Good ESPN Article on Morelli

Big Ten daily talk show host on WBNS-AM 1460 in Columbus, Bruce Hooley, had a nice piece on the maturation of Anthony Morelli today.

I think there's a quiet–well, not sure how quiet–confidence surrounding the quarterback position at PSU. Morelli is in a better position than Kerry Collins was at the start of the 1994 season. Collins struggled in '93, while Morelli did much better than anyone could have hoped.

I've defended Morelli in the past, and stand by my support for him. There is some speculation that PSU's running game may have problems against a team with a pulse like Notre Dame this weekend. Yes, Notre Dame was bitch-slapped by Georgia Tech, but you have to admit, the Yellow Jackets were very good. After all, I did predict Tech would be much better this season without the pressure to get the ball to Calvin Johnson.

In last season's 41-17 embarassment to the Irish, PSU was holding its own. The score was relatively tame in the first quarter, but soon got out of hand going into half time. This year, I actually feel it will be similar, but flipping the score. I'll explain that in my preview later this week.

Morelli has the chance this weekend to elevate himself into an elite quarterback. I won't go far as to say he'll win the Heisman, but he'll silence his doubters with a clean performance and a win. If he can do that, he'll be on his way to the PSU history books with the likes of Michael Robinson, Kerry Collins, Todd Blackledge, Chuck Fusina and Richie Lucas.

We'll see.