Nittany Lions finish two-a-days, only nine practices remain

Here are some quick items to note...

- Starting tomorrow (Monday), the team will begin its first of nine practice sessions leading up to the home opener against Youngstown State on Sept. 4.

- On the injury front, most everyone is either okay, or getting there. We shouldn't expect any major players to miss the first game, at least as of right now. Stephon Morris is still taking it light. Andrew Sczcerba is still out, but Garry Gilliam is doing just fine with the first team. Drew Astorino continues to have shoulder issues, but that's apparently just a wait-and-see situation. I wrote yesterday that Astorino's backups are more than capable of filling in with little to no drop off. Finally, Silas Redd had some kind of leg/knee/ankle sprain, but it was so minor, no one seems to care.

Justin Brown has impressed the coaching
staff this off-season.

- Doug Klopacz's injury was enough to keep him out a day or two, but the real threat to him is apparently Matt Stankiewitch really trying to grab a starting job at center.

- The starting skill players--Evan Royster, Derek Moye, etc.--were benched early in the scrimmage, similar to what you see in the NFL preseason exhibition games. Justin Brown had a nice day.

- On offense, the line is pretty much set, but we might see some more competition at LG than we had expected this season. The quarterbacks were good, but again, when you're facing a defensive line stacked with future NFL draft picks, the pressure is sky high for the young signal callers.

Only 13 Days til Kickoff!!!

Follow LBU on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to Linebacker-U.com by Email

Injury Update: Stankiewitch in for Klopacz

True freshman TE Garry Gilliam has been running
with the first team offense this week,
due to Andrew Sczcerba's nagging
shoulder and back problems.

There are probably way more injuries than one can keep track of, most of which are minor dings that sideline a player for a day or two... or three. Since we're almost exactly two weeks away from Penn State's opening kickoff (14 days from now, you'll be watching the first quarter!), I thought it would be good to do some catching up with the injuries on the team, or at least the injuries I could find in the jumble that is preseason football coverage.

C Doug Klopacz missed two days (Thursday and Friday?) with an ankle injury. In his place, backup LG Matt Stankiewitch has been taking reps on the first team offense. I would have thought Ty Howle would have done that, but looks like Stank is the more experienced guy. Plus, there were reports that Stank will stay as Klopacz's backup this season anyway.

FB Mike Zordich sustained a minor knee injury that kept him out of Friday's practice. He's expected to miss a few days into next week. Zordich was apparently lighting people up in practice this month.

TE Andrew Sczcerba has been out with nagging back and shoulder problems, with backup Garry Gilliam running with the first team. Gilliam is a fantastic young player, so there is little dropoff here.

S Drew Astorino is still hampered by that nagging shoulder injury. It's not really expected to force him to miss game time, but keep an eye on this one. Backups Andrew Dailey and Stephen Obeng-Agyapong are very good, if not just as good as Astorino (that's completely my own opinion, FYI), so this is not a major concern.

CB Derrick Thomas banged up his shoulder pretty bad, and was out most of this week. But he should be back for today's scrimmage.

CBs Stephon Morris and D'Anton Lynn returned to practice this week, after Morris was recouping from a nasty stinger, while Lynn had some kind of ankle problem.

DT Jordan Hill, who saw playing time as a true frosh last season, had a concussion earlier this month, but has returned to his spot at nose tackle behind Ollie Ogbu.

LBs Khairi Fortt and Bani Gbadyu both had concussions this month. Both are doing fine, but of course you have to watch these things.

Penn State holds a scrimmage today at 2:30 in Beaver Stadium. I'll have a short update tonight, hopefully with some more good news on the injury front.

Follow LBU on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to Linebacker-U.com by Email

Linkbacker U can't help but root for Doug

Senior center Doug Klopacz (68) will finally get his chance to shine this fall, after an unfortunately injury-plagued career.

Doug Klopacz has waited his turn. This year, he might finally get to take it. After spending two seasons rehabilitating from an ACL tear before the 2008 Temple game--an injury which set him behind the 8-ball in the depth chart--Klopacz is fully healthy, and is ready to take charge of the center position. He spoke with PennLive.com about where he is and how he sees things going forward.

