Football

Pressure mounts as Nittany Lions move forward

By Jeff Rice

No one will be more excited about Sean Lee's return to the field than the Penn State linebacker himself, who on occasion gets so amped up watching people simply talk about college football on television that he has to change the channel.

CDT photo/Christopher Weddle

Penn State coach Joe Paterno, center, is surrounded by media members during the Penn State Football Fantasy Camp on Thursday. Paterno and the Nittany Lions are hoping the younger players can adapt quickly when the season opens against Akron on Sept. 5.

View larger

His quarterback is just as ready for the show.

“I just can’t wait to see him in pads,” Daryll Clark said. “Other than a photo shoot.”

Clark, who led Penn State’s offense on the field in 2008, and Lee, who led the defense off it, are literally the cover boys for the program, if not the entire Big Ten, heading into 2009. The two halves of the Nittany Lions couldn’t have asked for more qualified leaders.

The question of the season, of course, is can the rest of the team keep up?

At several positions, the Nittany Lions have likely first-team Big Ten players, a group that includes Clark, Lee, tailback Evan Royster, offensive linemen Stefen Wisniewski and Dennis Landolt, linebacker Navorro Bowman and defensive tackle Jared Odrick. At several others, they have first-year starters. There aren’t too many players who fall between those extremes.

The Nittany Lions are expecting big plays from the first group, but to repeat as conference champions or make a return trip to Pasadena, it will be the everyday plays — and the ability to avoid disaster — made by the second group that will be the difference.

“We’ve got to get some young guys better,” head coach Joe Paterno said Thursday. “I’m a little concerned about a couple of people in the secondary, a little concerned about a couple people on the offensive line, but that’s what we get paid for. We’ve got to coach them.”

Paterno and his assistants, per NCAA rules, won’t get to do any hands-on coaching until mid-August. Until then, the Nittany Lions belong to Lee and Clark, whose duties include pushing their current teammates as well as serving as the welcoming committee for the freshmen scheduled to arrive at the end of the month.

“(You have to) make them realize that you’re here for them, but at the same time, you have to work for us,” Clark said. “We need everyone.”

The Nittany Lions don’t know who they’ll need to fill some of the gaps left by the 2008 seniors. Maybe Andrew Dailey, Knowledge Timmons and DeOn’tae Pannell are the next strong safety, cornerback and left tackle. But maybe by midseason, those jobs will belong to Gerald Hodges, Darrell Givens and Eric Shrive.

The Nittany Lions and their fans must be patient, to a point, with whomever emerges in the supporting roles.

“No doubt they’re going to make some mistakes; you have to make mistakes to become a better football player,” Lee said. “Athletically, they’re fine. It’s just a matter of time until they’re really good football players.”

How do they make that transition? Most of it can only come with game experience, but the younger Lions can get a good start by watching their captains, both perfectionists who relentlessly study game film of themselves for rare and miniscule flaws.

Asked Thursday if they ever took some vacation time during the summer (even Paterno allows himself a week or two at the Jersey Shore), both players just laughed.

“The sooner you see this as more of a job, as an internship, the more you’re going to like it,” Lee said. “There’s going to be certain things that aren’t always going to be fun but that you’ll have to do to have success. And the sooner you get over the fact that you’re gonna be here a lot if you want to be successful, the better off you’re gonna be.”

Both Clark and Lee are consummate team guys who hate to use the word “I” when breaking down a game. But they’re also both competitors who want to have the ball (or knock it loose) when the game is on the line, and they know they’ll be expected to perform in those situations this fall.

“I think the pressure is there a little bit,” Clark said. “But it’s not pressure that we can’t handle. This past season helped me out because (now) I know what type of situations we may face and how to handle them.

“You can only get better as a football team going through everything. Once it’s done, everything falls into place.”

Get the pads ready.

Jeff Rice covers Penn State football for the Centre Daily Times. He can be reached at 231-4609.