Linkbacker U is wishing you a happy Penn State Week

Happy Penn State Week!

If you're lucky enough to get the Big Ten Network on your television, than this is the week for you. The Big Ten Network will recapture some of the greatest Nittany Lion moments of the decade all week long. From the 2001 NCAA Tournament game against North Carolina to the overtime thrilling Orange Bowl in 06, you'll be able to relive the past this week. And thank heaven's they're focusing on the past, rather than the future in PSU athletics.

Blame Joe? Not so fast my friend...

Type in Joe Paterno on Google, and 99% of the articles will either have to do with him closing in on 400 victories or him having a negative affect on Penn State recruiting. VictoryBellRings.com doesn't quite see the recruiting "problem" the same way as those Joe Pa naysayers.

"Lets get back to the original point. Joe. As of late, critics of Paterno have pointed out that while Nick Saben and Co are out visiting players, Joe hasn’t made a in house visit since Terrelle Pryor (although he came close this past year). Disptite this statistic the program has still pulled together a Top 10 recruiting class for 2010 and as well as many strong classes in the past decade. All of which occured without Paterno’s direct intervention in the household.

While there is something to be said for the All-time winningest coach visiting your house, recruits are really looking for three things. Winning, Playingtime, and a chance to go pro. Penn State has gone 51-13 since 2004, and none of that winning has been related to Joe Paterno eating cookies and telling odd stories to recruits."

Speaking of Joe Pa...

Wow. The same person notorious for his distaste for the media-Joe Paterno- sat down for a one on one interview with the Reading Eagle. Same usual stuff you'd expect..not naming a successor, or when he'd retire, and likes Nebraska joining the Big Ten.

But he had something interesting to say about a certain person the Cavaliers were not able to sign this off-season. And no he's not taking his talents to South Beach. Tom Izzo is staying at Michigan State, but Joe talked about how the dollar signs are affecting coach's loyalty.

Q: You've always had great respect for Bobby Bowden. His situation and your situation appear to be so unique. Do you think we'll ever see any more coaches staying at one university for 20, 25 years?

A: It doesn't look that way. With the kind of money they're paying some guys they have two good years and they're up to 2 or 3 million bucks (a year). They're moving around because people are offering them more money.

Take a guy like (Michigan State basketball coach) Tom Izzo, a guy who I admire and respect. I think he's a great coach. I never thought he would even talk to the pros. I understand even he's talking to some people (Izzo turned down the Cleveland Cavaliers in June).

It's the money and maybe the challenge. I don't know why they're moving around.

I keep telling guys: "If you have a good job stick around and make it happen. Make your institution better."

You see people getting fired who have done a good job. You have a couple good years and all of a sudden someone else comes around with a little better deal and you start thinking, "If I stick around here, they're going to fire me in two years, anyway; I might as well move."

Joe Pa's Best

So we're 44 days away until Penn State takes on Youngstown State (yours truly has the call on Comradio *shameless plug*) which means the first in Nittany White Out's "44 for 44" series, ranking the top 44 players to play for Joe. Counting up rather than down, they start with number one and none other than the Heisman Trophy winner himself, John Cappelletti.

"For a program with as much history as Penn State, it still comes as a surprise that just one Nittany Lion has earned the greatest honor in the college football world. But that man, who epitomizes all that is great about Dear Old State, stands on his own."

Just Saying...

Remember the last time a PSU quarterback was up for the Johnny Unitas Award? Certainly there won't be one this year. But Pat Devlin is the ONLY FCS player on the list. Oh how different this year could have been...

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Linkbacker-U is tossin' around the pigskin.

2009-2010 Lions Good at a lot of Sports....2011? Don't Hold your Breath

Another year another top 15 finish in the Director's Cup for Penn State. The Lions placed 11th in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings, which ranks colleges based on their athletic success across the entire sports spectrum.

Betcha women's volleyball helped the school's rank. Basketball? Not so much. And I wouldn't bank on the Lions returning to the top 15 this coming year either. Not with Ben Heath going pro, Megan Hodge and Alisha Glass graduating, and well you know the questions surrounding the football team by now. But hey, at least Talor Battles back! Could be a long year for Penn State athletics...

What if Pat Devlin....

Every Nittany Lion football fan has thought, at least one time this off season, what if Pat Devlin didn't transfer. We wouldn't be talking about Newsome or Matt McGloin, talking about how the team is rearranging its seats on the Titanic. Instead, we'd be boasting how the Lions actually have a potential first round NFL quarterback, and poised to make a run at the BCS National Championship.

Cory Giger takes a look back at where it went wrong for #7 in the valley (no not you Scirotto, though your list of wrongdoings is much easier to carve)

"But frankly, Devlin not playing against Iowa gets overblown by fans who want to simplify things and therefore blame the situation on one specific game.

Even if Devlin had played and led Penn State to victory, he had to see the writing on the wall that Clark still would be the starting quarterback in 2009. Clark had done nothing to make anyone believe otherwise, and Devlin had to know he'd be sitting the bench for another season."

Linebacker U getting BIG (literally)

Can this brand new crop of starting linebackers fill the shoes of Sean Lee, Navarro Bowman, and Josh Hull? Your guess is as big as mine. But they won't fit into their jerseys either. Bob Flounders of the Patriot-News tells us that several members of the vaunted Lion defense is putting on weight to get ready for the season. Bani Gbadyu adds 13 pounds to weigh in at 242 lbs, and Mike Mauti and Gerald Hodges both add five. Now let's just hope that extra weight doesn't keep them from moving sideline to sideline.

NCAA gives PSU basketball, other mediocre majors, one more roadblock to tourney

As if the Lions didnt have a tough enough road to get to the Field of 64. Now, they will likely have to pass one more test to get there...that is of course...if they ever get there.

The NCAA came out with their initial plan at how to widdle the expanded 68 team field down to the traditional 64, and it is a plan that doesn't come as music to the ears of the major conferences.

"Two of the early games will match the tournament's lowest seeds, Nos. 65 through 68. The other two games will include the last four at-large qualifiers."

Odds that this will actually affect the Lions anytime soon? About the same chance Penn State can get an offensive rebound...or draw up an actual play in the closing seconds of a game..or (you get the drift).

Jay Pa Talkin' Recruiting QB's

Forget the fact that we STILL don't know who the starter is. That's not the only thing that stands out with this year's quarterback depth chart. While I can't say for sure as NCAA Football 2011 is still not out yet, I bet the speed ratings on this year's quarterbacks (McGloin aside) is higher than a large portion of the team's wide recievers. No not you Curtis Drake and Devion Smith, you are still freaks of nature. But the rest? I'd love to see Bolden, Newsome, or Jones race any of the other receivers on this year team.

Coincidence that these three QBs are perhaps the most athletic since Michael Robinson? Don't think so. Jay Paterno told the Collegian that it all starts with the recruiting, and that PSU is definitely intrigued by that speedy QB.

"If you can get a guy that can throw the ball and is athletic, you'd like that over a guy that's just stuck in the pocket, if they're similar throwing the ball," Paterno said. "If it's third and ten, and the left tackle gets beat, if you have a guy that can't evade anybody, you're punting the ball."