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Penn State (Last Year: 11-2)
2009 College Football Season Preview:
Star Players:
QB Daryll Clark, RB Evan Royster, RB Stephfon Green, T Dennis Landolt, C Stefen Wisniewski, DT Jared Odrick, DT Ollie Ogbu, ILB Sean Lee, ILB Josh Hull, OLB Navarro Bowman, S Drew Astorino.
Draft/Graduation/Transfer Losses:
FB Dan Lawlor, WR Deon Butler, WR Jordan Norwood, WR Derrick Williams, T Gerald Cadogan, G Rich Ohrnberger, C A.Q. Shipley, DE Maurice Evans, DE Aaron Maybin, DE Josh Gaines, OLB Tyrell Sales, CB Tony Davis, CB Lydell Sargeant, S Mark Rubin, S Anthony Scirrotto, K Kevin Kelly.
2009 Penn State Nittany Lions Offense:
With senior Anthony Morelli leaving to pursue his future career as a star in the NFL, the question remained in University Park as to who would be the starting quarterback. The battle between Darryl Clark and Pat Devlin was won by Clark over the summer.
Clark had a very solid 2008 season accumulating over 2,800 total yards and 29 total touchdowns. Clark took care of the football and only threw 1.87 percent of his passes for interceptions. He is an athletic threat running the football out of the option, and might complete a higher percentage of passes as a sixth-year senior in 2009. He is by no means an NFL prospect, but many colleges in the country would love to have him on their team.
Arguably the best pro prospect on this entire team is tailback Evan Royster. Royster has the speed to turn the corner on defenses and the toughness to break tackles. He can catch the football and make things happen. Royster needs to prove he isn’t a productive of last year’s offensive line with a younger unit in 2008, but I think he will do it.
The biggest concern on this team has to be at wide receiver, where not that much impresses me. I’m just not sold on Derek Moye and Chaz Powell until they actually do something on the field. The Penn State coaching staff can brag about them all they want to, but until they do something on the field it really doesn’t matter. These players combined for five total receptions in 2008, so you can see why I have huge questions about this unit.
The offensive line will make or break Penn State’s season. Gone are Gerald Cadogan, Rich Ohrnberger and A.Q. Shipley. Stefen Wisniewski moves from right guard to center in a move that opens up junior Lou Eliades to play guard. The Penn State staff is very high on left tackle DeOn’Tae Pannell, but we will see. He has the size and athleticism to succeed, but does he have what it takes mentally in the Big Ten? We will find out. The offensive line should be solid, but it does have the potential to be great if Pannell lives up to the hype.
2009 Penn State Nittany Lions Defense:
The only team with a better front seven in the country is Alabama, believe it. The Nittany Lions ranked seventh in the country in yards per play, seventh in yards per rush, and eighth in points per game. These numbers will be difficult to duplicate with the loss of defensive end Aaron Maybin, but I think it is possible.
It all starts with the middle of the defensive line where Penn State should be dominant. Jared Odrick has the potential to go in the first day next April, but needs to keep his nose clean as he was involved in a fight in March. Odrick is huge at 6-5, 308, and a dominant force against the run. He also managed to record 4.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. His partner in crime is junior Ollie Ogbu. Ogbu is an athletic player, and I expect him to have a breakout season.
This defense needs sophomore Jack Crawford to step in for Aaron Maybin and have a big season. Crawford was a highly recruited player coming out of New Jersey, but it’s time to live up to the hype. Crawford can single-handedly make the defensive backfield a lot better by getting pressure on the quarterback, as did Maybin in 2008.
Last year, sophomore Navarro Bowman came out of nowhere to register 106 tackles and 4.5 sacks. He has some off the field problems, but has elite range and playmaking ability. Sean Lee is one of the best inside linebackers in the country, and if he can stay healthy nobody will be able to run on this defense.
The weak link on this defense is once again the backfield without much star power. Sophomore Drew Astorino is the star in the secondary at free safety, and he should put up bigger numbers with a year of experience under his belt. Astorino totaled two interceptions and 39 tackles as a redshirt freshman in 2008. I think there are several question marks at the other positions. Cedric Jeffries is inexperienced at strong safety, A.J. Wallace can’t stay healthy at corner, and opposing quarterbacks will likely target receivers opposite Knowledge Timmons.
This team’s bread and butter is in their front seven, so the defensive backfield is not much of a concern to me, especially in the Big Ten with mediocre quarterback play. If this unit can be average, the defense will be elite once again.
2009 Penn State Nittany Lions Schedule and Intangibles:
Let’s go ahead and jump to the most important game every year, which is the matchup against Ohio State. The Nittany Lions face the Bucks at home this year on Nov. 7. I think this game is a win for a few reasons. One, it is at home. Two, Ohio State just won’t be as good defensively as they were in 2008. Three, Ohio State won’t have much of a rushing attack against Penn State outside of Terrell Pryor. Suffice to say, Penn State will win the Big Ten again.
Who could give this team fits? There has to be a sleeper loss in here somewhere. Michigan State had a very young defense in 2008, and they are a tough team to beat on the road. Andre Anderson is stepping in for Javon Ringer and he might surprise some next season.
2009 Penn State Nittany Lions Positional Rankings (1-5 stars):
Quarterbacks |
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Offensive Line |
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Secondary |
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Running Backs |
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Defensive Line |
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Special Teams |
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Receivers |
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Linebackers |
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Coaching |
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2009 Penn State Nittany Lions Analysis:
As much as the Big Ten has been criticized in the past for not living up to their own self-generated hype, it should be even worse next season. The only teams that should challenge Penn State are Iowa and Ohio State. PSU lost to Iowa on the road last season by one point on a last-second field goal. This will not happen in Happy Valley. Ohio State doesn’t have the athletes defensively to stop the Lions rushing attack.
Penn State is a very legitimate national title contender, but if they go undefeated, and Florida and Texas/Oklahoma are flawless as well, then Penn State will not get into the National Championship (prompting Walter to lead millions of CFB fans to riot at NCAA Headquarters to support a playoff). I think we will see Penn State lose one game they shouldn’t, whether it is to Illinois, Iowa, Northwestern, or Michigan State. We will likely see a USC-Penn State rematch in the Rose Bowl in 2010, which I expect Penn State to win this time around.
Projection: 11-1 (Big Ten and Rose Bowl Champion)
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