Workin' hard, Zack Attack & M-Rob

◊ I used to something like this each Wednesday. Looks like it's coming back, especially since Wednesdays are my busiest day again. Here's another video for your enjoyment. It really takes me back to my years at Penn State. This one was made after the 2003 season.



If only Mills had a decent offensive line, and at least one receiver that was better than Robinson, he might not have been so banged up. He was a good quarterback. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. And, well, we know about Robinson.

So the next time you're complaining about the state of Nittany Lions football, remember where it was only a few years ago.

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Thursday, March 20, 2008 PPD (Post-Pryor-Decision)

There you have it folks. It's done... finished! I know, I sound way too excited considering Ohio State just got the top-ranked recruit in the nation yesterday, a top recruit hailing from Pennsylvania, no less. But it's not all that horrible. I'm not going to go into a big long rant about how he's overrated and a criminal. No, I'm going to actually give you two reasons why we Penn State fans shouldn't view this as the end of the world.

Pat Devlin/Daryll Clark... I realize that a kid like Pryor is always worth nabbing, but with two very good quarterbacks on the roster, ready to start, what is there to worry about. I'm not necessarily saying the Devlin/Clark route is a better one than Pryor. But how does anyone know that Pryor will win a national championship in year one? How many NCs did Vince Young win? But that's besides the point. When Devlin de-committed from the Miami Hurricanes--remember, at the time, they were three years removed from a NC appearance and four away from a NC win--to play at PSU, we were cheering it as a major coup, and that he would lead this program to the next level. I'm still standing by that. I believe that you will see Devlin on the field this September. That's not to say Clark won't be there with him, though. The coaches have finally figured out how to use two quarterbacks, even if it was against a fair Texas A&M team. Trust me, until PSU plays OSU in 2009, you'll forget about Pryor quicker than you think.

Pryor wouldn't have played... And he sure wouldn't have been good in the slash role Michael Robinson played in his first three seasons. If Pryor didn't start as quarterback right away, you wouldn't have seen him until 2010--as a junior. You can't tell me that he wouldn't have been redshirted and then sat behind Devlin/Clark. I'll take this so far as to say OSU will even redshirt him in 2008. If you have a talent like Pryor, you want to keep him around your program as long as possible. Todd Boeckman will get his AARP card next week, and played better than Troy Smith did in his junior year. Sweatervest won't waste Pryor as a backup or "change-of-pace" quarterback in 2008.

I might want to add more to this later, or not. I'm not sure yet. But for now, that's all I have to say. Good luck, OSU--not against PSU, however. Kick some Wolverine ass this season, and every season. Let's hope PSU can finally do the same.

"AP Story On Pryor's Decision:

JOE MANDAK
The Associated Press

JEANNETTE, Pa. - Oregon was too far away. Penn State was too rural. Michigan was a close second.

Terrelle Pryor, the highly touted western Pennsylvania prep quarterback, announced Wednesday that he will play for Ohio State next season.

The 6-foot-6, two-sport star , flanked by his parents, two younger siblings and some of his coaches , made the announcement on the auditorium stage at Jeannette Senior High School near Pittsburgh, where Pryor had one of the greatest prep careers in Pennsylvania history.

"If everyone's here," Pryor said to start the news conference, "University of Ohio State." He then unzipped his windbreaker to reveal an Ohio State T-shirt and donned an OSU hat. His parents, Craig and Thomasina, also revealed Ohio State shirts.

Pryor, considered by many scouts to be the top-rated unsigned high school recruit in the country, said he couldn't go wrong with any of the four schools he considered.

But he said the car trip for his family to games in Columbus, Ohio, is shorter than the flights they would have to take to Oregon. Penn State was too "countryside." And, despite a last-minute push by new Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, Pryor decided Ohio State is best for him, even though senior Todd Boeckman is the entrenched starter and Pryor felt he would have a chance to start as a freshman at Michigan.

"I can learn from a senior," Pryor said. "And whenever I can get in on some plays, I can make something happen."

Pryor said he didn't make a final choice until Wednesday morning.

When he told Tressel, the coach said, "Welcome to the family."

As for his final call with Rodriguez: "He was still recruiting me, giving me lines," Pryor said. "Coach Rod did his job. He's gonna be a great coach; he is a great coach. He'll make stuff happen (at Michigan)."

Pryor called a Feb. 6 news conference to announce his choice, but then said he hadn't chosen a school after all.

Tressel said he was impressed by that, given that Pryor was trying to help his high school basketball team to a state championship and was mulling conflicting advice from his friends and family.

