Penn State: Capital One Bowl Winner, End of an Era

Penn State's Capital One Bowl victory marked the end of the Daryll Clark era. Clark led Penn State to many victories and nearly willed them to a Rose Bowl victory in the 2008 season. 

Unfortunately for Penn State, they will be losing a lot more than just Daryl Clark for the 2010 season. 

The entire linebacking corps should look different for the 2010 season, with the losses of seniors Josh Hull and Sean Lee. It will be also interesting to see if No. 1 rated outside linebacker, junior Navarro Bowman, declares for the NFL draft. Bowman has led the Nittany Lions in tackles for the past two seasons and he looks to become a late first round or early second round pick in the NFL. 

The Nittany Lions should still be in good hands though. Sophomore Nathan Stupar and junior Bani Gbadyu, should be definite starters in 2010, with the other spot open for competition. Linebacker U will still easily transition in 2010 to these next great linebackers.

One of the biggest holes Penn State will need to fill, are the large ones of senior defensive tackle, Jared Odrick. Odrick will leave Penn State as one of the greatest defensive lineman in school history. He was this year's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and he will most likely be a first round NFL draft pick. 

Odrick came to Penn State with great expectations—he was a top 50 recruit in the nation and greatly exceeded all of them. 

Odrick's star status will be handed to defensive line partner Ollie Ogbu. Ogbu is the other half of Penn State's top 10 rushing defense. Ogbu has not gotten much national publicity, but if he plays well in 2010, look for his stock to rise way up.

Penn State will also be losing injury plagued team leader, Jerome Hayes. Hayes, a fifth year defensive end, has had almost every possible knee injury in the book. Still, Hayes found himself starting in 2010 and he was a very influential player in the locker room.

In the secondary, Penn State will be losing senior cornerbacks A.J. Wallace and Knowledge Timmons. Wallace, who was a former five star recruit, had an extremely disappointing career.

He never lived up to his potential star status and he continually battled off-the-field issues. Wallace will still probably be drafted later in the NFL draft, purely because of his talent potential. 

Their replacements are still widely unknown, but some of the candidates are: sophomore D'Anton Lynn, junior Shelton McCullough, and junior Jesse Alfreno.

On the offensive side of the ball, Penn State will be losing more quality than quantity. Quarterback Daryll Clark capped off a terrific career in a big Capital One victory over LSU yesterday. Clark was named the MVP of the game and he also won Co-Big Ten Player of the Year.

Clark had been the starting quarterback for two seasons and his leadership and skill will be dearly missed next season for the Nittany Lions.

Fortunately for Penn State, they have many capable quarterbacks waiting to get their shot. Freshman Kevin Newsome is the most likely candidate for 2010. Newsome was a huge recruit for the Nittany Lions and he has all the tools to do just as well, if not better than Daryll Clark.

If Newsome does not pan out, then Penn State could turn to two incoming four-star recruits in Robert Bolden and Paul Jones. Both Bolden and Jones are dual-threat quarterbacks, perfect for the Nittany Lion offense.

Another interesting question for Penn State in 2010 will be if star running back Evan Royster decides to come back for his senior season. Royster rushed for his second straight 1,000-yard season, despite a very mediocre offensive line. He could definitely take his excellent skill set to the next level, but if he is getting good advise, will most likely come back to Happy Valley.   

Penn State will be losing two very good NFL bound tight ends in Andrew Quarless and Mickey Shuler Jr. Quarless established himself as Clark's No. 1 option in 2009. His excellent size and speed should translate great into the NFL. 

On the other hand, Mickey Shuler Jr.—son of the great Mickey Shuler Sr.—won respect through his excellent run and pass blocking. Shuler should make it to the NFL as a good special teams player.

Penn State had many problems with the offensive line this year and they may only be getting worse with the loss of three year starter, Dennis Landolt. Landolt started two years at right tackle and one at left tackle. Landolt was also named to All Big Ten in 2009. Landolt will most likely be a later draft pick in the NFL. 

Other than the exit of Landolt, the Penn State offensive line will return all of their other starters. Hopefully this will mean a normal progression, and they will be much better in 2010.

Lastly, Penn State will be losing a great punter in Jeremy Boone. Boone has been the starter for the past three seasons and we should definitely see him playing on Sundays next year. Boone will be replaced by sophomore, Ryan Breen.

Penn State's 2010 season really depends on running back Evan Royster coming back. They need a solid running game behind the inexperienced Kevin Newsome and without Royster, this probably cannot be done. 

Still, I expect Penn State to have a good, not great 2010 season. Eight or nine wins would not be unreasonable and with a top 10 recruiting class coming in for 2010, really anything is possible.