"It’s nice (to be starting)," says Klopacz, who still wears a brace on the knee in practice and games. "I got setback with my knee two years ago, but that’s the way things go, that’s life. You got to keep going and hope for the best and hopefully things work out, and that’s kind of what it’s looking like for me right now. So, I got to keep pushing and doing what I got to do."

Talk about a "Penn State" kind of kid. It's fantastic to see this kind of story unfold. Let's hope there's a happy ending in store.

Preseason depth charting is the name of the game this week, as you're all aware of the "official" depth chart released and covered here on Tuesday. Bill Kline over at the Allentown Morning Call offered up a pretty blunt--and a bit scary--assessment of the pending quarterback controversy--at least among fans--in Happy Valley.

Listing the top two quarterbacks alphabetically, with an ‘OR’ between them, signifies little. Newsome (right) closed spring practice as the starter, though the competition will continue into August. Jones is the wild card, having thrown two TD passes in the Blue-White Game. Fellow freshman Robert Bolden, who arrived in June, could earn a spot here if he isn’t redshirted. Receiver Derek Moye said Bolden “seems like the best athlete” among the quarterbacks.

It'll be an interesting September.

Just reLAX. When Penn State hired Jeff Tramboni as the new men's lacrosse coach, it might have done more than just look like a good move. It may have just saved a great player from leaving the program.

Inside Lacrosse reported in May that Mackrides had received a temporary release from the Nittany Lions lacrosse team to explore possible transfer options. That decision followed former Penn State coach Glenn Thiel's retirement after 33 years in Happy Valley.

Since Mackrides' decision to ask for a transfer, Penn State hired former Cornell head coach Jeff Tambroni to take over the program, just a month after making a second consecutive appearance at Championship Weekend. Mackrides is said to be comfortable in the current place.

And you thought football and basketball were the only drama playing in town.

Curt Warner wants a playoff. So, naturally, we listen to what he has to say about it. From Big Ten Guru:

"We can still keep the bowl games and have the best of both worlds. There's a ton of bowl games out there, and some teams will be in the mix for that. Others won't and you can take it for what's worth," he continued.

So when will we see this happen? In our lifetimes?

"I would say in the next 5-10 years we'll see it leaning in that direction a little more so," Warner stated.

Say it with me... YES!

Get your parking passes early. Cuz they're going to cost you a pretty penny on gamedays this season, as WFY warns us:

There is a big price increase for Beaver Stadium parking this coming Penn State Nittany Lions football season. Parking passes bought day of game will go up in price from $20 to $40. Wow, I thought $20 was steep. Parking passes bought in advance will be $12 which is a lot more reasonable.

I'll just park in a free lot in town, thanks.

BSD "sat down" with Penn State historian Lou Prato, in a two-part Q&A.

Jack Tatum died Tuesday from a heart attack. He was a giant in both college and the NFL, and will be missed.

Michigan State can go to the Rose Bowl this year, according to Pete Fiutak, who obviously had one too many before making that prediction.

Former PSU lineman Phil Taylor is looking to breakout this year for the Baylor Bears.

The Big 12 might change its name. As if we couldn't see this coming.

The Miami Hurricanes were voted into three different spots on SI.com's list of the 25 most hated sports teams. The 1986 football team was No. 1. Funny, I actually really, really love that year's Fiesta Bowl appearance by the Canes.

Check back later today for this week's Thursday Question!

Follow LBU on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to Linebacker-U.com by Email

Blue-White Countdown 2010: Offensive Line

Previous entries...
1: Special Teams
2: Defensive Backs
3: Linebackers
4: Defensive LineDeOn'tae Pannell (50) is the leading candidate to take over at left tackle, replacing all-Big Ten performer Dennis Landolt. Can he live up to the recent standard of great Penn State left tackles? (photo: Mike Pettigano)

We continue our weekly countdown to the 2010 Blue-White Game. Over the next few weeks, I'll go through all the major positions, trying to give the most reasoned explanation of who we could see come out big, and why. In today's edition, we tackle the first offensive unit, the line.

During the "dark years," Penn State's offensive line was the key under-performer for the Nittany Lions. But starting with the 2005 line, Penn State has put together solid to outstanding offensive fronts the last five seasons. Even during a "down" year in 2009, the line was light-years ahead of many units produced earlier this century.

