of time out injured, the offense will have significant production issues. Minnesota's large defensive line and mobile linebackers should be able to at least hang with the rushing attack, and the defensive backfield should handle the Lions' inexperienced wideouts. Due to Tramaine Brock's departure, however, we can count on at least one video replay with Ryan Collado trailing a wideout into the end zone.

Penn State on Defense: Linebacker U., right? Shane Conlan, Paul Pozlusny, Leapin' LaVar Arrington. Lately, Penn State has also churned out a number of solid defensive linemen, including 2009 draftees Aaron Maybin and Maurice Evans.

Well, wait a moment. Evans wasn't drafted, which begs a couple of questions. Was the NFL correct in determining Evans made a mistake in coming out early? Did Evans consider himself too good for college? What is left in State College? Well, Jared Odrick for one. Odrick had 41 tackles last year, 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Also, Jack Crawford is new to the sport, being British and all (check that name), but he is highly regarded in Pennsylvania (as well as Portsmouth, for that matter) and will be expected to contribute. Ollie Ogbu and Abe Koroma are also returning linemen.

As for linebackers, well, if you follow a police blotter, you may have read some stuff about Navorro Bowman this off-season (all the action should serve Bowman well: he's a Crime, Law and Justice major, which I presume is University-Speak for "Wants to Be a Cop or District Attorney if he tears his knee up"). It seems JoePa is satisfied Bowman is ready to play football instead of smoking spliffs or beating up coeds. This is too bad for Duane Bennett, et al, as Bowman had 106 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and 4 INT's last year.

Also returning after a year out due to injury is LB Sean Lee. He was all Big Ten in 2007 before tearing his ACL, and will undoubtedly be a tough block for the Gophers' O-line.

Wide receivers are the big question mark on offense. On defense, it's the defensive backfield. All starters have moved on, leaving CBs AJ Wallace and (really?) Knowledge Timmons and Ss Drew Astorino and Cedric Jeffries, as well as a cavalcade of 2009 signees, to take their place. This is where Gophers Offensive Coordinator Jedd Fisch should be picking on the defense, if he is the offensive genius Coach Brewster has made him out to be.

Bottom line - Penn State's Defense: The defense will step back this year from their dominating 2008 performance. Odrick, Bowman and Lee form about 40 % of a solid front seven. However, the defensive secondary is untested and has little experience. The Gophers should abandon any pretense of balance in their offensive attack in this game, spread five wideouts, get Pittman, Stoudermire, Brandon, McKnight, Kuznia, Decker, and Carpenter in space against the untested secondary, and pick them apart.

Penn State on Special Teams: 4-year starter Kevin Kelly departs, with either (Michigan de-commit) Anthony Fera or Colin Wagner assuming the kicking duties for Penn State's all-time leading scorer. Jeremy Boone, a senior returns as punter with a 43.03 ypk average from 2008.

One additional point bears mentioning regarding PSU's special teams. The youngest and most inexperienced areas of Penn State's team are their wideouts and defensive backfield. Kickoff return teams normally field some reserve players from these units. As the starters for Penn State are younger, the backups are even younger. Troy Stoudermire should be able to exploit these players' inexperience and youth and have some big returns at Beaver Stadium.

Bottom Line: What to Expect

Minnesota is Penn State's Homecoming opponent. We are sandwiched between a home game against Eastern Illinois (heh?) and a road game against Michigan. We could be the beneficiary of a team which wasn't really tested the prior week. Also, if the Wolverines improve, Minnesota could be the beneficiary of a team looking ahead to a 3-game stretch including Michigan, Northwestern and Ohio State.

As for the Gophers, this is the start of what looks to be a bad stretch of games, including a road game at Ohio State, home games against Michigan State and Illinois, an off week against South Dakota State, and then the battle for the Pig. This is the best chance to beat one of those scheduled "rough games." Penn State has little experience at wideout, even less in the defensive backfield, and is exploitable in special teams. If the Gophers spread the field and pick on Penn State's defense, the Gophers could walk out of Pennsylvania with a victory.

Minnesota 38
Penn State 34

Your say....

Poll

Who will win on October 17th?

Minnesota

41 votes

Penn State

369 votes

410 votes | Poll has closed

Nitt Picks Puts Honey Mustard on His Sandwich

BSD — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:05:32 -0000

Any time Penn State takes a kid from State College High School there is a small contingent of fans who think it was a token off of some sort. Kids that get plucked from the back yard always face that kind of scrutiny, but as the York Daily Record points out in an interview with Cory James of Fight On State, Alex Kenney is anything but a token offer.

