Penn State's Biggest Trouble Spots for 2011, Part 2

Silas Redd

It's that time of the year when college football offers NOTHING of substance to talk about. That's why God invented bloggers like us. This may be the ump-teenth time you've read a breakdown of what Penn State will or won't do, where it could fail or succeed. But it's still fun. Why? Because no one seems to have the same take on where the chips may fall this, umm, fall.

As mentioned last week, there are four big sections in the off-season: post-bowl (Jan-Feb), pre-spring (Feb-Mar), pre-summer (May-June), and pre-season (Aug). Usually during these inter periods it's a good time to gauge the depth chart situation. 

Today, we'll wrap up this two-parter by looking at the backup running back spot, quarterbacks (ugh!), and as one of our followers on Twitter suggested (which I'll modify a bit), the weather and schedule. I'm absolutely sure we'll have a schedule-related post in the coming weeks. But just one quick glance as the murderers row Penn State must face in 2011 will tell you that schedule could end up being the deciding factor in whether or not Penn State is playing in a top-tier bowl game.

Enjoy.

Blue-White Game Preview '11: Offensive Backfield

This post is part 1 of 5 this week previewing all the offensive and defensive units heading into the Blue-White scrimmage this Saturday in Beaver Stadium.

---

Part 1: The Offensive Backfield

Penn State has more talent at the skill positions this spring than I can remember. That doesn't necessarily mean that talent is experienced, developed or realized at this point. A dominating theme last season was that of underachievement by a football team that had arguably more raw talent than at least two of the teams that defeated it (Illinois & Michigan State) and probably another (Iowa).

In the first parts of our preview series heading into the Blue-White Game, we'll start with the offensive backfield--quarterbacks and running backs. Then tomorrow it's on to the receivers and tight ends.

While the quarterback position remains a hot mess this spring, the running backs are surprisingly strong with the loss of Penn State's all-time leading rusher. Even the fullbacks are something to get excited about for 2011 and possibly on the field this weekend.

More on each in the following sections below the break.

Outback Bowl '11: Inside Penn State

Penn State had some low expectations coming into the 2010 season. And the Nittany Lions managed to meet every one of them, and some. The quarterback situation was scary, the offensive line even scarier. The defense had to replace three NFL linebackers and the defensive player of the year at tackle. The schedule wasn't kind, either, with the defending national champs, Rose Bowl champs, Orange Bowl champs, and some other teams that turned out to be much better than many predicted.

But with all the downs, came the many ups this season. Finding one too many very good quarterbacks. An improving offensive line. Some damn good receivers. Silas Redd. Michael Mauti. And a team capable of beating almost any opponent, if not for the gross inexperience on the side of blue and white.

Now Penn State returns to another post-season exhibition against the SEC. The last two times out between the Nittany Lions and the most powerful conference in college football resulted in victories for the slow-pokes from snowy Pennsylvania. We'll see if they can do it once again.

In this post, we'll take a quick look at the team overall, then have a game-by-game rundown.

Preview: Penn State 'at' Indiana

Penn State and Indiana will face off at the Washington Redskins' home stadium, FedEx Field in Landover, MD. The obvious benefit to Penn State is that this game will surely turn into a virtual home game for the Nittany Lions. The Northeast corridor, stretching from the Washington, DC metro area through to Boston, is home to the highest concentration of Penn State alumni in the nation. If FedEx Field isn't 80 percent Penn State fans, it would be a disappointment.

The Hoosiers come into this game with a potent passing game, but with little ground support. The injury last week to QB Ben Chappell could make things interesting, but he's likely to play, and is good enough to play well while hurt. The Indiana defense is, well... pretty damn bad.

For Penn State, it's a chance to get back on track. The loss last week to Ohio State was crushing in every respect. This game against Indiana should offer some kind of outlet for the pent-up rage the Nittany Lions should be harboring after returning from Columbus.

Here's your weekly preview and breakdown.

