2010 NCAA Football Preview: Penn State
Ask some and they will probably say that Joe Paterno has always been the head coach in Happy Valley; tell them that the Nittany Lion football program began back in the 19th century and some will still stand by their earlier statement.
Although it seems as if Joe Pa has always been at the helm of the Penn State football program it has only been the better part of the last half century. A few years ago there were some grumbling that maybe he had outlived his usefulness with the program especially from 2000-2004 when the program only had one winning season and lost 33 games, almost as many as they had lost the previous 12 seasons (35).
If there is one thing that Paterno knows how to do it is recruit quality players and transform them into a winning team. He proved that the last five seasons, finishing with two conference titles, three 11 win seasons (the other two were nine win seasons), playing in five bowl games, and placing in the top 25 at the end of each year.
With the group that he has coming back in 2010 there is no reason to think that Paterno will not do it again.
Offence
With just three guys gone from the Penn State offence the unit should not be much different from the 2009 version of it. Then again, they will be missing a pretty important part of the offence that may bring things down a notch, the quarterback.
Gone is two-time all-conference player Daryll Clark and it is not exactly clear who will take his place. Some analysts have penciled in sophomore Kevin Newsome in, but it will likely be an open competition between Newsome, Matt McGloin, and two freshmen, Paul Jones and Robert Bolden.
With the quarterback position a big question mark, the team will likely lean on Heisman contender, senior running back Evan Royster. Royster has averaged right around six yards a carry since coming to college and has rushed for almost 3000 yards in the last three seasons. Since he has all but one offensive lineman coming back, among them the best centre in college football (Stefen Wisniewski), he should be able to showcase his talents for any NFL scouts that happen to be watching.
Defence
Joe Pa likes to have top notch defenses at his beck and call and the 2010 season should not be any different. Last season the unit ranked 9th in the league only allowing about 275 yards of offense a game. With only four starters missing from last year’s squad there is no reason that the unit cannot be just as good in 2010.
Back is most of the front four that led the unit to a #4 rank in defending the rush. Eric Latimore, Ollie Ogbu, and Jack Crawford come back; they will have their hands full early when the team plays Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson in the second week of the season.
The linebacker trio only has one starter returning, Bani Gbadyu. Gbadyu had just 37 tackles last season and will be looked upon to pick up the slack for departed Sean Lee, Josh Hull, and Navorro Bowman. He will get some help from Chris Colasanti and Nate Stupar.
In the secondary the unit returns three sold starters, all juniors that Paterno is likely hoping will come back again in 2011. Looking to get playing time in the open cornerback position could be Stephon Morris, Cedric Jeffries, and Andrew Dailey.
After two 11 win seasons there is no way that Penn State will sneak up on anyone; in fact, many teams will be looking to gauge their seasons off of how well they do against the Nittany Lions.
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