his Saturday, for the 57th time, the Penn State football team will take the field for the intra-squad scrimmage known as the Blue-White Game.
The Nittany Lions come into the game with many unanswered questions, most important of which to many fans is who the starting quarterback will be.
Pat Devlin, a rising sophomore and Daryll Clark, a rising senior, have been battling all spring. Devlin, a highly-touted drop-back quarterback, is known for his record-breaking high school career for Downingtown East in southeast Pennsylvania. Clark, a mobile quarterback, took a more low-key path to Penn State, going from Ursuline High School in Youngstown, Oh., to a prep school in Pennsylvania before becoming a Nittany Lion.
Despite the perceptions of many that Devlin is a passer and Clark is a runner, other players said the two are more similar than some may think.
“There’s not a whole lot of differences, to tell the truth,” said rising senior receiver Jordan Norwood in a recent article in The Daily Collegian, Penn State's student newspaper. “Both throw great passes and are pretty agile in the pocket also.”
Norwood’s opinion was seconded by rising senior safety Anthony Scirrotto.
“Both are dual quarterbacks in my eyes,” he said. “They both have the capability to get outside the pocket and make plays and they both have great arms.”
Although most of the attention is on Clark and Devlin, coach Joe Paterno insists rising senior Paul Cianciolo is not out of the race. Paterno also said that he doesn’t “necessarily” need to know in the spring who the starter will be in the fall.
Another question fans are looking to have answered Saturday is who will replace strong side linebacker Sean Lee after his season-ending ACL injury suffered in a scrimmage Friday.
The choices, as usual at Linebacker U, are plentiful. Rising sophomore Bani Gbadyu has been impressive this spring. Rising junior Jerome Hayes could be moved back to linebacker after playing effectively as a defensive end last season. Michael Mauti is a 2008 recruit who enrolled early. He and his incoming classmates could make some noise at the position as well.
The defensive tackle position may cause some concern, as two contributors, juniors Chris Baker and Phil Taylor, are currently facing legal troubles and are suspended from the team.
However, even without those two, the Nittany Lions return four defensive tackles with 37 games and 12 starts between them, including rising junior Jared Odrick, who started until suffering an ankle injury against Indiana.
With 10 people on each side of the ball returning after making at least two starts last season, most positions look solid at this point in time.
The 2008 season could be a special one for Penn State, and it all starts on Saturday.
Penn State's annual Blue-White game will bring along the 57 years of tradition, but also more questions about starting spots in the lineup.
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