2008 Penn State Nittany Lions

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SI.com - NCAA Football - Quarterback race under way at Penn State - Monday March 31, 2008 4:39PM

Posted: Monday March 31, 2008 4:39PM; Updated: Monday March 31, 2008 4:39PM

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Hands on knees, Joe Paterno surveyed Penn State practice from his perch 30 yards behind the secondary. He was looking straight at the offense when a pass got broken up.

"Quarterback made a wrong read there," Paterno yelled twice in his familiar shrill voice.

From the head coach to the blue and white faithful, the competition to take over as Nittany Lions starting quarterback is being watched closely in spring practice.

Daryll Clark and Pat Devlin are the top candidates to replace departed two-year starter Anthony Morelli. Paterno has insisted that Paul Cianciolo, who did not get into a game last year, was in the mix, too.

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Scout.com: Calling Card: CB Tony Davis

By FOS Staff
FightOnState.com
Posted Apr 15, 2008

With a shift back to corner, Tony Davis talks about the move from safety, his own health, filling the void of Sean Lee and Justin King, A.J. Wallace's health and more on Tuesday's teleconference call.

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ESPN - Rittenberg: Big Ten notebook - College Football

Before Friday, the line of succession was set in Happy Valley: Paul Posluszny to Dan Connor to Sean Lee. But after Lee tore the ACL in his right knee, Penn State is suddenly facing the unfamiliar reality of going into a season without a fail-safe dominant linebacker.

Lee sustained the injury on a noncontact play in Friday's practice and will undergo surgery in two to four weeks. With an estimated rehab time of nine months, he likely will redshirt the season and return in 2009.

Sophomore Bani Gbadyu, who had only six tackles last season, stepped into Lee's spot at Saturday's scrimmage. Tyrell Sales must take on a greater load with Lee out, and the status of several suspended defenders (Chris Baker, Phil Taylor, Navorro Bowman) is not yet known.

Stephfon Green has yet to touch the ball in a game for Penn State, but the warp-speed running back continues to generate buzz in practice. Green turned heads last summer in the preseason but ended up redshirting the year. He's once again gaining attention this spring as he competes for carries with projected starter Evan Royster. At the first scrimmage media members could attend, Green ran 45 yards on his first carry.

Coach Joe Paterno said he hasn't seen Green in enough pressure situations to make a definitive judgment, but Green's teammates are sold on his potential. Linebacker Sean Lee called the redshirt freshman "lightning."

"Stephfon Green's a problem," defensive end Josh Gaines told the Altoona Mirror. "He's a great guy. He's the fastest running back I've seen here. He has the best moves I've ever seen. People should look out for him."

ESPN - Desire to coach still drives 81-year-old Paterno - College Football

By Ivan Maisel
ESPN.com

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- There is the eight-year-old Paterno Library, which will serve students at Penn State University for decades to come.

There is the interfaith spiritual center on campus, and the scholarships and faculty chairs, all endowed, financially and emotionally, by Joe and Sue Paterno.

All serve as testament to the impact the football coach has had on Penn State, and all are redundant. Penn State already had a building that captured what Paterno has meant to this university in his 58 years here. It is at the center of campus, looming over the green that extends nearly to Harrisburg. It is the heart and soul of the Penn State.

It is called Old Main, and if the nickname Old Main doesn't fit Paterno like a pair of rolled-up pants and white socks, nothing does. Like Old Main, Paterno is a university icon, a symbol that represents Penn State to its alumni around the world. Old Main and Paterno are repositories of political power at Penn State.

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BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - The best yet?

Andy Elder
BlueWhiteIllustrated.com Assistant Editor

Throughout the storied annals of Penn State football history, the Nittany Lions have produced some memorable defensive linemen.

Glenn Ressler, Mike Reid, Randy Crowder, Mike Hartenstine, Bruce Clark, Matt Millen, Walker Lee Ashley, Lou Benfatti, Courtney Brown, Michael Haynes and Tamba Hali comprise just a partial list of Nittany Lion defensive linemen who have been named All-Americans.

At a place known as Linebacker U, consider this fact: throughout the years, 13 different players have been named All-American linebackers. Throughout that same time, 15 different defensive linemen have been bestowed the same honor.

"Penn State's known for linebackers, but there's been just as talented D linemen that have been here," said Sean Lee, the latest in a long line of All-American caliber linebackers at Penn State.

As is the case on most teams, those great Nittany Lion linebackers have starred by themselves or in tandem with another. So, too, have the defensive linemen.

