Penn State Football: News, Notes and Updates from Camp

Penn State's 2011 season gets underway on September 3, 2011 when the Indiana Sycamores make their first visit to Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions are preparing for the game and hoping to have a productive season in the new era of Big Ten division play.

The quarterback position is under the biggest spotlight, as you might expect, but there are a number of other roster notes to be aware of. And keep in mind what is happening around the nation in college football. Two of the biggest stories out there could have an impact on Penn State in one way or another.

Here is a look at 10 notes during camp that you should be aware of.

Kevin McGuire is the national college football writer for Examiner.com. Follow his college football discussion on Google+ and Twitter. Become a fan of him on Facebook.

1. Quarterback Job Still Up for Grabs

With time winding down, the starting quarterback is still to be determined. The two candidates remain the same as they did in spring: Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin.

There were Internet rumors on Monday suggesting that McGloin had won the starting job, thus sending Bolden to transfer to another program, but that was quickly rejected by multiple sources. So for now, the competition remains an ongoing process and a starter may not be announced until days before the first game.

Last year's season-opening game notes listed Bolden, McGloin and Kevin Newsome all as first-string quarterbacks, listing them as 1A, 1B and 1C rather than 1-2-3 on the depth chart. Do not be surprised if that is once again the case when next week's game notes are released for the Indiana State matchup.

My opinion is, and always has been, that Bolden offers more to the Penn State offense than McGloin does. Bolden, I feel, gives the team a better chance to win games this season, but furthermore, giving Bolden playing time this season will only benefit Penn State in the long term, in 2012 and 2013, because he will gain more experience on the field in pressure situations against tough opponents such as Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska and Ohio State.

If the best way to educate and learn is with experience, then it would be a disservice to start McGloin over Bolden.

2. Shane McGregor Wins $5,000 Scholarship

He will not be in the running for the starting job this season but backup quarterback Shane McGregor did well for himself in an essay-writing contest. McGregor's essay on Penn State coach Joe Paterno was one of five selected to be awarded a $5,000 scholarship from the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation.

"When you have Joe Paterno as your coach, it's pretty clear what the story should be about," McGregor said. "The hard part was that it had to be under 1,000 words, so you had to choose your words wisely, but I liked the story."

McGregor is scheduled to graduate this fall and starts the semester with a 3.89 GPA. Success with honor? Certainly seems so.

Read McGregor's essay here.

3. Stephfon Green Not Returning

Senior Stephfon Green was supposed to return to the field this season and look to make amends for his downward trending play the past season and a half. Instead, Green is no longer a part of the team.

The loss of Green is a blow to the depth at the running back position and leaves Penn State with one less special teams option as well. Green had dropped on the depth chart last season and was seen fielding kicks more often than taking snaps out of the backfield by the end of the season.

Paterno said during media day that he thought it was best for Green to move on and mentioned possible personal issues between the player and coach.

4. Silas Redd Ready to Take on Leading Role

With or without Green on the team, the running game has a new leading man ready to take on the job. Silas Redd has been anointed the new leading rushing option and the expectations surrounding him since his arrival in State College last season have fans drooling over the possibilities moving forward.

Redd brings great skill, swift feet, strong arms and a good frame to the table, giving Penn State the kind of player who has the ability to remind fans of guys like Curt Warner, D.J. Dozier and Larry Johnson. He may have to go through some growing pains and he knows he has some room for improvement.

“It’s definitely something I can improve on—delivering a boom,” said the 5'10", 210-pound Redd, who gained about 14 pounds in the offseason. “Just delivering a boom and stopping that defensive player in his tracks.”

He will replace Evan Royster and with Green no longer on the team, Redd should see even more snaps behind the quarterback.

5. Joe Paterno Says He'll Be on Sidelines for Opener

Joe Paterno made headlines after being knocked down by receiver Devon Smith during practice. Paterno was hospitalized and released with minor injuries within a matter of days.

As he returned to practice with the aid of a golf cart, so he doesn't have to put extra weight on his injured pelvis, Paterno vowed to the media that he had no fractures and intended to be on the sideline for the season-opener on September 3.

With no surgery required after being knocked down, Paterno was fortunate to be in as good shape as he was. It could have been much worse and having one of the smaller players on the roster run into him is definitely better than a husky lineman plowing in to the 84-year-old coach. 