"Being in the backyard might make people second-guess" the pickup, said Cory James of Scout.com, a national recruiting service. "But you can tell by the offers that he's a legit prospect, not just a token offer. He's real fast but also has some (bulk) to him. He can kind of muscle through some things.
"He can do reverses and pitches in the backfield. ... He definitely could fit the Derrick Williams' role."

I seem to recall a few State High kids named Larry Johnson and Jordan Norwood working out okay in the past. The offer list James mentions included Boston College, Virginia, Illinois, Pitt, Stanford, NC State, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Northwestern. So it's not like Penn State was the only BCS school to offer him.

The Centre Daily Times also got an interview with Kenney that's worth reading.

Moving on, the Philly Inquirer has an interesting article on Daryll Clark. In it, Clark details what he's working on this summer.

With that said, Clark is focused only on contending for a national championship and winning another conference title.

That's why he's leading his teammates on 6 a.m. runs each Tuesday and Thursday this summer. That's why he follows that up by dissecting last season's game film.

Afterward, he's either participating in offense-vs.-defense drills or playing catch with the wideouts.

Not satisfied, Clark works on his footwork and regularly throws on his own on Wednesdays at Haluba Hall, Penn State's main indoor practice facility.

"This period right now is a time for me to get myself fundamentally sound with all my mechanics," he said. "Some plays, I get lazy with my play-action, my follow-throughs, things like that. I want to be so crisp, I will be able to complete passes in my sleep."

Does anyone else get the impression Clark is going to be an absolute stud this year?

Another stud in the making is Jack Crawford, who Bruce Feldman listed as one of his top ten players to watch this season.

Jack Crawford, DE, Penn State: Even though Penn State made its bones as Linebacker U., the program really has done an excellent job of developing standout defensive ends of late. (Courtney Brown, Michael Haynes, Tamba Hali and Aaron Maybin come immediately to mind.) Next in D-line coach Larry Johnson's pipeline is Crawford, a British-born pass-rushing force who has generated quite a buzz during the past few months in Happy Valley. The 6-5, 265-pound Crawford, one of just three true freshmen to play in every game for PSU last season, grew up boxing and playing cricket. He also has some PSU insiders believing that he has more potential than any of the ends Johnson has coached.

Crawford was No. 7 on his list. Terrelle Pryor came in at No. 2, and coming in at No. 9 is some guy named Phil Taylor, a defensive tackle at Baylor. Anybody ever heard of him?

Let It Go Bobby

The daily saga of Bobby Bowden and the struggle to hang on to his 14 illegal wins just won't go away.

Bobby throws out the hypothetical example of a kid at Notre Dame or Penn State getting caught cheating on a test and suggests the NCAA is opening a can of worms in that they will have to vacate wins everywhere to be consistent. But we're not talking about one or two kids cheating here. This was widespread almost institutionalized cheating that showed a lack of control by the coaches and athletic department. In the past the NCAA has been known to make teams forfeit for using a single ineligible player, so I think this is consistent with NCAA policy.

But it's getting really sad in the Bowden camp when he starts having his kids lobby for him.

Terry Bowden, who returned to coaching for the first time since he was fired as Auburn's coach in 1998, said he hopes FSU wins its appeal.

"I think it's important to everybody who played for Joe Paterno or Bobby Bowden," Terry Bowden said. "They can tell their kids they played for the all-time winningest coach in college football history. I want to bounce my grandkids on my knee and tell them about Bobby Bowden as the all-time winningest coach and not Joe Paterno."

This past weekend Joe Paterno weighed in on Bowden's scandal in his interview with the Reading Eagle.

The NCAA is going to do what it's going to do, but I would hope they would not take away 10 or 12 wins away from him. I don't think that's fair. He coached the team he had; they played against people, and they won. They ought to be wins for them.

Frankly, I'm surprised that Joe Paterno would say something like this. In my opinion he's damaging his legacy as the architect of the Grand Experiment. Paterno has championed himself as the king of academic integrity for the student athlete over his career, but in this case he blows it off when dozens of students get caught in a widespread cheating scandal. I know Bowden and Paterno are friends, but Joe would be better served to just answer "No comment" next time.

Basketball News

New Nittany Lion Bill Edwards is on campus working out with the team now, and early indications are he looks like he could suit up and give us 20 solid minutes tomorrow if he had to. The Centre Daily Times got an interview with him, and I especially like this quote.

