Autumn will invade Happy Valley in the coming months, and yes, the ageless Joe Paterno will be leading his Nittany Lion Football squad through those epic Beaver Stadium gates on Aug. 30 with just as much desire, commitment and fire as any college football head coach in the nation.
Nothing new.
The 81-year old Paterno, who has won 372 games at the helm at Penn State, is eager to get his team rolling into the Big Ten season, and hoping to put the program's off-field issues behind them.
Amid an off-season highlighted (did I really use that word?) by numerous criminal incidents involving Penn State players, the optimistic Paterno has kept his 43-year old system intact and hopes to build off its Alamo Bowl victory over Texas A&M last December.
Paterno, entering the final year of his four-year contract, has not yet re-signed a deal to coach at Penn State next season. With just an inkling of a monumental change like Paterno's departure on top of all the incidents during the past year, the program is faced with some instability going into the 2008 campaign.
Also, after losing two All-American Linebackers in as many years, Paul Posluzsny (34th overall pick in 2007 to the Buffalo Bills) and Dan Connor (74th overall pick in 2008 to the Carolina Panthers), the team was expecting Senior LB Sean Lee to follow in their footsteps at Linebacker U.
After three straight Butkus Award recipients in as many years from Poz in '05 and '06 and Connor in '07, all eyes were on Lee to keep the tradition at that position. However, after Lee suffered a major setback with a torn ACL in spring drills, the team is without the heart and soul of its defense.
One bright spot for the Lions regarding Lee is that he will be on the sidelines this season, and he is fortunate enough to have that good ol' medical redshirt in store. Lee will rehab and be back for 2009; that's some good news at least.
So, who will be leading this team seeking an appropriate identity? Despite losing starters at quarterback, running back, linebacker and cornerback, the Penn State team will be led by its veteran wide receiving corps.
This group includes Derrick Williams, the team's leading receiver, Deon Butler, a player with a knack for making big-time catches, and the acrobatic Jordan Norwood, all of whom played major roles in the offense last Fall.
While Williams will need to get more looks from whoever is playing quarterback for this team, this group is easily one of the most talented at the position in the Big Ten Conference.
However, one of the biggest questions looming after the Blue and White game in April is the quarterback situation. After rising senior QB Darryl Clark was given some legitimate reps and turned in an impressive effort in the Lions 24-17 win at the Alamo Dome, it seemed as if sophomore Pat Devlin would have to wait at least another year to gain the starting job at PSU.
However, after an impressive winter and spring that truly reminded both the coaching staff and the fan base of the true potential of the Pennsylvania native, Devlin will force offensive boss Galen Hall, QB coach Jay Paterno (yes, the big guy's son) and the rest of the coaching staff to make a very tough decision.
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