Tackles

The absolute most unnerving situation along the offensive front this spring, Penn State loses both starting tackles from the 2009 campaign: All-Big Ten tackle Dennis Landolt, and mid-season starter at right tackle Ako Poti. The loss of Landolt has the potential to destabilize the entire line, as would the loss of any veteran left tackle. But making the problem worse, the Nittany Lions will start one of three or four quarterbacks this fall who have had little or no game experience. Oh, they're all right-handed, too, making the left side the blind side.

There is some hope, however, for the battle over left tackle. During the 2009 off-season, before Landolt was changed from right to left tackle, the front runner was DeOn'tae Pannell. The true sophomore from Michigan had some experience from backup duty in 2008, but was widely regarded as too green for such an important position up front. In 2009, Pannell started the first four games, but lost his job to Poti after a very poor performance against Iowa. He re-entered the starting lineup by the Indiana game, but at left guard, replacing Johnnie Troutman.

Pannell is probably the only offensive tackle that can expect to start this spring on the first team offensive line.

No.	Name	Pos.	Elig	Ht/Wt	High School	Coach
50	DeOn'tae Pannell	RT	JR	6-5/300	Southfield, Mich./Groves	Brendan Flaherty
58	Adam Gress	OL	rFR	6-6/275	West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin	Tim Brennan
66	Chimaeze Okoli	OL	rJR	6-4/293	Virginia Beach, Va./Salem	Robert Jackson
75	Eric Shrive	OL	rFR	6-6/298	Scranton, Pa./West Scranton	Mike DeAntona
76	Nate Cadogan	OL	rFR	6-5/285	Portsmouth, Ohio/Portsmouth	Curt Clifford
78	Mike Farrell	OL	rSO	6-6/298	Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy	Dave Havern

Much-ballyhooed recruit Eric Shrive sustained a pre-season knee sprain last year, forcing him to redshirt the entire 2009 season. But all reports indicate that he's healed up well and ready to roll as leading candidate for right tackle. Shrive has never been solidly in the mix for left tackle, which could actually come out as a blessing this spring.

Competition for positions is usually a great thing, forcing players to work harder than the guy behind him. But on the offensive line, unit cohesion is everything; the sooner Penn State can set its five-man front, the better things will be this spring and fall. Shrive and Pannell are the assumed starters going into spring ball, giving this unit an early boost in the consistency column.

Behind them, however, it gets a bit foggy. While Shrive has the early lead on the right, it's at his position that I see the biggest chance for another player to break through to the starting lineup.

Adam Gress has reportedly impressed the coaching staff enough this winter to keep a watchful eye on the redshirt freshman this spring. Gress did not see action last year, part of a crop of young offensive linemen, including redshirt freshman Nate Cadogan, brought in with the 2009 recruiting class. Cadogan isn't considered the contender Gress is this spring, but has to be in the mix for playing time this fall as a backup.

Interestingly enough, one name not being mentioned as a serious candidate to start at tackle is redshirt sophomore Mike Farrell, who played in two games last fall. Aside from Pannell, Farrell is the only offensive tackle to have seen live game action in a Penn State uniform. I hate to count out any player, but from everything coming out of winter workouts, Farrell's best hope is for a great spring and a spot on the second-team line this fall.

The final piece of the tackle puzzle could be former defensive lineman Chimaeze Okoli, who has only recently moved to the offensive side. As a redshirt junior, Okoli has had trouble cracking the two-deep on defense, but that's not a slight to his talent. The staff wants to give him a shot here, and don't be surprised should he get playing time this fall. If nothing else, the added depth couldn't hurt this unit.

Interior Line

Center: Now that you're all sorts of freaked out about the tackle positions, let's take a less stressful look at the interior positions, the guards and center. Here is a group of positions that Penn State can really build around this spring, particularly with returning All-Big Ten center Stefen Wisniewski, probably the best interior lineman in the conference. After earning his first start as a true freshman against Indiana in 2007, Wisniewski took over as the full-time starting guard beginning in 2008, then moving to center last season.

The starting center job isn't one handed out unless that player has really earned it, making it one of the toughest positions for backups to oust a the starter. That will be the case in 2010 for Penn State. However, with plenty of talent across the entire interior line, the Nittany Lions have options to work with in their search for Wisniewski's backups.