"I love the game of basketball. I hate when people disrespect it, and when I say that I mean as far as ball-hogging or something like that," Edwards said. "If a guy’s open, I’m going to find a way to get him the ball. If he has the hot hand, try to get him the ball. Growing up, that was just something I always wanted to have in my game."

Unselfish players traditionally do quite well at Penn State. You have a fine career ahead of you, Mr. Edwards.

In Scores of Other Games

Our friends at Maize n Brew have your Guide to Pissing off SEC fans. My one caveat is the knock on Chic-fil-a. That Chic-fil-a sandwich rocks. I like mine with a little honey mustard sauce on it.

Blog, Sweat & Tears has an audio interview with Navorro Bowman

We Will Always Have Tempe is starting to grasp at straws

Commit #11: Levi Norwood

Run Up The Score — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:36:08 -0000

Gimme a team full of Norwoods and a wooo!

A little late-night news, as wide receiver Levi Norwood has officially committed to Penn State:

After spending last weekend at Penn State's senior-only camp and receiving an offer, Norwood called Lion receivers' coach Mike McQueary Wednesday to inform him that he was committing.
...
Norwood, the younger brother of former PSU standout receiver Jordan Norwood and the son of former Lion assistant Brian Norwood, said there was really never any question about where he would play his college ball.
...
"Pretty much growing up there and having my brother go there and always being around Penn State, I always wanted to go there," Levi said. "It was easy for me."
...
Norwood did not play football at Midway High last fall after transferring from State College High. But he has been working out with the football team at Midway this off-season and reportedly turned in a strong performance at PSU's senior camp. Norwood said no decision has been made on whether he will grayshirt.

Levi is already 6'2", so he's a bigger target than his brother Jordan, and apparently caught everything thrown in his area during the recent camp. And hell, he's a Norwood. Great bloodlines, coach's son, knows what it takes to succeed in a major collegiate program. People will complain and write things like, "zOMG HE'S ONLY A NEGATIVE THREE STAR PLAYER!11ONE!" These people are morons, because (1) there's the strong possibility that Levi will grayshirt, and won't even count against the limited available scholarship count for the current recruiting class, and (2) after what Jordan accomplished here, Levi clearly deserves a lot of slack.

Jordan Norwood - Cleveland Browns - Draft Video Profile (via Draftguysdotcom)

Plow Horses - The Case Against Penn State

Bama Hawkeye — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:07:54 -0000

The case against Penn State is based upon an idea that I've had brewing for the better part of two months. Each year, the preseason picks come out with surprising unanimity. Sure, some might have Oklahoma at 2 and others might have Texas at 2, but it's not like there is a pollster who is picking Kentucky to finish in the Top 10. And yet, last year a team coming off a 7-6 season, in the same division as the defending national champion, with a road game at the defending champion, ended up 12-2 and #6 (Alabama). I'm not picking Kentucky to pull that off. But...if all you do is think like the group, all you'll get is the group's answers. Picking which near .500 team will end up in the Top 10 is too tough for my simple mind. Sure, I can see Notre Dame, Colorado, Clemson, North Carolina St., or Minnesota pulling it off, but I wouldn't predict which one (though I listed them in my guess of likelihood). However, I think that it is safe to predict that a BCS team that finished with 5-7 wins last year will end up in the Top 10 this year.

But picking which team is being overrated - which team is a flop waiting to happen? That seems easier. Last year, I thought that Clemson was being given far too much love as a Top 15/borderline Top 10 team at the start of the season. This wasn't because of a lack of faith in Tommy Bowden. Instead, I looked for my personal recipe for over-ranking: too many show ponies and not enough plow horses.

JoePa finds out how this ties in with Penn State after the break...

When I clerked as a summer associate at a large firm in a Big Ten city, I had a wonderful experience working with a labor and employment attorney who handled union negotiations for a number of major employers. One of the things he said stuck with me in my practice, and is relevant here as well. "Some lawyers," he said, "you might think of as show ponies. They look good when you put them in a hearing or in front of a jury. But, they don't win because they're good show ponies. They win because they're better plow horses. For every day that they get to show off how good they are, there are twenty days that no one sees in which they just have to do the dirty work. That's why they win. They win because they're plow horses."

When I see a team that returns its quarterback and skill position players, but loses the offensive line, I immediately think about show ponies and plow horses. On the defense, I look to the front seven to see what's coming back. I don't trust a team that has too many holes there (unless that team has a mascot that rhymes with "Grojans." Until proven differently, these rules do not apply to them.)