6. Glenn Carson Moves Up Depth Chart

Sophomore Glenn Carson is reported to be moving his way up the depth chart faster than initially expected. Coaches, impressed with his work ethic and ability to track down the ball carrier, have moved Carson to the first-string middle linebacker position in practices, which has moved Michael Mauti to strong side linebacker.

"He's one of those guys where when he hits, the runner goes backwards," Mauti said. "He makes good reads and he's instinctive, finds the ball and makes tackles."

"I really like playing the run game and I really like to hit," Carson said. "I'm definitely a throwback-style player that really likes to get down and dirty."

Carson appeared in every game of the 2010 season as a freshman, although in mostly filler time. Still, Carson's promotion in practices could be a sign that he is being considered for a more demanding role on the field this season—even with Gerald Hodges and Nate Stupar expected to be playing a significant role on defense as well.

7. Mike Yancich Moves Back to Linebacker

Michael Yancich is a team player. After experimenting with filling a hole at tight end in spring practices, Yancich has returned to his more natural position of linebacker for the fall practices. Despite being a backup last season, Yancich will have to work his way back up the depth chart after being passed by Carson and Khaiari Fortt.

"Going from defense to offense, or vice-versa, is a big transition," said Yancich. "And working your way back up at middle linebacker or any linebacker spot is tough because there is so much talent there."

He may have to work his way back up the depth chart, but Yancich appears to be pleased with being back on the defensive side of the football.

"It was about mid-July when I finally found out that I was going back to linebacker. I was pleased."

8. Tight Ends Look to Rebound

The tight end position has been a weak spot on the offense the past couple of seasons, and was hampered by injuries in 2010. This year, the focus on offense is to get the position back in gear, which could play an otherwise overlooked key to the success of the offense this season.

Kevin Haplea is Penn State's top returning player at the position, and he feels the unit is in better shape for 2011 than it was a year ago.

“We’re doing pretty well,” Haplea said at last week’s media day. “We’ve been working really hard, we have some new guys and a mix of old guys. Everyone’s competing and getting better and I think this is a pretty strong group of tight ends.”

Andrew Szczerba is looking as though he will return after dealing with back injuries last season.

“I come out here at practice every day and I don’t remember that I had anything done,” Szczerba said. “I feel back to my old self and even better, I just appreciate things a lot more and I’m just having fun.”

Gary Gilliam is still out for the 2011 season with an ACL injury, so depth is not ideal at the position.

9. Big Ten Not Looking to Expand, Again

Outside of practice, the big story in college football has been one of two things.

The first has been the expected reaction conferences will have in the event Texas A&M leaves the Big 12 for the SEC. The Big Ten, as you might expect, has stated they are fine with where they stand, with Nebraska joining the conference this season.

The Big Ten released the following statement:

"[T]he COP/C would like to reiterate that it will not be actively engaged in conference expansion at this time, or at any time in the foreseeable future, barring a significant shift in the current intercollegiate athletic landscape. 

"The COP/C is aware that speculation about the possibility of expansion by the Big Ten Conference continues despite a statement from COP/C Chair and Indiana University President Michael McRobbie on December 5, 2010, indicating that the COP/C believed the expansion process had reached its natural conclusion, that it was pleased with the addition of Nebraska, and that it looked forward to working with its new colleagues in the years ahead. 

"The conference has spent the past 14 months actively engaged in incorporating Nebraska, academically and athletically, into the fabric of the conference. 

"'We're about as comfortable as we can be with where we are,' said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany. 'We've said that we will continue to monitor the landscape, but we have closed down active expansion and have no plans to seek new members.'"

So there you have it. No changes, unless something drastic takes place. Which it will. So...

10. Al Golden Says He Is Staying Put in Miami

Al Golden, one of the names Penn State fans have floated around as a possible successor to Joe Paterno, has said he is committed to getting things turned around at the University of Miami, even after the monster investigative report published by Yahoo! Sports last week.

Despite a feeling that the school should have informed Golden of the NCAA violations being investigated, Golden has said all of the right things about staying with Miami and moving forward to dig out of whatever hole they are placed in.

So is he toeing the company line and holding back his true feelings?

Is Golden having a lawyer or two look over his contract, looking for a way out of the contract?

What happens if Paterno calls it a career after this season? Will Golden look for a way to make himself a candidate for the job?

Time will tell, but Golden is saying all the things you would expect him to say. If that is not the Paterno way, what is?

Kevin McGuire is the national college football writer for Examiner.com. Follow his college football discussion on Google+ and Twitter. Become a fan of him on Facebook.