Potty Police nab Sean Stanley, Silas Redd

First it was pot, now it's pee.
(Photo: Mike/LBU)

This wasn't big enough to warrant a post, until Sean Stanley just had to go and steal Silas Redd's thunder. The Collegian:

Penn State defensive end Sean Stanley was cited for public urination on Friday — his second run-in with the law this season... The State College Police Department filed charges against Stanley, 19, after he was cited for public urination at 12:42 a.m. on Nov. 12 on the 400 block of East Prospect Avenue, police said. Police said alcohol was involved but could not confirm if he was tested for his blood alcohol content.

Before I rail on Stanley for doing this the night before the Ohio State game, let me add that this isn't the first issue with public urination this week on the team. Again, The Collegian:

Penn State running back Silas Redd was cited for disorderly conduct after he was seen urinating near the Agricultural Engineering Building at 4:13 a.m. today, Penn State Police said. Police said Redd, 18, of Norwalk, Conn., was not drunk at the time of the incident. He was issued a citation for disorderly conduct and released, and he will not be fined, police said.

Now, Redd's run-in with the poh-leese was bad enough, because it was on a Monday. Why was he out and about at 4:45 a.m. on a Monday, unless he was out for a run to keep up training or something? But at least alcohol wasn't involved.

However, what the hell is wrong with Sean Stanley? Does he want to end his football career? He was charged with pot possession earlier this season, making this "strike two" against him. The only thing I'm curious to see is how much, if at all, alcohol played a part.

You would think this team has enough to deal with on the field, without these problems off it.

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

Review: Penn State 35, Northwestern 21

The highlights, and lowlights, from Penn State's 35-21 over Northwestern.

Evan Royster rumbled for 134 yards
against the Wildcats. (Photo: Mike/LBU)

My sincere apologies for not posting this sooner. I had a run-in with some of Pennsylvania's bountiful wildlife on the way up for the game. So my entire Monday was shot dealing with insurance and the collision shop. Everything is fine, so I'm happy. But posting things like this so late bugs the hell out of me.

It was one of the more memorable games I've witnessed in person. From the lowest point in the first half, to the wild second half, there was no shortage of excitement for both sides. So, what was there to like, or dislike, about the game? This...

Preview: Michigan at Penn State

The White Out returns... at night... against Michigan. God help us all.

It's baaack!

Penn state finally got back on the winning track last week, with a 33-21 win over Minnesota. The Gophers were able to move the ball well enough, but were doomed by poor field position, failed fourth down attempts, and one very big interception return by D'Anton Lynn. Oh yeah, did I mention the Gophers' defense had a terrible time slowing down Rob Bolden, before he left the game with a head injury, and didn't do too much better when Matt McGloin came into the game.

Having faced a bad defense last week, another bad one, maybe even worse than Minnesota's porous unit, comes to town this week. The problems for Penn State are that Bolden may not be available to start the game, and Michigan's offense is light-years ahead of Minnesota. And the Gophers piled up more than 400 yards on the Lions.

Scary? That's not even the half of it. In a night game atmosphere, the White Out in full force, and two teams that have a penchant for making throw-your-remote-through-the-TV level mistakes, this Saturday in Happy Valley should provide more than its fair share of drama. Oh, and did we mention Evan Royster is only 31 yards away from breaking Penn State's all-time career rushing record? Yeah, that's in there, too this week.

Let's get to it...

Review: Penn State 33, Minnesota 21

Silas Redd put on a show for Penn State fans, piling up
73 yards for the Nittany Lions against Minnesota.
(AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

Rah Rah!!! The Nittany Lions won a Big Ten game!

Ok, enough of that. It wasn't pretty, but it was convincing in the end. Reeling from two embarrassing performances, Penn State went on the road and did what it had to do. Minnesota may be the worst team in the conference this season. It doesn't matter. Wins are wins, and Penn State sure needs a few more before the season is done.

The defense bent plenty, but never broke enough to lose the game. In fact, it was a few big defensive stops, efficient passing, a strong running game [gasp!] in the second half, and special teams that propelled Penn State to the victory in Minneapolis. Now, I may be crazy here, but doesn't that sound an awful lot like the Penn State teams of old?

