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Joe: ‘It might not happen this year’

Lancaster New Era (Lancaster, PA) August 11, 2003 | Jeffrey Reinhart UNIVERSITY PARK — This is not going to be a banner season for Penn State.

Why do I know this? howmanyplaysdidshakespearewrite.com how many plays did shakespeare write

For starters, Penn State’s schedule is not easy.

OK, OK. The Nittany Lions will rout Temple and Boston College to open the season and get everyone’s hopes up. But then things are going to get very, very tricky, starting Sept. 13 at Nebraska.

You think the Cornhuskers want some revenge for last year’s loss in Happy Valley? You betcha.

Penn State will bounce back Sept. 20 at home against Kent State — Kent State! — to improve to 3-1 and make you feel warm and fuzzy again. But after that, watch out.

Minnesota and Wisconsin are loaded.

Then come tricky road games at Purdue and at Iowa.

Then the defending national champ, Ohio State, comes calling.

The last three games might look easy on paper, but Northwestern is improved, Indiana is coming around, and assuming he has his starting job back, you just know former Manheim Central star Jeff Smoker would love to pin a loss on Penn State in the season finale Nov. 22 in East Lansing.

No wonder Joe Paterno had an uneasy tone in his voice Saturday at Media Day in Beaver Stadium.

“I’m not sure we can make it happen this year,” Penn State’s coach said. “We have tremendous potential, but it might not happen this year or next year.” Why won’t the Nittany Lions make it happen this year? Other than the schedule — which Paterno called, “a mountain” — there are entirely too many holes.

Nobody seems to know who the starting tailback is, so Penn State’s ground attack — spearheaded last year by 2,000-yard rusher Larry Johnson — could be a train wreck.

“We might have to throw the ball 40 or 45 times a game,” Paterno said. “Who knows? Maybe that will be best for the team this year.” The defensive front is completely revamped. That’s what happens when three guys — Jimmy Kennedy, Michael Haynes and Anthony Adams — move on to the NFL.

And the offensive line — the heart of any football team — is new because four guys graduated last year.

That’s the most glaring weakness.

“The offensive line really has to rise up to the challenge,” Paterno said. “I’m concerned about the entire offensive line. But we have five or six guys who can get the job done… maybe not be dominating, but who can get the job done.” But can that group keep quarterbacks Zack Mills and Michael Robinson off the turf and in the game?

“It doesn’t matter,” Mills insisted. “I’m not going to change my game, even with a new line.” It’s just a matter of time before the guys blitzing Mills will make him change his game.

And what about Mills, exactly?

At the tail end of his press conference Saturday, Paterno chastised the media for not doing enough positive stories about Mills. And he went on and on at least two other times during his session about how important Mills is to Penn State’s program, and how the redshirt junior has done such a swell job.

It sure sounded to me like Paterno wanted to make Mills feel good about himself before he yanked him in favor of Robinson, a redshirt sophomore.

“My toughest job as a coach is telling Michael Robinson that he has to be ready to be our No. 1 quarterback,” Paterno said. “He deserves the right to battle Zack for the job.” So is there a quarterback controversy at Penn State? Are Mills and Robinson battling it out for the starting job? Paterno wouldn’t say. But it sure sounded that way, especially when he rambled on about Mills.

“I told Mike that he has to be ready to compete to be the No. 1 quarterback,” Paterno reiterated. “If not, I told him we’d get him in the game as much as possible… we’re just not sure for how many plays.” Which means we could be seeing a carbon copy of last year, when Paterno inserted Robinson to run the option or use him on some sort of gadget play. And guess what? Now that everyone in the country has seen that, the element of surprise will no longer be there. site how many plays did shakespeare write

Here’s another mystery: Just who in the world is the starting tailback?

Is it Mike Gasparato?

Is it Ricky Upton?

Is it Tim Snow?

Is it Donnie Johnson?

“I don’t think we have one standout guy,” Paterno admitted. “But we do have some talent there. There are some kids who can be pretty good. But I can’t give you the name of the one guy who will play the most.” OK, then I will: Austin Scott.

All the true freshman from Parkland High did in his senior year in high school last fall was rush for just under 4,000 yards and 53 touchdowns.

But he’s a true freshman, and true freshmen just don’t play for Paterno — which is a real shame, because if Mike Gasparato is this team’s featured tailback, Penn State might not even win half of its games.

Of course, it might not win half of its games with Scott in there, either. But it could be that kind of a year for Penn State, regardless of which tailback gets the most carries.

That’s why I say play Scott. Hey, what’s the worst that can happen?

Someone pressed Paterno about why he’d be hesitant to start Scott right out of the chute.

“I’m dumb, but I’m not that dumb,” the coach said, chuckling. “You just have to be patient, I guess. The hardest part is, we have some kids back there who can be really good. And I just can’t neglect playing those guys.

“But I will say this… some of the best skill people we’ve ever recruited are in this year’s freshman class.” Austin Scott is in that group.

How will this group turn out?

Whether Scott plays or not, I’m guessing 6-6. Maybe 7-5, with a minor bowl appearance. Paterno said it himself: The potential is here, but with this schedule and all of those holes, I just don’t see a very happy season in Happy Valley.

Jeffrey Reinhart