Tressel said Pryor felt like "there's a whole bunch of people that are very important in my life who think I should give this some more thought. He respected them and he loves them. So I think he's grossly misunderstood."

Pryor's advice to other recruits: "Pick early, you don't want to go through it."

Asked about advice from his father and others, Pryor said simply, "I'm an 18-year-old kid and I feel like a man. I gotta make choices for myself."

One person noticeably absent Wednesday was Charlie Batch, the backup Steelers quarterback and family friend who advised Pryor. Pryor said the former Detroit Lions starter, who played at Eastern Michigan in college, was pushing Michigan.

Batch was in Hawaii during the announcement.

"He's up right now, texting me actually. I mean, he's cool with my decision," Pryor said. "He's just trying to see which one would be, for me, better to get in the NFL."

Pryor brushed off local talk show criticism about his image stemming from his nonannouncement last month, and a scuffle earlier this month between some Jeannette players and another team after a recent state playoff game.

"I'm not worried about none of that," Pryor said. "I think the football field will speak for itself. I mean, that's why you are here, right? Whether I was a bad kid or not, you are still here."

Pryor said he doesn't seek attention. "Ask my teammates, ask anybody around here. That's not how I am. I don't like being in the spotlight at all. I didn't ask to be number one in the country."

Ohio State signed 19 players last month and had been holding a 20th scholarship for Pryor.

Pryor is the only Pennsylvania player to both rush and pass for at least 4,000 yards in football. He also scored 2,285 points in basketball. Pryor doesn't plan to play college basketball because he said it will interfere with his goal of becoming a top-flight quarterback.

"I mean, we just want to work hard and do whatever we can to help Coach Tress get over that little hump he got , that little championship losing two years in a row," Pryor said."

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Pretty soon, the commercials will have to take "Football Timeouts"

I realize this is almost old news at this point, so I won’t present it as breaking by any means. What I want to do is pick apart what exactly each of these rules would mean to college football, whenever they’re approved. Frankly, I hope sooner than later.

“… after a year of consideration, the committee proposed a 40/25 second play clock system to encourage a consistent pace of play. All rules proposals will be sent for membership comment and considered by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel before taking effect.”

What I think: This is a good step for CFB. But it’s being taken for the wrong reason. More on that later. But the idea of a 40-second play clock will help keep the game flowing, and allow NFL fans to easily transition to watching CFB.

“A main charge of the rules committee is to enhance the safety of our student-athletes,” said Michael Clark, chair of the committee and head coach at Bridgewater (Virginia) College. “In recent years, the committee has attempted to address head-down contact and dangerous helmet contact in general. The committee is directing game officials to strictly penalize head-down contact as well as players that target defenseless opponents.”

What I think: MICHAEL ROBINSON. I remember watching, live, M-Rob lowering his shoulder into Minnesota defensive back Brandon Owens, who decided to lower his own body—helmet first—into the tackle. Robinson never even hit the ground, but Owens crumbled like a rag doll. At the time, it was a great hit, but later turned out to be very tragic for Owens; he never played again. I have one question for Clark, just who would have been penalized on that play? Robinson lowered his shoulder into the tackle, Owens lowered his helmet into Robinson, but Owens ended up getting hurt? Would you penalize Owens, who was on a gurney a few minutes later?

“A proposal relating to the chop block rule... Another safety proposal deals with a dangerous tackle – commonly referred to as a “horse collar.” Any player will now be prohibited from grabbing the inside back collar of the shoulder pads or jersey, or the inside collar of the side of the shoulder pads or jersey, and immediately pulling the runner down.”

What I think: This one’s not really much of an impact. Players will just have to learn how to properly tackle. That’s all.

“Two other major proposals deal with the pace of play. The rules committee passed a 40/25 second play clock system in an effort to standardize the pace of play. Unless the game is stopped for administrative reasons (e.g., change of possession, injury, etc.), the offensive team will have 40 seconds to snap the ball after it is declared dead.”

What I think: Already covered.

“Additionally, the committee made a change in the timing of the game after a play in which a runner goes out of bounds. Except in the last two minutes of each half, the game clock will start on a signal from the referee, rather than on the snap.”

What I think: This one’s huge. For years, everyone’s known that in CFB, you could completely stop the clock by going out of bounds. Not any more folks. But, as I said in the beginning, this is for the wrong reason. Why did it take so long for the NCAA to propose this, and seriously consider adopting it? Is it a coincidence that it comes right after the NCAA tried to cater to the telecoms by providing more commercial time, rather than actually shortening the game? This is about as transparent as Bush trying to protect the telecoms under the guise of national security (oops, sorry, but I couldn’t resist that one). I could be wrong (about the length of football games). I hope this really does shorten them, but if they are only three or five minutes shorter, you’ll know who to blame, and who is really responsible for deleting game time to insert commercial time.