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Rivals $

6/2

BWI ranks the top 3 OL units in the Big 10.

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5/30

BWI ranks the top 3 TEs in the Big 10.

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5/28

BWI ranks the top 3 WRs in the Big 10.

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5/24

BWI ranks the top 3 RBs in the Big 10 and lists the top back on each team.

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5/23

BWI ranks the top 3 QBs in the Big 10 and lists the projected starter for each team.

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Scout.com: Paterno Meets the Media

By Mark Brennan
FightOnState.com
Posted Jul 24, 2008

Nittany Lion coach addresses OTL, the break-in and more in at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. Check it out in our coverage from the Hyatt Regency.

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Scout.com: Extra Motivation for the Lions?

By Mark Brennan
FightOnState.com
Posted Jul 25, 2008

Finishing outside the top three in the Big Ten's preseason poll does not sit well with PSU players. Also, check out their reaction to the upcoming Outside The Lines program.

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TheHeismanRace.com >> Penn State’s 2008 Season Hinges on Daryll Clark

by Devon Edwards

It’s funny how we, as fans, can take news from another source and embrace it, because hey, they said something good about or program. Or, if it sells us short, even if just in our own heads, we can laugh it off as being rediculous, premature, and irresponsible. Like how I chastised ESPN for jumping the gun with their preseason predictions a little while back. Of course, back in June, it would be carelessa to even try and rank the 119 teams in NCAA’s Division-1 Bowl Subdivision (or whatever they’re calling it these days), much less for ESPN to play out the season, and suggest bowl destinations for 68 lucky teams. Now, ESPN just happened to rank Penn State between Fresno State, and some team that lost to Navy last year, so for all of us optimistic Penn State fans, it was easy to blow off the articles.

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Scout.com: Sources: Paterno Boots Two

By FOS Staff
Posted Jul 29, 2008

Penn State coach reportedly told his team that two defensive tackles have been dismissed. Get the lowdown here.

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Scout.com: NEW ... CFN Penn State Preview

Scout.com: 2008 Penn State Preview - Offense

Scout.com: 2008 Penn State Preview - Defense

Scout.com: 2008 Penn State Preview - Depth Chart

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Be careful what you root for at Penn State

Tuesday, August 26, 2008
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Where and when in college football might a 6-6 record be better than 10-3 or 11-2?

That's an easy one.

At Penn State, this season.

A bad year would make it a lot easier to get rid of Joe Paterno.

That's what Penn State administrators want, isn't it? That became clear when they refused to give Paterno, 81, a contract extension in the offseason. This is his 43rd season as head coach and 59th overall in Happy Valley, but he's working in the final year of his current deal.

It seems just as obvious that the Penn State brass want a clean and total break from the Paterno era. Otherwise, they would have named long-time defensive coordinator Tom Bradley as Paterno's successor-in-waiting. There's nothing wrong with that thinking, with wanting to start fresh. Even a storied program such as Penn State's can benefit from new blood, new energy, new ideas. But if it happens that way, it will be a crying shame for Bradley, who deserves better after almost 30 years of terrific work and unimaginable loyalty to the university.

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Title-game scenarios beginning to take shape - PennLive.com

Tuesday, October 14, 2008
It's essentially a three- game season. And all the Penn State Nittany Lions need do is tend to their knitting.

That's one of those 19th-century phrasings Joe Paterno has been employing since, well, not quite the 19th century. But, in the case of the nation's new third-ranked team, it fits.

His quarterback, Daryll Clark, referenced the homespun bromide Saturday night after he detonated PSU's offense on the ill-equipped Wisconsin Badgers.

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Paterno will have his game face on - PennLive.com

Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Joe Paterno uses a cane to get around these days.

His left leg was surgically repaired less than two years ago.

His right leg -- and hip, the way we hear it -- are very sore after a preseason onside kick attempt of his went awry.

Penn State's leader is 81. He is attempting to coach through the pain. Some consider him stubborn. The majority considers him tough.

And despite the physical issues, it's clear Paterno is in far better shape than the Michigan football program.

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PSU Football: Penn State up to No. 3 in polls after 7-0 start

MADISON, Wis. -- Penn State's undefeated season is starting to take on a familiar ring.

Two former players who earned national championship rings with the Nittany Lions believe this year's team, ranked third in the most recent polls, is good enough to capture its third national crown under coach Joe Paterno.

Quarterback Todd Blackledge led Penn State to its first national championship in 1982, while tailback Blair Thomas played on the 1986 title team.

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