Let's look at Clemson in the Summer of 2008. Returning quarterback? Yes. Cullen Harper was a Senior who was second team All-ACC the season before. Returning Skill Players? Yes. There was first team All-ACC RB James Davis, who was backed up by speedster and second team All-ACC RB C.J. Spiller. Throw in four returning starters at WR and TE (Clemson operated out of a three WR formation as its base), and you have a ridiculous amount of talent coming back. Give those pretty looking show ponies a BCS bid!

Or...we can look at their plow horses. The D-Line actually wasn't in too bad of shape, returning three of four. It was the linebackers that were the problem. The lone returning backer was kicked off the team over the summer. That meant four new faces in the front seven. Not great, but not awful. No, the awful part was on the other side of the ball - four new starters for a line that had problems the year before. None of the starters were seniors. That's a huge red flag. Where are the experienced plow horses? Send them to a lower-tier bowl!

You'll notice Clemson's Offensive Line in the background. It's busy not blocking.

Sure, the truth (due to a fantastic fan base) is somewhere in between, but here's the thing. Experience matters, but it matters in some places more than others. The three positions where it matters most are at QB, OL and D-Front Seven. I can only offer my reasoning as to why. Quarterbacks and linebackers are thinking positions. The more you've seen in-game conditions, the more prepared you are to properly react. The O-Line and D-Line require size and repetition. By nature, a man will grow bigger and stronger between the ages of 20 and 22 (and if a lineman doesn't, that's the strength coach's issue). More than that, a Sophomore isn't going to have the repetitions and experience that the Senior will.

So let's look at Penn State.

Skill Positions: Daryll Clark was very good last year. He's back for a 6^th season. Evan Royster was very good last year. He's back for a second year starting. Those are two impressive show ponies. The experience isn't there at WR, as the top three from last year have moved on (Deon Butler, Derrick Williams and Jordan Norwood combined for 132 catches for 1,932 yards and 17 touchdowns). When you really look at it, Penn State is a little light on show ponies. Clark and Royster deserve the accolades, but I'd be concerned about the loss of the entire wide receiver corps.

Defensive Front Seven: Depending on how you count it, you either have three or four starters returning. The linebacking corps will be very good, but the rush ends, including first round draft pick Aaron Maybin, need to be replaced. I feel compelled to mention that the front seven better quickly learn how to get good pressure, because the ENTIRE secondary will be new. That's seven or eight new starters on the defensive side of the ball. That would make me nervous.

Offensive Line: Last year's offensive line had three All-Big Ten selections. It was the best line in the Big Ten and one of the best at Penn State in the last twenty years. They're gone. This will be a problem. Phil Steele compiled the data of returning starts by offensive linemen. I love these numbers. Obviously, it doesn't mean that the team with more returning starts will beat the team with fewer starts, but it does give hard data for my plow horses. Any school with more than 90 starts returning is in the Top 20% of Division I. Any school with fewer than 50 starts returning is in the bottom 25% of Division I. Everyone else is in the middle, where experience is unlikely be a strength or weakness.

Big Ten - Returning Offensive Line Starts
Minnesota	102
Iowa	99
Indiana	84
Michigan	76
Purdue	68
Northwestern	64
Ohio Sate	62
Michigan State	52
Illinois	49
Wisconsin	49
Penn State	39

Not good for Penn State, wouldn't you say?

So what do I see for Penn State? I envision Evan Royster swallowed up before he gets a chance to move out of the backfield. I picture Daryll Clark constantly throwing on the run to new receivers. I see a new secondary picked apart after the front seven fails to get pressure. But, I still see Penn State picking up 7 or 8 wins because of the schedule. They'll breeze through their four non-con games (Akron, Temple, Syracuse, Eastern Illinois...seriously?). But, I see the Lions losing at least four of their conference games. I think that they'll split with Iowa and Minnesota in Happy Valley. They'll blow out Indiana, but they'll lose to the OSU. On the road, they could lose each one. They won't, but it's in the realm of possibility. I'll take losses at the Big House and East Lansing and wins in Evanston and Madison Cham-bana (I was thinking Illinois and typing Wisconsin. My bad). That equals 8-4, with two losses in their last three weeks (in what will still be considered a weak Big Ten). I bet that ends up outside of the Top 25. I still see this comment being true.

We're All Growns Up, And Making Bryce Paup References

Kevin HD — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:32:06 -0000

More photos » by Don Heupel - AP

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I've always found the draft a bit of an odd thing. On one hand fans typically like to see their players to get drafted early and take pride in how many players were taken by teams in The League. But then again, fans dread and seethe scorn when a player jumps for the cash, and also can't feel good about so many talented players not being around for the next college football season.

