First things first: Is Joe going to run onto the field Saturday leading the team?
“I’ve got a new plan,” Paterno said during his first teleconference with the media of the new season today. “I’m gonna drop from a parachute.”
Jumping out of an airplane doesn’t scare Joe. Playing Florida International does. Honest.
“I’m probably as nervous as I’ve ever been for a first game,” he said. “You’re gonna see guys who’ve never been in a game. Who knows what they’re gonna do?”
Somebody made the mistake of asking Paterno whether, if the game got out of hand, he’d consider playing backup QB Daryl Clark or go with highly-regarded third-stringer Pat Devlin.
“Everybody’s got to calm down,” Paterno said. “This has been the most unusual preseason I’ve ever been involved with. I honestly don’t know whether we’re ready. I’m honestly scared as the dickens.”
FIU went 0-12 last year. That and the horrible brawl with Miami led to the firing of Don Strock, the former NFL QB.
The new guy is Mario Cristobal, who, ironically, played at Miami. He’s been an assistant coach there and at Rutgers. JoePa said he’s been looking at Rutgers film for clues to FIU’s style of play.
“They’re definitely at an advantage as far as preparation,” Paterno said.
Inexplicably, the Lions are 38-point favorites.
As for Andrew Quarless and Willie Harriott, cited for DUI two weeks back, Paterno said he kicked them off the team before some players, including team captains Dan Connor, Anthony Morelli and Terrell Golden, intervened.
“They did something that really bothered me,” Paterno said. “Being out after hours, after we had so much discussion about that, with such an unusual pre-season with so many of them in school…
“Some of the kids got together with the captains and said, ‘How about we let them back and you can do some other things to them?’ I said OK, and that’s where we are.”
Quarless and Harriott are practicing, but they won’t play this week, and Paterno said they may not play for 3-4 weeks.
In a phone interview earlier today, Connor said he was worried that the cumulative effect of off-field incidents might give the program a reputation it doesn’t deserve.
“I do worry about that a little bit,” Paterno admitted. “We’ve got to be careful. I think we have good kids. When they make mistakes, whether their actions deserve the kind of attention they get, that’s up to you [media] people. I have some thoughts and opinions about that…
“I think they’ll prove themselves by getting out to the stadium and cleaning it up, behaving, playing with class.”
The depth chart for the season opener is out. Notable:
In Quarless’ absence, the starter at tight end will be either Mickey Schuler (East Pennsboro) or Jordan Lyons.
Lou Eliades, a redshirt freshman, is ahead of incumbent Rich Ohrnberger at LG. Ohrnberger actually started most of the games last year at RG.
Lebanon’s Jared Odrick is the starter at left defensive tackle. Maurice Evans, like Odrick a sophomore who played some last year, is listed as second to Josh Gaines at left end. Right end, which is where you’d have guessed Evans would show up as the starter, is being manned by, in order, redshirt freshman Aaron Maybin and soph Jerome Hayes
The third linebacker, with returning studs Dan Connor and Sean Lee, is Tyrell Sales, a redshirt junior.
Junior Lydell Sargeant is, for now, the leader at left CB over speedster A.J. Wallace. It isn’t really left CB, though, because the other CB, Justin King, often plays wherever the opponent’s best receiver lines up.
Wallace and backup RB Rodney Kinlaw will return kickoffs. Derrick Williams will return punts. Mechanicsburg’s Jeremy Boone will be the punter and kick-holder.
Penn State’s first game-week notes package, released Monday, has the Lions having averaged 150 rushing yards and 199.9 passing yards a game last season for a total offense from scrimmage of 349.9. Florida International’s numbers are 56.8 rushing and 176.2 passing, which add up to 233. But FIU’s yardage per game is listed, inexplicably, as 361.5.
Watch for the first careless media person who looks at the total and declares that FIU actually outgained Penn State last year.
Elsewhere: Here’s an excellent feature on Jordan Steffy, the Conestoga Valley grad who’s won the starting QB job at Maryland, by Heather Dinich of the Baltimore Sun….
Heard from a Michigan State grad Tuesday who said he loved the overall football package in Sunday’s paper but was disappointed I didn’t write anything about his alma mater in the Big Ten preview.
It’s hard to write much about the endlessly weird and erratic Spartans, especially with yet another new coach, but that’s not the reason. I just screwed up and neglected them. Mea culpa.
Our MSU grad is a regular in the Lansing State Journal’s chat rooms. He says he wrote about my stuff there, praising it generally but pointing out the neglect of Michigan State.
Which prompted somebody to write back and suggest that that’s fine, as long as when I do a Big Ten basketball preview I don’t mention Penn State.
Seems reasonable.
