Following Pat Devlin ...

It took awhile, but I finally got to sit down with ex-Penn State quarterback Pat Devlin last month. Devlin, as you may recall, left State College in December and soon after transferred to Delaware. The move was met with some controversy.

So I drove down to Newark, Del. to meet with Devlin to discuss, among other things, his departure from Penn State and his arrival as the next quarterback transfer at Delaware. It's amazing how a face-to-face, 30-minute interview can open a subject up. At Penn State, it is impossible to get such access during the season, let alone the spring period. With the amount of media coverage the Lions get it's somewhat understandable. But it would be nice to be able to get to know the players better and, thus, be able to tell their stories with more depth.

Nevertheless, that is no longer a worry of mine. I am following Devlin and leaving [the] Penn State [beat]. His story was my last on the job. I started on the Eagles full time last week. As much as I enjoyed reporting on my alma mater's football team, the Eagles beat was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

I do have mixed feelings, though. I will miss covering Joe Paterno. The man makes news, as evidenced by what he had to say last week about the Big Ten. He may be ornery as hell, but he's fair (for the most part) and provides great copy. I'm sure I'll long for the days of Paterno while sitting through a mid-season Andy Reid presser. What I won't miss is covering Penn State football from three hours away -- especially the antics of some unruly players (see: the latest incident involving marijuana).

I know some have not agreed with what I have written either here or in print, but I always appreciated the feedback, both positive and negative. Now I can go back to being one of you -- an unabashed Penn State fan that complains about the media coverage. By the way, I can't believe the press is blowing this pot bust way out of proportion! The police up there is on a witch hunt! They're after Joe!

The next time I blog it will be on Birds' Eye View, an Inquirer Eagles blog shared with Bob Brookover. That's it from here. WE ARE! ...