Penn State Football: Matt McGloin, as Expected, Named Starting QB for 2012

Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien said that he would like to have a starting quarterback named by the end of May. On June 1, he confirmed his decision.

Matt McGloin, who has ended each of the past two seasons as Penn State's starting quarterback, was named the starter for the 2012 season by O'Brien at a Coaches vs. Cancer event Friday morning. Paul Jones will be the team's No. 2 quarterback.

The decision comes as no surprise, as McGloin was expected to win the starting job for the upcoming season for a while now.

O'Brien has informed the entire team of his quarterback decision, and doing so should allow the rest of the team to mentally prepare heading in to summer practices and the season knowing who will be leading the offense, as opposed to last season that saw a rotating door on the field between McGloin and Rob Bolden.

Having one quarterback firmly placed on top of the depth chart allows McGloin to take the first team reps and build a rhythm and form an identity with his receivers and offensive line. This was one of the biggest problems for Penn State last fall.

Now that problem should be removed. Whether or not McGloin brings the most ability to the field remains to be seen, but based on the past two seasons, it would be difficult to argue that McGloin finds a way to run the offense more effectively and with routinely better results than Bolden.

In addition to the quarterback announcement, O'Brien also confirmed the status of Curtis Drake. O'Brien said that Drake is no longer with the team, and a return is not expected. Drake reportedly faced academic struggles, and it may have been a contributing factor in to determining his status with the team moving forward with O'Brien.

Drake had given Penn State options on the field, with the ability to play running back, wide receiver and defensive secondary as well as some wildcat quarterback.

Losing a player with that kind of flexibility generally, hurts but Penn State should be pretty settled at all of those positions as far as starters are concerned. Drake was more likely to be a backup player that could add to the depth, so his loss does hurt the team across the roster sheet.

Kevin McGuire is the host of the No 2-Minute Warning podcast.  

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