Penn State Football 2008 Preview Part 1: Can Clark Lead The Lions to The BCS?

    After a respectable but disappointing 2007 campaign, theNittany Lions are looking to make a run at the Big Ten championship in2008.  Here’s a look at three key offensiveplayers who must perform well for PennState to have a shot atthe title.

Daryll Clark, QB, #17

    After backing up Anthony Morelli for the past two seasons,senior QB Daryll Clark is ready to take on the challenge of leading the NittanyLions offense.  Clark appeared briefly ina 2006 loss to Michiganafter Morelli went down with an injury, but played a much bigger role in the2007 Alamo Bowl, when he rushed for 50 yards on just 6 carries.  This year, Clarkis expected to beat out sophomore Pat Devlin for the starting job.  If he does, the PSU offense will feature aquarterback who likes to run the ball, which last happened in 2005, whenMichael Robinson led the Lions to a BCS bowl birth.  If Clark canthrow the ball as effectively as he carries it, a return to the BCS could be apossibility.

A.Q. Shipley, C, #57

    A.Q. Shipley is the center of a PSU O-line that is returningall 5 starters from last year.  Shipleystarted out his career as a defensive lineman, but has slowly evolved into oneof the better centers in the Big Ten. With the efforts of Shipley and left tackle Gerald Cadogen, PSU’soffensive line looks to be among the best units in the Big Ten, which isimportant, considering the Lions will be starting inexperienced players at QBand RB.

Derrick Williams, WR,#2

    It was a big deal when Penn Staterecruited Derrick Williams prior to the 2005 season.  After 2 straight bowl-less seasons, thesignings of Williams and cornerback Justin King sparked a renaissance of sorts,as the Lions have won bowl games in their past 3 seasons.  However, the performance of Williams has beenspotty.  In his freshman year, Williamsscored key touchdowns in close games against Northwestern and Ohio State,but then broke his arm against Michiganand sat out the rest of the year.  Forthe past two seasons combined, Williams has caught 95 passes for 969 yards,which is pretty good, but he hasn’t been the elite receiver Penn Statefans thought they were getting.  In 2008,Williams must step up his game in order to help out the new quarterback whilecontinuing to be a reliable kick returner. If not, the Lions can always fall back on fellow WR vets Deon Butler andJordan Norwood.

    Since I came to PennState as an undergrad in2004, the ’05 squad was the only one to have a really good offense.  This year, the team will feature three veteranwide receivers as well as a great offensive line.  The only question mark is Daryll Clark.  His performance will decide if the Lions cango farther than the mediocre 2006 and 2007 teams.