O'Brien names McGloin No. 1 QB, says Drake off team

Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien announced Friday that Matt McGloin will be the starting quarterback for the Nittany Lions.

O'Brien also said that defensive back Curtis Drake, the former West Catholic star who had a checkered career as a Nittany Lion, is off the team and won't be back.

O'Brien spoke with reporters at Penn State's Coaches vs. Cancer golf tournament.

O'Brien said McGloin, a senior who has been Penn State's statistical leader among quarterbacks the last two seasons, was the most consistent of the quarterbacks in the spring and had the best grasp of the offense.

He said sophomore Paul Jones would be the No. 2 quarterback and junior Rob Bolden, who has started the most games of any QB the last two seasons, was third-string.

O'Brien would not give any reason why Drake, who was moved from wide receiver to cornerback before spring practice, was off the team.

Drake was involved in a locker-room scuffle with McGloin after a mid-December practice, resulting in a concussion that kept McGloin out of the TicketCity Bowl. Drake did not make the trip to Dallas.

O'Brien, the Nittany Lions' first-year head coach, said Drake had "a clean slate" with him, and that he and Drake had "many conversations" prior to the start of spring ball.

"He's got to keep up his end of the bargain by doing well in school and keeping his nose clean," O'Brien said.

Drake twice suffered a broken left leg during his Penn State career, and was cited twice for disorderly conduct for off-campus fights.

--Joe Juliano