No.	Name	Pos.	Elig	Ht/Wt	High School	Coach
54	Matt Stankiewitch	OG	SO	6-3/292	Orwigsburg, Pa./Blue Mountain	Chuck Kutz
60	Ty Howle	C	rFR	6-0/289	Wake Forest, NC/Bunn	David Howle
61	Stefen Wisniewski	C	SR	6-3/297	Bridgeville, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic	Terry Trotten
62	Frank Figueroa	OL	rFR	6-3/280	San Antonio, Texas/Thomas Edison	Vaughn Lewis
63	Mark Arcidiacono	OL	rFR	6-4/274	Holland, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep	Gil Brooks
64	John Urschel	OL	rFR	6-3/278	Williamsville, N.Y./Canisius	Brandon Harris
67	Quinn Barham	OG	rJR	6-3/290	Durham, N.C./Hillside	Ray Harrison
68	Doug Klopacz	C	rSR	6-3/284	Hasbrouck Heights, N.J./St. Joseph Regional	Tony Karcich
70	Anthony Tortorelli	C	rJR	6-0/261	State College, Pa./Haverford	Joe Gallagher
74	Johnnie Troutman	OG	rJR	6-4/309	Brown Mills, N.J./Pemberton Township	Hohn Rosnick
77	Lou Eliades	OG	rSR	6-5/310	Ocean, N.J./Ocean Township	Sal Spompanato

Doug Klopacz's career has been crushed by ill-timed injuries, never allowing the redshirt senior the opportunity to break into the two-deep. That's hardly to say he doesn't have the skills to earn the coveted backup-center spot this spring. Klopacz is a hard worker, who's proven that he won't give up easily. I wouldn't hesitate to list the New Jersey native as a serious candidate to carry the second team center position.

Battling Klopacz this spring, three other linemen have at least some chance to win decent playing time by the fall. Ty Howle, Mark Arcidiacono, and Matt Stankiewitch all came to Penn State as guard/center prospects, with Howle probably the only pure center of the bunch. My money would be on Howle to lock up the second-team spot early this spring, but we've seen stranger things with the offensive line the last 12 months.

Stankiewitch has floated between guard and center since arriving in Happy Valley, and with two full seasons under his belt, he has the experience factor working in his favor. Arcidiacono is the long shot here, particularly since he's a mere freshman. Not mentioned so far, redshirt junior Anthony Tortorelli shouldn't be completely counted out of this mix, but hasn't been mentioned as a major factor in the race.

Guards: Though not as settled as the center position going into the spring, the guards are at least more clear-cut than the tackles. Lou Eliades started every game at right guard last season, after pushing hard for playing time in 2008 behind a veteran line. Seeing how he is the only guard to start all 13 in 2009, it is nearly a given that Eliades will hold onto his spot this spring. Behind him, redshirt junior Quinn Barham saw action in five games, while . I'm not expecting Barham to leap ahead of Eliades before the Blue-White Game, but he does have the talent and experience to stay put as the backup right guard.

Left guard is another story. Through 13 games in 2009, Penn State started three different left guards. Stankiewitch began the season holding the spot, but following sub-par efforts in the first two outings, he was pulled in favor of Johnnie Troutman. Troutman started the eight-game stretch from Temple through Ohio State, only to suffer a calf strain against the Buckeyes. Pannell took over from there, but Troutman did share time as he gained back his stamina in that leg.

Since Troutman had displaced Stankiewitch after only two starts, and was on track to start the remainder of the 2009 season, I'm very sure that Penn State's coaching staff won't mess around with what worked last season. Much of the line issues mid-season (Iowa and Ohio State losses) had to do with inconsistency at right tackle. But when Troutman, Eliades and Wisniewski were lined up in the middle, the Nittany Lions' offense was churning out impressive numbers in blowouts against Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota.

Penn State will go only as far this autumn as its offensive line takes it. There is a great core to build around, and I am very confident that the coaching staff will work with what they have, building yet another solid offensive front to pave the way for another solid offensive football team.

Next week: Receivers

Follow LBU on Facebook and Twitter. You can also Subscribe to Linebacker-U.com by Email