Here the roundup from Saturday.

Backups step in to keep Penn State alive, beat Minnesota 33-21

Brett Bracket was on the receiving end of Rob Bolden's
only touchdown pass. Bolden would leave the game
with an apparent minor head injury.
(AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

The final score looked better than the product on the field, as Penn State rode the backs of third-stringers, namely quarterback Matt McGloin and tailback Silas Redd, to a 33-14 win over Minnesota today in TCF Bank Stadium.

McGloin was in for the injured starter Rob Bolden, while second-string quarterback Kevin Newsome has been battling illness and injury all week. And although Evan Royster finished today's game only 31 yards short of Penn State's career rushing record (63 yards rushing today), it was true freshman Silas Redd that dazzled fans in the second half, ripping off several big runs, including two for more than 20 yards on the final touchdown drive for the Nittany Lions.

The defense, however, left much to be desired, surrendering more than 300 yards to Minnesota's Adam Weber, and allowing yet another 100-yard rusher, the Gophers' DeLeon Eskridge. Cornerback Stephon Morris was the main target of fans. The sophomore was harassed all day by Weber, including two of the Gophers' touchdown passes, and was very unreliable on open-field tackling.

Joe Paterno Press Conference Recap: Kent State Week

Here's the long and short of what happened today at Joe Paterno's Alabama game week press conference. Joe was a bit testy this week, but nothing worth getting all riled up about. I'd be pretty pissed off too if my team, particularly the supposed bell cow defense, played the way it did down in Tuscaloosa...

• This team needs to grow up a little bit. The whole Alabama thing kind of maybe went to their heads a bit, as the first half was played just how Joe was dreading it would be played--poorly, tentatively, with no playmakers stepping up in the clutch.
• Rob Bolden is the No. 1 quarterback from here on out. No question whatsoever in Joe's mind. 
• Gerald Hodges broke his lower left fibula, but the return date isn't yet known. He's going to be out for a while.
  

Blue-White Countdown 2010: Running Backs

Stephfon Green (21) missed last spring with a broken ankle, but this year he is ready to go full speed.
Previous entries...
1: Special Teams
2: Defensive Backs
3: Linebackers
4: Defensive Line
5: Offensive Line
6: Tight Ends
7: Wide Receivers

We're nearing the conclusion of our countdown to the 2010 Blue-White Game. The Nittany Lions have been practicing for just over three weeks, but Joe Paterno still thinks they stink. Closing in on the Blue-White weekend, I'll wrap up our journey through all the major positions, as I try to give the most reasoned explanation of who we could see come out big, and why. In today's edition, we'll go right up the middle, with the running backs.

Background

Since 2005, Penn State has surprisingly churned out five consecutive 1,000-yard rushers--Tony Hunt (05-06), Rodney Kinlaw (07), and Evan Royster (08-09). You could also throw in possibly the greatest single season of all Nittany Lion rushers, Larry Johnson topping 2,000 yards in 2002. It wasn't the most impressive first half of a decade for the Penn State ground game, but the second half was a dynamite run like none other for the boys in Blue and White.

Returning senior starter Evan Royster is on track to easily break the all-time Penn State career rushing record, needing only 480 yards to pass Curt Warner's career mark of 3,398 set in 1982. Royster should also become the first Nittany Lion to reach 1,000 yards in three seasons. Considering the running back pedigree in Happy Valley, that's saying a lot about No. 22.

I mention Royster in this section because he's not really doing much this spring; he shouldn't have to. There is no reason to risk losing him for the season, when there are about four more excellent backs in need of the reps this spring. This post will focus more on the guys behind Royster, since they will see the most action in the upcoming Blue-White Game.

Running Backs

As you'll notice in the list below, there are many more running backs on the roster than will ever see action in the regular season. But this is the Blue-White Game season, and there's a chance we will see a couple of them run the ball next Saturday.

Still, we'll center in on the following: Stephfon Green, Shaine Thompson, Derek Day, Silas Redd, Curtis Dukes, Hykeem Brodie, and Joe Suhey.

