Penn State Preview:
If Lions’ Offense Gets Going, Look Out

By Paul Smith
paul.smith@collegeblitz.com

The scene: last Tuesday's Penn State's first weekly participation in the Big Ten coaches' conference call, a get-together coach Joe Paterno didn't originally know was scheduled because he'd met with the media the prior Friday.

The question from a veteran Penn State observer: "Do you expect to start Jim Shaw at defensive tackle Saturday, Tyrone Sales at linebacker and will Dan Connor be available?"

Paterno, owner of a 343-115-3 record in his 39 years in Mostly Happy Valley, and cultural icon throughout the Quaker State, dropped all pretension of politically-correct response.

"I am not going to get into that," he said, in perfect Ditkaesque form. "I said to you last week that I didn't think we were going to have this thing today (chat session) because we had one at the end of practice.

"We haven't done anything since the last time I saw you. We are just going to waste a lot of people's time -- yours and mine. Nothing has changed from last week."

But a whole lot has changed from last year, where the Nittany Lions finished 4-7, and the smiles are back big time in Happy Valley.

And one constant is Paterno's well-orchestrated control of press conference content. The intrepid preporter persisted, as he focused on Connor, who had been sidelined by Paterno for a team-rule violation (alleged prank phone calls) and asked about The Legend's "reasoning" on allowing Connor to practice.

"Do you want to talk about my football team or what do you want to talk about?" Paterno responded in his best "back-off" mode.

This isn't necessarily a bad sign. Anybody who knows Joe Paterno knows he's usually an affable conversationalist who may not always be a fountain of information, but is never -- ever -- dull. His feisty approach to Tuesday's press conference at Beaver Stadium had its entertaining aspects -- "Let's go, let's go," Paterno said to the Centre Daily Times' Matt Rice and the usual media horde after apologizing for being 15 minutes late. "I'm trying to coach a team, let's go."

For sure, the Lions will be at least as defensive as their coach was. They return nine starters, losing only lesser linebacker Derek Wake and free safety Andrew Guman from last year's defense that never allowed an opponent more than 21 points.

Connor, a sophomore, is one of the Big Ten's fiercest hitters, and Wake's replacement, junior Tim Shaw, will team with classmate Paul Posluszny to give Penn State a chance to recapture its ancient label as "Linebacker U."

Indeed, the Lions' down linemen -- pass rushing specialists Matt Rice and Jim Alford combine talents with run-plugging standouts Tamba Hall and Scott Paxson to bring the kind of heat Nitts fans haven't seen since the Courtney Brown/LeVar Arrington days of the late '90s.

The secondary is loaded with veterans as well, and Anwar Phillips and Alan Zemaitis are two of the country's better deep defenders.

But Paterno's 2005 "problem" is one most coaches could only pray for.

Where to play everybody?

"That is one of the real dilemmas of coaching," Paterno told the Centre Daily Times' Jeff Rice, "particularly when you have some good young kids that you can't plug in to play."

One of his "good young kids" plays a position popularly referred to as "Athlete." His name is Derrick Williams, and out the window goes Paterno's aversion to giving extensive playing time to freshmen.

Williams, who will remind Big Ten observers of two Jim Tressel Era players at Ohio State -- current "Athlete" Ted Ginn, Jr., who replaced Chris Gamble. Twisting, turning, hip jigglers with blinding breakaway speed.

Michael Robinson, an athletic performer with some of Williams', Ginn's or Gamble's skills, has played any number of positions for Paterno, including quarterback. And this year, he seems to have settled into the field general's role, with a talented sophomore, Anthony Morelli, likely to see a decent amount of playing time.

"I sat the starting linemen down and I told them, 'It's now or never and we have to set the tempo every day in practice,'" Robinson told Rice.

The offensive line had been generally viewed as the chasm between offense and defense. With a running attack that could be a difference maker, led by potential 1,000-yard rusher Tony Hunt, a junior, and BranDon Snow, a junior plowhorse, the Lions have the skills to move the chains and wear opposing defenses down.

IF...the offensive line can run interference. It appears, this time, it can. Junior left tackle Levi Brown has first-round draft potential and senior left guard Charles Rush showed signs of being a very effective drive-blocker.

Tyler Reed has emerged as a Rush clone at the other guard slot. The other two projected starters -- center E.Z. Smith and right tackle John Wilson -- have demonstrated potential. But they are the two biggest "ifs" in this year's Nitts outlook.

IF they can play to at least 80 percent of their linemates' capabilities, the Lions should roll on offense.

Robinson has an intriguing group of talented receivers -- possession guy Mark Rubin, who will likely miss the opener against South Florida, Williams as a classic deep threat and tight end Isaac Smolko -- that should bring three dimensions to the Lions' passing offense and give Robinson three diverse, but talented targets.

Sophomore Terrell Golden or possibly freshman Deon Butler are Rubin's likely replacements.

Is the Penn State offense on a par with its defense? Nope. But there is enough improvement to occasion this reaction from strong safety Calvin Lowry: "They've made leaps and bounds from what they were in spring ball."

The Lions start out the season with three relatively nonchallenging games in South Florida, Cincinnati and Central Michigan, but they should have a pretty good handle on how big the leaps and bounds have been when they open the Big Ten season at Northwestern.

"(In early pre-season practice), the defense took it as a game situation," Robinson told Rice. "We took it as a practice, and I think I got in their minds and I told them, 'We've got to take every snap as a game.' Once we did that, it turned around for us."

The Lions host up-and-down Minnesota Oct. 1, giving them a chance for a 5-0 start going into the Ohio State game.

But the league's schedule-makers did them no favors by following the home date with the No. 6 Buckeyes with a visit to No. 4 Michigan. By sundown Oct. 15, we should have a pretty good handle on Penn State.

One major plus: Talk about Paterno's age and impending retirement has all but silenced. There are some questions remaining: Can the offensive line get the necessary push consistently enough to fully challenge the league's classic smashmouth teams? Will Robinson indeed take full control of the offense?

Can the Lions build enough momentum in the first five games to force the issues against Ohio State and Michigan. Can they move the ball against Purdue's very challenging defense and can they dominate the line of scrimmage against Wisconsin.

Notice there are very few questions about the Nitts' defense.

Right now, that looks like it adds up to an 8-3 finish, but if the offense really establishes itself, look out above.