“The committee also made the following proposals:
• In the rules relating to instant replay, plays where a fumble leads to an immediate recovery may be reviewed.
• In replay rules, a coach that challenges a play and is successful will retain the right to challenge one more time for a maximum of two.
• When a kickoff goes out of bounds, the receiving team may accept the ball at the 40-yard line instead of the 35.
• The incidental five-yard face mask foul was removed. All face mask fouls (pulling, twisting or turning) will be a 15-yard penalty.
• A yardage penalty for sideline control was instituted.”

What I think about these: They’re all nice, simple rule changes. The one that sticks out is the face mask change. I hate the incidental. HATE IT. How many times have we sat through games, wondering why one team got the five-yarder, but the other didn’t? Just go by the personal foul variety. It makes it much easier.

But I’m sure all of this is truly for the benefit of CFB, right? Right.

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QB or not QB: 2008 the Penn State quarterback debate

Going into 2008 spring ball, the big question is, “Who will it be, Clark or Devlin?” I’ve heard so many reasons supporting each candidate’s chances of earning the starting spot, none of which seem like the last word on what will go down this summer. I like both quarterbacks. But while the two-headed monster—using both quarterbacks—is cute, it’s not the answer to Penn State’s problems at that position. Actually, the talent both of these guys have is exactly what makes the conversation so relentless.

Through my long, tireless searching deep into the annals of college football recruiting (whatever popped up on the first three pages of a Google search) I was able to dig up a few blurbs on each quarterback. Obviously, Devlin was the higher-rated prospect coming out of high school, so he received more attention. Clark was a good prospect out of the Buckeye state.

From ESPN.com: (2005)

“Devlin is a smooth pocket passer with excellent touch on all his throws. He has a very good arm, but not great and delivers a catchable ball… Anticipation is one of his greatest assets and helps him make up for any lack of elite arm strength… Shows good timing and is extremely accurate… He appears to have good recognition skills and pulls the trigger once he runs through his progressions… Has adequate quickness, is mobile enough to roll out of the pocket and throws well on the run. Associated Press Class 4A All-State team... 2,245 passing yards and 21 touchdowns.”

From Scout.com: (2003)
“Clark has an amazing arm and good speed. Built on a nice frame. One of the most athletic QBs in Ohio (a legit 4.65). Daryll threw for approximately 1,900 yards and 18 touchdowns in 10 games during his senior season. He was named to the AP All-Ohio Division IV 2nd Team.”

Okay, that’s out of the way. Looking at those clips would indicate that Devlin is the surefire pick for Penn State’s 2008 signal caller, right? Nope. The Penn State nation is divided on this issue like they were Democrats and Republicans, only with more passion. Clark has seen the field so far, and despite what many will tell you, it’s not nearly enough to gauge whether he can go up against the likes of Ohio State and Wisconsin—both, by the way, Penn State must play away in 2008. Devlin has fallen victim to Penn State’s policy to stop throwing the ball after leading by more than 20 in the third quarter. He’s seen only a handful of snaps—none of which have been meaningful—and attempted all of one pass, a 59-0 win over Florida International. The pass fell incomplete.

So where does Penn State go from here? Whatever you do, don’t expect an answer from Joe Paterno. According to him, nothing will be decided for several months. I sort of understand that stance, but sometimes question whether it’s a good idea. Penn State has a deep, veteran team in 2008, a team that lost by more than seven only once in 2007. But fans can’t get caught up in what the message boards are saying. Reports from those close to the team say that Devlin is nearly as quick as Clark, but much more accurate. So it now becomes a toss up. What does Penn State want more?

I would love to see Devlin get the nod, if for no other reason than to have stability at a position that’s been unsettled since 2004. What happens to Clark then? Well, sometimes things don’t turn out the way people want. Yeah, I’d feel pretty bad about Clark putting in all the work and not getting time, but I also want to see this team win decisively in 2008. With the best offensive line, the best receiving corps, the best defense all combining for one of the best teams (on paper) Penn State’s had in a long time, the coaching staff shouldn’t take any chances with picking a starting quarterback.

If Clark proves that he’s the superior signal caller during spring and summer practice, fine, give it to him and tell him to go buck wild. But if Devlin emerges as the kind of player that could, and should lead this team to a run towards the Big Ten championship—or more—I would hope that Penn State’s coaching staff knew what to do. Unfortunately, we can only hope.

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