Brandon Beachum is sitting out this spring, finishing up his ACL recovery. Royster won't do much outside of the first series. And with the news of Mike Zordich's DUI, he went from being a potential star of the Blue-White Game, to probably not playing at all.

No.	Name	Pos.	Elig	Ht/Wt	High School	Coach
3	Brandon Beachum	RB	JR	6-0/218	Youngstown, Oh/Cardinal Mooney	P.J. Fecko
21	Stephfon Green	RB	rJR	5-10/197	Bronx, N.Y./John F. Kennedy	Alex Vega
22	Evan Royster	RB	rSR	6-1/213	Fairfax, Va./Westfield	Tom Verbanic
23	Shaine Thompson	RB	rJR	6-0/215	Bronx, N.Y./John F. Kennedy	Alex Vega
24	Derek Day	RB	rSO	5-9/184	Bellefonte, Pa./Central Dauphin	Glen McNamee
25	Silas Redd	RB	FR	/190	Stamford, Conn./King&Low Heywood Thomas	Dan Gouin
26	Curtis Dukes	RB	rFr	6-1/238	Evans Mills, N.Y./Indian River	Cory Marsell
29	Kevin Kowalishen	RB	rSO	5-10/187	Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area	Robert Steckel
30	Josh Matzkin	FB	rSR	6-0/222	Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep	Frank Sullivan
30	Hykeem Brodie	RB	So	5-11/223	Portsmouth, Va./Old Dominion Univ.	Scott Johnson
33	Andre Dupree	FB	Fr	5-10/224	Waldorf, Md./North Point	Ken Lane
35	Pat Zerbe	FB	rFR	6-1/240	West Lawn, Pa./Wilson	Doug Dahms
37	Joe Suhey	FB	rJR	6-1/236	Deerfield, Ill./Loyola Academy	John Holecek

I'm really looking forward to seeing Green in action this year. Unfortunately, there's a very good chance the coaches will give him the Royster treatment during the Blue-White Game--four or five carries, then ride the bench. I will still hold out to see the kind of show Green has put on before:

"On the second play of the game, redshirt freshman Stephfon Green (Bronx, N.Y.) found an opening and zipped to a 57-yard touchdown run to give the White a 7-0 lead. Green finished as the game's leading rusher with 87 yards on 12 carries for a superlative 7.2 average."

But if that's not what happens, it's not like there won't be plenty more to watch for from the guys lower on the depth chart.

Two names shine bright: Silas Redd and Curtis Dukes. We've heard a ton of great things about both players, but haven't been able to see anything from them on the field. The two are a veritable thunder-and-lightening combo just waiting to take the field together.

Redd has fantastic speed, and as one pundit described, is even more shifty than Green. But according to the coaching staff and observers in practice, he's still a raw talent that has to develop a bit further. I'll take that, as long as that development continues. Redd impressed at Penn State's annual Coaches Clinic scrimmage last weekend, with a few big gains and a touchdown.

Dukes is a bulldozer with speed, even seeing some time at fullback since arriving on campus two seasons ago. Most, including myself, consider him the kind of running back Aaron Harris was back in the 1990s. And most, not necessarily including myself, think his future is at fullback. We'll just have to wait and see where the coaches line him up during the Blue-White Game. Dukes could end up moving around a bit.

Probably the next two in line are Shaine Thompson and Derek Day. Thompson is a converted linebacker who graduated high school with Stephfon Green. He played tailback in last year's Blue-White Game, but was switched back to linebacker during the summer. Then, with the ACL injury to Beachum, Thompson went back to running back. Until Beachum is back, expect Thompson to stay on offense. Day has gotten some praise from Joe Paterno, who said he's a tough kid and hard worker. Though Day is only a walk-on, getting in good with Paterno will always win you some carries. He played in last year's spring game, so I don't expect any different this time around. A player like Day could end up leading the rushers in carries.

The only clear-cut starter for fullback is incumbent Joe Suhey. There's not much to say about "Mr. Penn State Football," other than I hope to see him carry the ball more up the gut. He's not a bruiser, but Penn State needs a guy who can guarantee a touchdown from anywhere inside the two yard line.