Anyway, five Penn State players were taken in the seven round draft, second most in the conference to Ohio State, and another nine guys were signed as of the time of this post.

Aaron Maybin - Pick 11, Round 1 (11) - Bills

Project Mayhem, who came out of nowhere in 2008, did The Pass Rush Factory well on Saturday, confirming the jump was indeed a pretty good move.

There were early rumors that Maybin could go as high as five with the Browns looking at so many holes, but most of the recent projections had him in the 10-12 range. The 'experts' can score this one as correct, and Buffalo Rumblings is pleased:

On paper, Buffalo has its most explosive pass rusher since Bryce Paup...What makes this pick better is the fact that they took the right player. No DE displayed a quicker first step in college or at the Combine than Maybin. I had him rated as the top DE on the board the moment he declared for the draft, and the Bills clearly followed suit, if only at the most critical juncture. I think he's the best pass rusher in the draft. The Bills, too, think he's the best pass rusher in the draft, and his upside is tremendous.

Derrick Williams - Pick 18, Round 3 (82) - Lions

No one deserves a little draft luck like Williams, the former #1 rated recruit in the land was taken in the third round and, for the second time in his career, will be tasked with helping to rebuild a program in distraught.

The Pride of Detroit gives the pick a D+, which is, well not even a real grade if I remember right. Regardless, they didn't like the pick, although I think that had a lot to do with Williams not really filling one of their copious amounts of needs like some of the other players who were still on the board.

The Lions have a history of dismissing important needs and picking wide receivers, and as bad as a D+ is, I have to give him credit for his optimism. If I was cursed with being a Lions fan for the past several years, every decision that organization made would get an F- by default until something dramatic happens. I would probably just be that bitter.

The Free Press has a couple of quotes about the pick:

Kiper's response:

"He came into Penn State and he was supposed to wow everybody. He didn't initially, but came on. ... He doesn't have the great 40 time, but he's quick out of his burst, out of his cuts. He has that burst you look for and has the ability to score in a lot of ways -- in the return game, on reverses, catching the football. He's very good after the catch in the open field."

You hear things like this all the time and I gave up a long time ago trying to argue about it. Williams was no Reggie Bush or Tim Tebow, but he was important, in a way that the occasional observer wouldn't recognize. I don't blame anyone for this, I completely understand how his stats can be seen as underwhelming, but let's drop the whole "never lived up to the hype" thing, because to be frank it's a stupid comment.

Mayock's response:

"II thought he had an excellent Senior Bowl, but he followed it up with a poor Combine, running a 4.67 -- very slow for an elite receiver. Great Senior Bowl, but too many drops in his career. ... I watched him catch punts one day (at the Senior Bowl) and this is supposed to be an elite punt returner and that day if the football had been a harpoon, he'd have been dead. It'd have pierced his chest."

He was reportedly pretty sick the week of the combine and told by his agent to sit the thing out. He worked out anyway, which was indeed a bad decision, but as we've talked about before here at BSD looked great in the Senior Bowl.

And I have no idea where he's going with that harpoon analogy.

Deon Butler - Pick 27, Round 3 (91) - Seahawks

About four picks before Butler was drafted by Seattle, a commenter who shall remain nameless set the over/under at pick 114 in the open thread, a fourth round choice. I too was a bit surprised to see him go so early, but his blazing 40 at the combine apparently helped the draft stock of one of the most under-the-radar receivers in the nation last year.

Seattle loves them some record setting Penn State receivers, of course, and so we all saw this coming:

"He has some of the same traits as far as route-running goes," Seahawks offensive coordinator Greg Knapp said when asked to compare Butler to his fellow PSU alumnus. "He's not as polished, obviously, as Bobby is."

Rich Ohrnberger - Pick 23, Round 4 (123) - Patriots

Ohrnberger was probably the biggest surprise from a Penn State perspective, who many thought wouldn't go until after Shipley and Cadogan. Not true, of course. Ohrnberger will be buried on the depth chart this season, but was part of an effort to hedge against an aging line:

Ohrnberger, a player who took a pre-draft visit to Gillette Stadium, adds youth to the interior of the offensive line and provides a fallback, longer-term option with starting guards Logan Mankins (left) and Stephen Neal (right) entering the final year of their contracts.

