If you are a Penn State fan, then there are some reasons to be excited. First, the Nittany Lions jumped to No. 5 in the most recent AP Poll. Are the Lions the fifth-best team in the land? Not right now they’re not. But the teams ahead of them are losing, so more power to them.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a workmanlike 28-7 win over Syracuse on Saturday. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but at the end of the day, the Lions are 2-0.
In today’s edition of Morelli OnLion, we’ll look back at Syracuse, look ahead to this week’s game with Temple and feature another member of the Class of 2009.
Let’s start with Syracuse.
Squeezing the Orange
While Saturday’s 28-7 win over the Orange won’t go into the books as a work of art, it’s a win. Right now, that’s all that matters for this Penn State football team. The Lions jumped out to a 28-0 lead and put it into cruise control.
The Penn State defense was a bright spot in the win over Syracuse.
(Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated).
There was plenty to get excited about. Daryll Clark is starting to show the critics that he’s the best QB in the Big Ten and even when protection breaks down, he’s more than capable of making things happen outside of the pocket. While he’s not going to remind anyone of Ben Roethlisberger anytime soon, he can throw on the run or throw off his back foot, which is a good sign. It’s good to see he has that ability because with the offensive line he has in front of him, he’s going to be scrambling quite a bit this season.
Again, Clark’s wideouts looked more than solid in Week Two. Graham Zug, Derek Moye and Chaz Powell had another productive week. They seem to have quite a rapport with Clark and that’s only going to get better.
The defense looked solid once again, which is another good sign. It did a good job against SU quarterback Greg Paulus and held the Orange to a lone TD.
But there’s some bad news, too. The run blocking was horrendous on Saturday. The fact that Evan Royster and Stephfon Green can’t have 100-yard days against the Orange is certainly a reason for concern. Coach Joe Paterno and his staff better get the O-line woes fixed, or that No. 5 ranking won’t last long.
There’s one more cupcake this week before the main course known as the Big Ten season begins.
Looking Ahead: Temple
This is the final tuneup for the Nittany Lions, and it’s not much of one. PSU has outscored the Owls, 123-3, in the last three meetings between the schools. The Owls won’t present much of a challenge for the Lions.
It’s hard to figure out why the Lions have the Owls on their schedule, except as a favor to Temple coach Al Golden, who played under Paterno.
The Owls no longer have QB Adam DiMichele, who was one of their best players last season.
Hopefully, the Owls enjoy the paycheck, because it’s going to be a long afternoon.
Gantdaily.com prediction: Penn State 42, Temple 6.
Class of 2009: Malcolm Willis
Strong safety recruit Malcolm Willis became the Nittany Lions’ second verbal commitment for the class of 2009 when he announced in late-April 2008 that he’d be going to Penn State.
Malcolm Willis is our final featured member of the Class of 2009.
(Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated).
Willis, the No. 68-ranked strong safety prospect in the country by Rivals.com, is a versatile athlete, racking up a team-high 454 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground at the running back position at Lackey his senior season.
On the defensive side of the ball, Willis also led Lackey with 99 tackles (66 solo) and three interceptions.
For his efforts, he was named to the Washington Post’s honorable mention all-Metro team, was selected to the first team all-conference and all-county teams, and was invited to play in Maryland’s Crab Bowl in December.
For all of Willis’ versatility, he will begin his career at Penn State as a safety, a position that his head coach, Doug Lamb, seemed to think would fit him well.
“He plays safety for us, and I think that’s where they like him right now,” he said. “The kid has played inside backer, he’s played outside backer for us. He’s one of those hybrid guys, because of his height and his weight. He’s kind of a tweener — he plays safety but he hits like a linebacker.
“With a lot of teams playing spread, and more and more teams in the Big Ten, like Michigan and Rich Rodriguez playing the spread, he’s a good tweener in nickel situations where he can come in and cover and also be comfortable in space with open-field tackles. How they’ll use him, I don’t know, but they’re getting one heck of an athlete and one heck of a student of the game. He’s definitely one of the smartest kids I’ve coached in the classroom and on the field.”
With Penn State’s coaching staff extending the first offer to Willis, he said it played a big role in his decision making process, much like teammate and close friend Darrell Givens, who ultimately ended up picking Penn State as well.
“Really, what played a major part, was that they trusted in me enough, or believed in me enough, that they would be my first offer. I really took that to heart,” Willis said in April. “I know, from talking to Darrell Givens, because his first offer was Ohio State, he was telling me that after Ohio State offered, then everybody else wanted to offer.
“So Penn State, when they were the first ones to offer, that gave them points in my book because they know what they want, and they’re trying to go get it before anybody else. They weren’t going to wait until someone else offered.”
Chris Morelli is the award-winning editor of Blue White Illustrated, a weekly publication devoted to Penn State athletics. He is also a regular on “Sports Central,” which airs on ESPN Radio in Altoona and State College. E-mail him at morellionlion@gmail.com. This column does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of BWI’s writers or publisher.
