BLUE WHITE

BLUE WHITE GAME

• As expected both Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman did not play.

• Stephfon Green and Brent Carter are still hurt so we got to see Evan Royster, Joe Suhey, Brandon Beachum and walk-on former linebacker Shaine Thompson. They all looked solid. What stood out to me is that Beachum is not fast at all. He makes Royster look like a burner which I think will stop him from ever being the feature back here.

• Both Royster and Darryl Clark looked to be in midseason form. They looked real good.

• It's difficult to judge the lines in these games because the defensive front keeps it basic. That said we are set at DT and in trouble at DE.

• Both Kevin Newsome and redshirt freshman walk-on Matt McGloin looked good. McGloin surprised me with just how good he looked. Though Newsome still isn't the most accurate guy he looked absolutely DYNAMIC. Newsome makes Clark look like a statue and we all know he is not. If the staff picked Clark over Devlin I now can definitely see them picking Newsome over Jones for 2010 as Newsome is by far the better athlete.

• Speaking of Paul Jones, he was there and reaffirmed his commitment to Penn State. He's now back to being a solid verbal.

• WR Derek Moye looked outstanding. I think he's ready to step up and be our #1 receiver THIS season.

• They threw to the tight ends a lot, especially Quarless. I'm going to hold off for now on my criticisms regarding these developments.

• We are absolutely loaded at both linebacker and DT.

• Jon Ditto surprisingly looked good at LB after spending his whole career at TE.

• Michael Zordich looked good at LB and I believe led the team in tackes for the game after spending last year playing fullback on the scout team.

• Another redshirt freshman LB, Mike Yancich, looked like an absolute bullet out there. He could be faster than even Bowman.

• I never thought I'd say this but Josh Hull looked real good. Hull looked aggressive and very strong. I want to say Maualuga-like but that may be pushing it.

• Gerald Hodges looked absolutely amazing. Despite currently running third team I expect him to start alongside Drew Astorino at safety this year. He's a headhunter with a fast, aggressive game.

• We are absolutely in trouble at cornerback. A. J. Wallace looked horrible. Knowledge Timmons looked good but he can't seem to keep his mouth shut. I've never seen anyone jaw like he does. D'Anton Lynn also looked ho-hum.

• The only question is what is worse our situation at corner or at DE? It's a toss up. It wasn't enough to lose Aaron Maybin, Maurice Evans, and Josh Gaines, Eric Latimore has had shoulder issues all spring (and the previous two years), and during the Blue White game redshirt freshman DE Pete Massaro tore his ACL. Time to move both Mark Wedderburn from TE and Nate Stupar from LB to DE. Jared Odrick played DE in the Blue White game but that is not the solution in my opinion even though I think the coaching staff might see it as being the solution.

• Overall, the team looked very sloppy. This looked like the second practice of the spring, not the 15th. We have the talent, we just need to have a real good summer and a real good fall. It's nice that we have those cupcakes to start the year, our offensive line and pass defense will need the work.

• We typically pass a lot more in the Blue White game than run the ball and this year was no exception. The passing game looked good no matter who was at quarterback. I think that is more of a reflection of our piss poor pass defense. If I was an opposing coach playing Penn State in 2009 I literally would not run the ball at all.

Nobody can argue that the 2008 Big Ten Champion Nittany Lions were as exciting to watch as the 2005 Big Ten Champion Nittany Lions were. We are not as balanced and we may or may not be as good as we were last season but there is no doubt in my mind that we will be more exciting to watch. Expect a lot of high fives and also plenty of screaming at the TV this season. Despite the pathetic schedule, it should be a rollercoaster ride.



In addition to securing Jones' verbal, Penn State picked up it's third commit for this class in Baltimore wide receiver Adrian Coxson. Coxson selected Penn State over offers from Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Pitt among numerous others.



I have something for all of you to make up for me being late putting up my thoughts on the game. Two quick clips that you will be glad you watched. Watch the first one then immediately watch the second one. Enjoy.
First clip.
Second clip.