Outback Bowl '11: The Coaches Teleconferences

Both Joe Paterno and Urban Meyer participated in teleconferences yesterday. Here are some of the finer points to take from them. One of those, I want to mention now, is on the possibility that one or two Penn State players are thinking about leaving early for the NFL. Joe said that, not me. To any Penn State football players that just finished up that 7-5 regular season, I have but one name to tell you: Aaron Maybin.

Onward.

• Joe gave a rare opening statement. He usually hates doing that. But he said all the "We are delighted... blah, blah, blah" stuff. 
• Of course Joe remembered the '62 Gator Bowl, when Penn State lost 17-7 to Florida. Penn State should have gotten its ass kicked even worse, Joe said. 
• Joe likes Urban Meyer, as a person and a coach. 



You know what Aaron Maybin got
out of being selected in the first round?
Yup, a whole lot of standing around...
and not a whole lot of playing football.
(Photo: Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

• About the possibility of some juniors leaving early for the NFL:

  "We may lose another kid or two. It depends on some parents getting involved thinking their kids are a little better than they are, thinking they are pro players. With that kind of stuff that goes on I try to stay on top of it..."

• The practice schedule for Penn State has started with a few two-a-days already, and this weekend some more practice. The staff is currently looking for places to go down and stay in Florida, so the team can get practicing outside. Joe said there will be about four or five more practices up in State College, then another week down in Florida.
• Joe likes bowl games because it gets the team away from the distractions at home ("girlfriends") and allows the players to focus on what they really want to do on the team and how they can get better and play a good game. 
• We already covered the quarterback discussion.
• Joe knows Penn State got lucky last year that the rain and mud of the Citrus Bowl slowed down LSU tremendously. This year, Penn State probably can't rely on outside elements to help them win the game. It will take being in good position (ugh), not missing tackles (ugh, ugh), and not give up field position (ugh, ugh, ugh).
• If there's one area Penn State has going for it, it's that Florida's quarterback situation is up in the air. But other than that, Joe compared Florida to Alabama, when asked to compare Florida to a team Penn State faced this year. 
• Joe is worried about preparing for possibly three quarterbacks (see Meyer bits below), as they all do things differently.

Urban Meyer--I couldn't find the full transcript, so here are some highlights I've been able to string together.

• Meyer anticipates Steve Addazio being the Gators' offensive coordinator next season. Addazio has born the brunt of criticism for Florida's terrible offensive numbers this season (79th nationally in total offense).
• Grad assistant Tony Weaver will coach the defensive line for the bowl game against Penn State, after Dan McCarney left to be the head coach at North Texas.
• On the QB situation:

  "Jordan Reed still hasn't practiced. John Brantley is going to keep working on improving. Trey Burton is going to keep trying to improve. We'll do our best to move the ball against a fine defense. At this point, I don't know what it (the quarterback situation) is, but that's what we're going to be working on."

• Two potential starting defensive tackles--Terron Sanders and Lawrence Marsh--may miss the game. Sanders had minor shoulder surgery last week, while Marsh is recovering from a torn labrum in his hip.

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