BS&T Big Ten Media Day chat(07/24/2008) 
3:30
Greetings from Chicago. I just got back to my room after the interview session with all 11 Big Ten coaches. It was a marathon. I'm ready for any questions you may have.
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:30 
3:32
[Comment From GuestGuest: ] 
Does Devlin have a legit shot at winning the starting QB job? Or do you think at best - he just ends up splitting time.
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:32 Guest
3:34

I'll post most of what Joe Paterno had to say during his interview session later, but basically, he said that he's looking to make a good decision, not a fast one.

I've said this before: I'd be stunned if Clark didn't play. There were some coaches who wanted to play him last year, and now that he's one of the elder statesmen, I'd be stunned if he doesn't play now. That, to me, would indicate Devlin is going to be relegated to splitting time. The best insight that I can offer is that that seems like the most logical course of action right now -- a two QB system.

Thursday July 24, 2008 3:34 
3:36
Just as a matter of information, the top three teams in the preseason media poll were announced today: 1.) Ohio State; 2.) Wisconsin; 3.) Illinois.
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:36 
3:36
[Comment From slacoeslacoe: ] 
Were you shocked with the media having Wisc. and Illinois above PSU?
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:36 slacoe
3:38
Shocked? Not really.

I know how the media can be sometime. Let's face it, there are certain people who just have their favorites. Fifteen years or so later, Penn State still is seen as the new kid on the block in this league. I think it's just hard for them to get votes.

I can tell you this: I picked the Nittany Lions to finish second behind Ohio State. I think Illinois is going to struggle to have the same kind of season that it did a year ago. Look, you take Mendenhall off that team last year, and it wasn't very good offensively. Now, they have to replace him. Daniel Dufrene better be the real deal, especially if Juice Williams doesn't throw a little better.
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:38 
3:38
[Comment From psu_fanpsu_fan: ] 
What's the perception of Penn State at the Big Ten Media day from the reporters you have met? Do they consider Penn State to be a contender for the Big Ten title?
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:38 psu_fan
3:41

A lot of them just talk about Joe, to be honest with you. Most of the questioning today from the out-of-state reporters dealt with his contract, and when he's going to think about hanging it up. Not much really at all about the quality of the team.

Although, there were some reporters who seemed a bit surprised there was no Penn State in the top 3. But again, to me, I didn't exactly expect it. I'd have been more surprised if they were No. 2 than I am that they aren't in the top three at all. Let's put it this way: I'm sure they finished fourth.

Thursday July 24, 2008 3:41 
3:41
[Comment From GuestGuest: ] 
Any new info from Joe regarding the suspended players?
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:41 Guest
3:43
Not really. Like I said, most of the questioning surrounded his contract. I'll tell you this though: Penn State's media guide is out, and all of them -- Baker, Bowman, Timmons, Quarless, even Phil Taylor -- are listed on the roster.

Taylor was a bit surprising. He has been expelled from campus and won't be allowed back until August. Yet, there he is, on the roster.

I think that chapter in their lives is over for now. They're back on the team -- to stay, if they can all keep themselves in check.
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:43 
3:45
[Comment From PSFPSF: ] 
Were you or will you be able to interview the PS players? If so will you be posting that later?
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:45 PSF
3:47
Yep, we get to interview available players tomorrow -- Derrick Williams, A.Q. Shipley and Josh Gaines are here. So are a bunch from the other schools. I'll post that all when I can, but almost immediately after those sessions end, I have to head to the airport to catch a flight home.

Later, I'll have a rundown of the morning and afternoon interviews posted, along with some audio from Joe and, maybe, Rich Rodriguez -- who was quite entertaining, actually.
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:47 
3:48
[Comment From PSLionsPSLions: ] 
Any new info with regards to recruiting? LaLota? Jenkins?
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:48 PSLions
3:51
Not on LaLota. I know he was supposed to visit yesterday, and I hadn't heard that he didn't. Paterno was there to meet with him.

Jelani Jenkins is going through the motions now, which he should. I still think Penn State is the favorite here, but there are a lot of big schools interested in his services and he'd be short-changing himself if he didn't look around.

