Penn State's Paterno turns blind eye to freshman talent

UNIVERSITY PARK - A news conference in which Joe Paterno wasn't much interested in divulging news turned lively when the Penn State coach was asked a question that had nothing to do with football.

Instead, it was about his decision to undergo corrective eye surgery and give up his trademark Coke bottle glasses for a charity auction that netted $9,000.

"Unfortunately," Paterno cracked to his inquisitor, "I can still see you."

The sound of cameras clicking filled the auditorium at the Lasch Football Building yesterday afternoon, especially when Paterno took off his new frames and read from a piece of paper he held an arm's length away.

"I can read my notes without any glasses," said Paterno, who wears them outdoors for protection. "It says: 'Keep your patience with these guys.' "

Paterno just as easily could have been talking about the seven freshmen newcomers to the Nittany Lions. He made it clear that while he has a vision for his team, he doesn't want to blur the lines by heaping expectations on them, especially All-America quarterback Paul Jones, of Sto-Rox High in Allegheny County.

"Freshmen? I don't even know they exist," Paterno said when asked about Jones, linebacker Khairi Fortt, running back Silas Redd, linebacker Dakota Royer, defensive tackle Evan Hailes, tight end Kevin Haplea and defensive end Kyle Baublitz. "You can't count on them. You want to go all the way down to Tuscaloosa [to play Alabama on Sept. 11] with freshmen?"

Although Penn State was practicing for the fourth time this spring, only the second time in full pads, it was evident that the Lions' daunting road schedule will weigh on his decision to find a replacement for quarterback Daryll Clark.

Kevin Newsome, who spent last season as the backup, is the front-runner, and Paterno said he has watched the 6-2, 220-pound sophomore "quite a bit, just to see how he's handling the huddle."

Paterno added that Newsome still has "a long ways to go, but he's making progress."

Jones enrolled in January, which gives him a head start on classmate Robert Bolden, but Paterno was in no mood to disclose evaluations and said he hasn't set a timetable to determine his starting quarterback.

"I couldn't tell you," Paterno said. "I've probably seen Paul Jones throw the ball eight times in 3 days. He's obviously a good athlete. He can run around and move a little, but it's a tough situation when you walk in, a quarterback playing in the league we're playing in and some of the teams we're playing, particularly on the road.

"We're playing Alabama and Ohio State on the road - probably the Nos. 1 and 2 teams, preseason, in the country - and you've got to play an Iowa team that plays great defense on the road. You've got to be very careful about what you can expect about a kid that just comes in."