Archive: April, 2009
Penn State's spring practice ended yesterday with the annual Blue-White scrimmage. White, by the way, won, 21-16.
This morning's story in the newspaper detailed the plight of linebacker Navorro Bowman, who didn't play yesterday and will likely be suspended through the summer after he failed two random drug tests administered by the team. Mike Mauti, meanwhile, is being touted as the next great linebacker at Linebacker U. Surprisingly, Joe Paterno is the one trumpeting his arrival. We also got our first real glimpse of freshman quarterback Kevin Newsome. He looked green, but there is obvious potential.
Here are some other observations during the first half. And here were the first team offense and defense, according to yesterday's scrimmage. Several regular starters were missing, so the lineup isn't a true indication of who is starting.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The Blue-White game has been, uh, boring, to say the least. Still, there are 70,000-plus on hand here at Beaver Stadium. So at least they consider today's scrimmage something worth witnessing. Part of the boredom stems from the fact that many prominent players are missing and a number of starters haven't played much. Here are a few observations, however:
-- Quarterback Daryll Clark played just two series in the first half and led the first team offense to a touchdown when fullback Joe Suhey plunged two yards.
-- Backup quarterback Kevin Newsome was shaky on a few throws but looked poised in the pocket. The true freshman did make a nice touchdown pass to Brett Backett in the back of the end zone in the second quarter.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Although these things tend to be fluid, here are the starting units on offense and defense for today's Blue-White game. There are a number of absences so these lineups are far from reflecting who will start in the fall.
OFFENSE
Quarterback, Daryll Clark
Running back, Evan Royster
Fullback, Joe Suhey
Wide receiver, Graham Zug
Wide receiver, Chaz Powell
Wide receiver, Derek Moye
Left tackle, Dennis Landolt
Left guard, Johnnie Troutman
Center, Stefen Wisniewski
Right guard, Lou Eliades
Right tackle, Ako Poti
DEFENSE
End, Jack Crawford
Tackle, Jared Odrick
Tackle, Abe Koroma
End, Kevion Latham
Outside linebacker, Michael Mauti
Middle linebacker, Josh Hull
Outside linebacker, Nathan Stupar
Cornerback, Knowledge Timmons
Cornerback, A.J. Wallace
Strong Safety, Cedric Jeffries
Free Safety, Drew Astorino
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Navorro Bowman, who was handed an additional 12 months of probabtion earlier this week, will not play in today's Blue-White game, coach Joe Paterno said.
Paterno said Bowman's status with the team, however, was still up in the air. The coach said he wanted to sit down and talk with the linebacker before he made any decisions on the junior's future.
Bowman was back in court on Wednesday after he admitted using marijuana, a violation of his previous probation. Last May, Bowman pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct offense in connection to an Oct. 2007 on-campus fight.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Well, the weather in Happy Valley for today's Blue-White is delightful, but Penn State's quarterback situation could turn frightful if Daryll Clark gets hurt. The senior has been wearing a red jersey this spring and did so in today's game. Still, Clark has to be careful this summer and during preseason if the team hopes to avoid having to insert true freshman Kevin Newsome into the fire.
Clark has also vowed to take it easy when he's running the ball. We'll see if he can do that. He couldn't last season and it cost the Lions in their loss to Iowa.
We'll learn a lot more about this team during today's game. I'll be back with updates.
There are about 15 former Penn State players eligible for this weekend's NFL Draft. Approximately, seven are expected to get drafted, with Aaron Maybin, Derrick Williams and A.Q. Shipley leading the way.
Shipley, a 6-foot-1, 304-pound center, has caught the eye of many teams, but his short stature and even shorter arms have some scouts doubting his ability to take on some of the massive defensive tackles in the pros. Still, Shipley has just about everything else you could want. The Pittsburgh-native is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Steeler legend Mike Webster, another undersized center.
Also, tomorrow is the Blue-White scrimmage. There will be an advance in tomorrow's paper and I'll be in State College to provide updates during the game.
Best friends and former roommates, Aaron Maybin and Navorro Bowman are seemingly going in opposite directions. Maybin is preparing to be a No. 1 pick in this weekend's draft, while Bowman's future is again in jeopardy.
Here's this morning's story on Maybin as the draft approaches. The defensive end has amazing physical tools, but some scouts are cautious about his off-season weight increase. Bowman, meanwhile, had his probation extended another year after he admitted to marijuana use. Bowman, the Lions leading tackler last season, was already on probation after he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in connection to an on-campus fight in Oct. 2007.
Bowman has been one of Penn State's starting outside linebackers this spring, but his status for the rest of the session is unclear. More than likely, he'll sit out Saturday's Blue-White game and be suspended through the summer. Former linebacker Tyrell Sales also waived a hearing for a March DUI charge.
A judge sentenced Penn State's Navorro Bowman to an extra 12 months of probation and to undergo drug testing
and counseling after the linebacker admitted to smoking marijanua twice, the Assocated Press reported today.
Bowman had already been on probation after pleading guilty in May 2008 to disorderly conduct in connection with a campus fight the previous fall.
A probation officer said Bowman admitted to the marijuana usage during a meeting earlier this month, violating terms of his probation, which was initially supposed to end next month.
Penn State announced today that it will resume its series with long-ago foe Rutgers in 2014 and 2015. The teams are scheduled to meet Sept. 13, 2014 at Rutgers and Sept. 14, 2015 at Beaver Stadium.
The Nittany Lions and Scarlett Knights last met in 1995, a 59-34 Penn State win. The Lions lead the series, 22-2. Here's the press release.
This season is Joe's fourth season on the paper's Penn State beat. He previously covered the Nittany Lions for United Press International from 1976 to 1984.
Emily Kaplan is the Inquirer’s fall intern covering the Nittany Lions. She is a senior at Penn State and has covered a variety of sports for the university’s student-run paper, The Daily Collegian. Over the last two years, she has reported for The Associated Press from State College.
A Montclair, N.J. native, she has also interned at MLB Network, NHL.com and covered the 2012 Olympics in London. Follow her on Twitter here @EKaplan24.
