The first time Jay Paterno saw Daryll Clark - who was named Penn State's starting quarterback yesterday - he thought he spotted something, well, special in the kid from Youngstown, Ohio, with the shaky grades and unrefined technique. So the Penn State quarterbacks coach pitched Clark to his father, head coach Joe Paterno, the ultimate arbiter of who receives a scholarship offer from the Nittany Lions.

Let's just say that the elder Paterno was not so easily convinced that Clark would be Penn State material, even if he had drawn interest from a few big-time programs (Nebraska, West Virginia, Iowa) as well as his most ardent pursuer, Toledo.

"I wasn't sure Clark was a [good enough] football player," JoePa said. "But he was a good kid. I thought maybe someday he'd be a linebacker, something like that. I wasn't sure at all he'd ever play quarterback for us."

And then there were Clark's spotty academics. Before you ever get onto the field in Happy Valley, you have to demonstrate an ability to handle the classwork. Clark - a Proposition 48 nonqualifier in 2004 - acknowledged he needed to improve in that area before he could take the next step toward making his Penn State dream come true.

So, instead of accepting a scholarship to a 4-year college with less-stringent entrance requirements, Clark elected to attend the Kiski School in Saltsburg, Pa., after his graduation from Ursuline High. It was a good decision in one sense; Clark did, in fact, improve his grades so he no longer represented an academic risk. He posted an A-minus in the final grading period.

There were times he wondered whether he had made the right choice.

"He was at Kiski a week and he called me and said, 'Jay, there's no girls here,' " Jay Paterno recalled. "I said, 'Yeah, I know that.' He said, 'We're in the middle of nowhere.' And I said, 'That's the idea.' "

Players who go from prep school to Penn State are rare, even though there was a rather notable precedent. Tailback Curtis Enis, who also attended Kiski, went on to have an excellent career with the Lions from 1995 to '97 and was the Chicago Bears' first-round pick in the 1998 draft.

Jay Paterno's fascination with Clark never wavered during his year's stay at Kiski. Again, Jay had to make his case for Clark with his father, who continued to prove a tough sell.

"We look at hundreds and hundreds of tapes, and sometimes we can't figure out if we like someone or don't like him," Joe Paterno said of his twice-tepid reaction to the husky quarterback with a fullback's dimensions (6-2, 235 pounds). "And I'm talking about guys who have coached great players. But I gotta say, Daryll Clark surprised me."

Clark, now a senior, has surprised Joe Paterno enough that he will get his first start when the 22nd-ranked Lions open their season Saturday against Coastal Carolina. For now, at least, he appears to have won his competition with redshirt sophomore Pat Devlin in a battle for playing time that could be ongoing right through the end of the season.

"It was very, very close," JoePa said of the quarterback derby that also included unsung senior Paul Cianciolo. "I just think that Clark is a little bit ahead of the other two. He's had a little bit more experience. He's done everything we've asked of him. I felt he was the best choice for our football team."

In retrospect, perhaps Clark should have been more utilized than he was the past two seasons as a seldom-used backup to pocket passer Anthony Morelli.

"Jay was trying to get me to play Clark more [in 2007]," Joe Paterno acknowledged. "I just didn't think it was right for Morelli. Morelli was getting all kinds of hell from everybody, and I didn't think it was fair. I had a little loyalty to Morelli."

Physically and stylistically, Clark - a strong runner who is as apt to take off on a set play as on a broken one - is reminiscent of Michael Robinson, the Big Ten offensive player of the year in 2005, an 11-1 Orange Bowl-winning season.

Finally convinced that Jay Paterno was on to something, or maybe feeling the need to shake things up after the Lions fell behind Texas A & M, 14-0, in the first quarter of the Dec. 29 Alamo Bowl, JoePa gave Clark his first extended playing time. He responded by rushing six times for 50 yards, including an 11-yard, game-tying scoring burst in what proved to be a 24-17 victory for Penn State.

Clark, however, did not throw a pass in that contest, and he has gone to the air only 36 times in the 15 games in which he has appeared with the Lions. So obvious was Penn State's intent when Clark trotted onto the field against A & M that Aggies fans would scream, "The black guy is in again! It's a run!"

Although semi-amused at those fans' reaction to him, Clark said black quarterbacks have too long had to contend with certain stereotypes. He resents being categorized as a strong-armed but scattershot passer who gets by mostly on his athletic ability, while his white counterparts are depicted as more cerebral and more accurate.

"It's sad, because I've been a quarterback since I was 6 years old, so I know what I can do," Clark said. "I'm not one-dimensional. Not at all."

Jay Paterno said the true test of a No. 1 quarterback comes only in the crucible of the fourth quarter in a game that can go either way.

"Where you find out about somebody is when the game's on the line, 2 minutes to go, you've got to drive the ball down the field to win it," he offered. "Our quarterbacks haven't been in that situation yet. It'll be interesting to see how they react to it."

Clark said he's ready for any challenge, be it early or late. "Yeah, I want to be the starter," he said. "I also want to be the guy who's there at the end, when it counts."

Nit-picking