PatsBlog likes the pick, even if it did cost them a well respected cornerback in Ellis Hobbs:

Ohrnberger is a guy I actually like. Although he is undersized, he plays with a good motor, is quick out of his stance, and is good in pass protection and pulling. Solid pick who could eventually take over for Stephen Neal at right guard.

A.Q. Shipley - Pick 17, Round 7 (226) - Steelers

There was a time when I though A.Q. might not get drafted, and at that time I was thinking it would be the most bewildering event (or non-event?) of the weekend.

He is undersized, and probably slid because of it, but once picked I found it hard to feel bad for a guy who gets to play for his hometown team. The Steelers earned overall "grades" as low as an F and as high as an A+, further lending credibility to the practice of grading drafts.

Naturally the local papers loved it. Not everyone was sold, though:

Can't say I'm too big a fan of Big 10 football so I can't comment on whether or not Shipley is so adored for his local product status, his ability on the field, or some combination of the two. Probably headed for the practice squad as well, but there's an interesting discussion to be had about the future of our offensive line - especially for those who have an opinion one way or another as to whether or not Shipley legitimately could be a better than average starting center....

I'm not sure if he's upset the Steelers picked a kid from the Big Ten or if he simply doesn't know much about A.Q. It's not like the Big Ten hasn't produced some decent linemen in the last five years. Besides, as far as risk and reward go, there's nothing wrong with picking the conference's best center in the seventh round and hoping it works out.

Quickly: Signed but undrafted...

It's easy to pile on Maurice Evans at this point; he goes undrafted but signs with the Giants. As disappointed as I am in his 2008 production and decision to leave, I can unconditionally say I wish him all the best.

Jordan Norwood will join the Browns, and Facebook Stalking H/T to NittanyWhiteOut, who was all over this one.

Gerald Cadogan was a major surprise as an undrafed free agent. He'll go to Carolina.

Lydell Sargeant will move north to help build Penn State another satellite campus in Buffalo. Front page promotion for the best photoshop of this one in the comments.

Tyrell Sales signs with the Colts.

Josh Gaines stays in-state with the Eagles.

Dan Lawlor signs with the Redskins.

Mark Rubin signed with the Rams.

Anthony Scirrotto signs with the Panthers.

List of Undrafted Free Agents to Sign With Cleveland

Chris Pokorny — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:41:20 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

7 months ago: FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2008 file photo, Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell throws during the NCAA college football game in Lubbock, Texas. They spend their college careers rewriting record books. It's all great until draft day rolls around. Many don't get picked, or if they do, it's much farther down the list than they'd hoped. These are the quarterbacks of the shotgun, the spread, the dreaded "system" offenses that are taking over college football these days. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

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As more reports come in, this list will be updated. After the 2009 NFL Draft finished, the Cleveland Browns have reportedly signed the following undrafted free agents:

QB Graham Harrel of Texas Tech (Source)
QB Kyle Zeltinger of Univ. of Maryland
WR Jordan Norwood of Penn State (Source)
WR Brent Casteel of Utah (Source)
WR Eddie Thompson of Idaho State (Source)
TE Mike Massey of Michigan (Source) *Attended St. Ignatius
OG Marlon Davis of Alabama (Source)
DL Adam Hoppel of Cincinnati
DE Marcus Benard of JSU (Source)
S Jason Venson of UCF (Source)
S Nate Ness of Arizona
DB Corey Boudreaux of SDSU (Source)
DB Bryan Williams of Akron (Source)
DB Antonio Smith of Bowling Green (Source)
P Chris Lynch of UAlbany (Source)

*UAPB free safety Stewart Franks will find out later this week if the Browns will sign him, according to a report.

*Another potential tryout player in WR Tre'dale Tolver of Cal Poly, according to this report.

*Long snapper Danny Dutmerof Wyoming will have a workout with the Browns.

*Offensive lineman Jeff Niedermier of Buffalo will try out

*Defensive back David Hyland will have a try out.

UPDATE: Boo. A slight bummer to hear that the Browns were not able to bring CSU's J'Nathan Bullock on board. According to the Green Bay Press Gazette, the New York Jets have signed him. Nonetheless, I'm happy to hear that Bullock was picked up by somebody, and it'll be interesting to follow his progress.

UPDATE: Another note on a local Clevelander, for those who like to follow the natives. QB Brian Hoyer, who attended St. Ignatius High School and then Michigan State, was signed by the New England Patriots. The first thing you can think of is "lucky SOB", eh?

If you find any reports on UDFA's the Browns have signed, please post them here!