Penn State Football: Why the Quarterback Situation Needs to Be Settled Soon

If Penn State is going to be successful in 2012, then Bill O'Brien will need to figure out who is playing quarterback as quickly as possible. 

Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, that seems to be his main objective.

"You don't just pick a quarterback," O'Brien said on a recent stop along his Penn State Coaches Caravan in Hazleton. "There's so much that goes into every position, especially that position. That’s a hugely critical position on the football team."

All signs seem to point to Matt McGloin leading the offense when Penn State opens the season against Ohio in Week 1. O'Brien said at the start of spring practice that he may not name a starting quarterback for the season-opener until the night before the Ohio game, but he seems to have a stronger feel for which direction he is leaning—and that is a good thing.

"When we line up against Ohio, there will be a quarterback under center," O'Brien said. "He might be in a shotgun, but there will be a starting quarterback. You will probably know who that is before then."

For anyone who watches Penn State football, you know just how important it is to settle on a quarterback and not flip-flop between multiple players during the course of the season or a game. Penn State's offense was a mess last season with Rob Bolden and McGloin alternating duties under center, a trend that went on for nearly the whole remainder of the Joe Paterno era in frustrating fashion.

Why is it important to figure out who is going to be leading the offense now? Uniformity.

Penn State saw first-hand last fall what using two quarterbacks can do to an offense.

Two quarterbacks means two different personalities, tendencies and two different paces; last year's quarterback rotation never allowed Penn State's offense to find its rhythm.

Two quarterbacks means two different sets of timing, which means wide receivers are constantly going back and forth on trying to figure out when a quarterback will be set to release the football. If the timing can't be tacked down, then an offense is doomed to fail.

And Bolden and McGloin each had plenty of shortcomings.

Bolden struggled to move the offense, while McGloin tended to stall against better competition. Bolden seemed to have more receivers drop passes that looked solid, but he also held on to the football too long. McGloin's passes were generally more effective, but he also threw some ugly passes that were riddled with turnover potential.

One question that was never fully answered was whether or not the stress of competing for a full-time job for 7-8 weeks was wearing on the players. Had one player been given the confidence of the coaching staff to be the main man, would the performance have been better overall?

That is one lesson that O'Brien should take some time to learn from Paterno.

Kevin McGuire is the host of the No 2-Minute Warning podcast, managing editor of Nittany Lions Den and a member of the Football Writers Association of America and National Football Foundation. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook and add him to your Google+ circle.