Hykeem Brodie is a rare transfer to Penn State, as in the Nittany Lions rarely take kids from other colleges. But something about Brodie impressed the coaches enough to invite him as a preferred walk-on this spring. He has apparently put on a surprisingly good performance during the Coaches Clinic scrimmage, so I'm eager to see what he does in a less controlled situation like the Blue-White Game.

That's all for today. Stay tuned early next week, as I'll post the quarterbacks breakdown on Monday. It's about to be Game Week, folks!

Next: Quarterbacks

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

Abbreviated Media Roundup: Coaches Clinic Scrimmage

Mike Yancich (33) warms up before practice. (photo: Mark Selders/GoPSUSports.com)

We already covered the initial reports from Penn State's Coaches Clinic Scrimmage in Beaver Stadium Saturday. Now, we get a bit more meat from the press corps. Here's the long and short of it all.

• GoPSUSports.com, with some background on the clinic:

Among the former Nittany Lions attending today's practice were George Landis, Mike Zordich, Yaacov Yisrael and Daryll Clark. Zordich is the defensive quality control coach with the Philadelphia Eagles. His son, Michael, will be a redshirt sophomore running back this fall for the Nittany Lions. Yisrael is an assistant football coach at Halifax (Pa.) High School... The clinic began Friday and featured lectures and demonstrations by Paterno and the entire Nittany Lions' staff...

• Bob Flounders, Patriot News, on Kevin Newsome, the O-line, Silas Redd, and Mike Yancich:

"The Lions looked uncertain.

There were bad throws, bobbled snaps, fumbles, missed tackles and more than a few blocking attempts by some unproven offensive linemen that ended up horribly awry..."

• Mike Poorman, StateCollege.com, with more on Newsome:

"Didn't look like he was ready to be the Nittany Lions' starter in the home season-opener Sept. 4 vs. Youngstown State. Didn't look very good warming up, but then again Penn State's receivers dropped a number of balls."

• Ron Musselman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with more on Yancich:

"I am getting a decent amount of action this spring," Yancich said. "I'm enjoying it. I didn't feel like I was getting as much work the last few years as I needed."

• Mark Brennan, Fight On State, piling on Newsome and the O-line:

"He was extremely erratic during Drill 6 (7 on 7), overthrowing or under-throwing nearly every pass. He opened the actual scrimmage by leading the first-team offense against the first-team defense, hitting on only 1 of 4 passes but also scrambling for a first down on a drive that eventually stalled.

...the new line looks like this: RT, Eliades; RG, Wisniewski; C, Klopacz; LG, Pannell; LT, Barham.

Because of that new look, the first-team defensive line generally pushed around the offensive front. On a fourth-and-1 early on, tailback Stephfon Green was thrown for a 2-yard loss."

• Phil Grosz, Blue White Illustrated ($), the only one who's correctly not flipping a sh*t about the offensive line:

"I don't think that there was one starter on the first-team offensive line in today's scrimmage, that was playing at a position he will play in the fall," BWI was told by that contact. "Eliades in my opinion will be at right guard, Wisniewski will be the starting center and from what I'm being told Pannell will be at the starting left tackle position."

• Jeff Rice, Centre Daily Times, with a little more perspective:

"In fairness to quarterbacks Kevin Newsome, Matt McGloin and Paul Jones, their offensive linemen didn’t give them a lot of time.

In fairness to those linemen, a lot of them were in unusual positions Saturday."

• Derek Levarese, Times Leader, on Matt McGloin:

"McGloin, a former walk-on from West Scranton, was the sharper passer on the day, completing 8-of-17 for 120 yards, unofficially. He connected on deep passes to Shawney Kersey and Graham Zug for the bulk of his yardage."

Happy Monday.

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

2010 Freshman Class, Hello!

Penn State didn't have to worry about the usual National Letter of Intent Signing Day drama. Unlike the plurality of college football programs on signing day, Joe Paterno's crew likes to lock up their recruiting classes early.