The only other thing I heard today is that Tate Forcier, the quarterback from San Diego, may be leaning toward Penn State and Michigan. At least, that's two of the schools he plans to make an official visit to. I think Michigan might be the leader for him, but he might decide against going there if one of the two QBs already committed there (Kevin Newsome being one) don't decommit.
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:51 
3:52
[Comment From SteveSteve: ] 
Any idea when the starting quarterback will be announced?
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:52 Steve
3:53
Probably in August when the two-deep is announced -- and maybe not even then, either. I guarantee we get a Daryll Clark OR Pat Devlin on the first depth chart.

My guess is, we won't know anything until the first game. But we'll probably be able to make fairly educated guesses by then just by talking to the players.
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:53 
3:53
[Comment From RRRR: ] 
Was Rich Rodriguez wearing a wizard hat? Did he try to sell you any snake oil?
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:53 RR
3:57
I'll tell you, the guy was pretty forthcoming about all of that stuff. I was going to write about this later, but he actually said he was looking for Joe Tiller to show him the new snake-oil concoction he has been working on all summer.

The guy is definitely different than anybody the Big Ten has in its coaching ranks -- both in philosophy and demeanor. Make no mistake, he's a taskmaster on the field, and he's going to be preaching discipline at Michigan. But he seems to be a little more loose (if that's the word) with how he deals with the media. He could have dodged some of the issues brought up -- the sloppy divorce with West Virginia, the Tiller comments -- but he addressed them. I don't take him for a guy who is going to defer to his more tenured Big Ten colleagues, and that might be what rankles some people.
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:57 
3:57
[Comment From LB ULB U: ] 
Do you have any guesses what the 2-deep LB depth chart will look like?
Thursday July 24, 2008 3:57 LB U
4:02
Yeah...the preseason depth chart is actually in the media guide:

OLB:
Tyrell Sales
Nate Stupar

MLB:
Josh Hull
Chris Colasanti

OLB:
Bani Gbadyu
Andrew Dailey

Now, there are some players who I think we can ask questions about tomorrow. One is Jerome Hayes. Where does he fit in? How healthy is he? If he's healthy, he's a candidate to move back to linebacker, in my opinion. He can play outside and inside, and if you look at those six names, I'm not sure any of them have Hayes' talent.

Another interesting name: Navorro Bowman. He was listed on the outside before his off-field troubles benched him. Right now, he's listed as the third-string middle linebacker.  I think that's going to change as the season progresses, just as a lot of the depth chart will. The linebacking corps, to me, needs to be sorted out. Losing Lee sent this unit into a bit of flux.
Thursday July 24, 2008 4:02 
4:03
[Comment From SteveSteve: ] 
How did Joepa respond to the questions about his contract?
Thursday July 24, 2008 4:03 Steve
4:04
With a lot of hand waving and shoulder shrugging.
Thursday July 24, 2008 4:04 
4:06
[Comment From werpsuwerpsu: ] 
can penn state beat ohio state this year and make a run at the title, or is this another four-loss team going to the alamo bowl again?
Thursday July 24, 2008 4:06 werpsu
4:11
I'm not sure. Penn State hasn't played well on the road in important games the last few years, and the two toughest opponents the Nittany Lions will face this season -- Ohio State and Wisconsin -- are both road games.

My view is this: Two losses in the conference is acceptable. There's a quarterack to break in, the running backs are young, there are depth and experience issues at linebacker and in the secondary, and those are two tough road games.

The question is whether they can avoid getting snuck up on by, say, Michigan State or Michigan. I think Penn State can go to a major bowl by winning the games it is supposed to win. The season comes down to what they do against Ohio State and Wisconsin. Right now, with all the issues I brought up earlier, I'm not sure it's fair to expect 2-0 in those two games.
Thursday July 24, 2008 4:11 
4:12
Hey guys, thanks for the questions today. I have some blog posts to make and some audio to edit, so I'm going to head out a bit early. Thanks for coming.
Thursday July 24, 2008 4:12 
4:12



 
 
 
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