Big Six Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 Now that 1.1 has arrived, I'm reviving my BBCF dynasty. I'm an avid Penn State fan, so I've chosen to feature the Nittany Lions. In the "universe" I've created, the 2004 season has just come to a close. Legendary coach Joe Paterno has decided to resign after 39 years as Penn State's head football coach. JoePa made his wishes concerning the future of the Penn State football program very clear. "I have a coach on my staff who will make Penn State proud," he stated. That coach is John Rogers, who served as Paterno's offensive coordinator for the past four seasons. Rogers is a Penn State product, graduating in the class of 1995. As a senior, Rogers backed up Kerry Collins at quarterback. The son of a high school coach, Rogers quickly realized that coaching was in his blood, and upon graduation took a position on Paterno's staff as a graduate assistant. He has remained at Penn State ever since; before taking the reins of Paterno's offense, he coached the Nittany Lion quarterbacks and demonstrated a knack for recruiting. Rogers' youth--he is only 33 years old--has caused some skeptics to doubt his ability to handle the Penn State job. Some of the more outspoken members of Nittany Nation protested his hiring loudly, wanting the school to pursue a veteran coach with a proven track record. Others are encouraged by the fact that Rogers is a Penn State man, and by the decision of every member of Paterno's 2004 staff to remain on board. Can John Rogers return Penn State to the ranks of the elite, or will he be remembered as the man who let Joe Paterno's proud legacy wither? I'll tell Rogers' story, through letters, journal entries, news reports, and a variety of other sources. Soon, we'll be off to Happy Valley... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 The job is mine [b]From Coach Rogers' journal July 20, 2005[/b] Sometimes I sit at the desk in my office and take a look around, still trying to believe it is my office. A part of me might always consider this Coach Paterno’s office; his presence is still very real here. As it should be, because the man is truly a legend. Tonight I’m writing from my study, and among the photos on the desk in front of me is a shot of me and Coach Paterno, shaking hands before the Blue-White game my senior year. His presence is very real at my house, too. I’m on the phone with Joe every day, but I always call him. During one of the many conversations we had about this transition, he assured me he would never meddle; that I was now the head coach of the Pennsylvania State University football team. He promised me I could always look to him for advice, and also that he would never offer it without me asking for it first. Coach Paterno didn’t leave the cupboard bare when he retired, but we still have a long road ahead of us. We're not ranked in the preseason polls, and we probably shouldn't be. The fact that we’re also picked to finish eighth in the Big Ten says a lot about both our program's current state and the strength of our conference. Michigan is the media’s preseason #1, and Purdue (#7) and Wisconsin (#10) are also in the Top Ten. A handful of other teams are listed in the Top 20. It won't be an easy season, by any means. Of course, all of us who have had any connection to Penn State football for a while aren’t satisfied with the way things are in Happy Valley right now. Our fans expect to win, and win a lot. I’ll be expected to have the Lions contending for a national championship before very long. From our meetings, I’ve gathered that our AD, Scott Benson, has more realistic expectations for me in my first season on the job. Privately, he's told me he’ll be satisfied if we stay out of the conference cellar. I asked Coach Paterno about that, and he thinks that’s fair for a first-year head coach. He took his beatings when he started out, too. The alumni and boosters are a little harder to read. I know they would like to see a victory over Michigan State, who has evolved into our biggest rival since we joined the Big Ten. And, they undoubtedly hope to make plans for a bowl trip in December or January. I know most coaches would love to be able to tell the alumni where to stick it sometimes, but they buy the tickets and contribute to the program. Here at Penn State, the football program is self-supporting, without any funds from the university's general budget. That means the alumni's voices have to be heeded. Right now, there’s another voice that has to be heeded. My three-year-old son, Matt, is giggling like a maniac, chasing our dog down the hall, and I have to investigate the situation. My wife Kristin and I have three children: Matt; his older sister Caitlin, who is almost six; and their older brother John, Jr. who just turned eight. Johnny and Matt are both going to play quarterback for the Nittany Lions like their dad, and I hope they get more playing time than I did! Caitlin is going to be a cheerleader. I notice none of them are saying they want to coach yet. So now I’m off to pursue a three-year-old.. Before long I’ll be pursuing seventeen-year-olds with scholarship offers in my hand. Somehow I think it’ll be a lot easier to corner Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 [b]August 1, 2005[/b] Since it looks like I’ll be keeping a fairly detailed journal of my experiences this season, I thought it was time to introduce you to the players I’ll be coaching this season. On the whole, I’m fairly satisfied with our talent. Sure, I’d like to have five-star guys all over my three-deep chart, but that’s hardly realistic. I believe we can win some games with the ones I do have. [b]Quarterback[/b] The starter will be junior [b]John McKinney[/b], an excellent passer with a strong arm and good touch. He has enough mobility to avoid the pass rush, but he won’t run much. His backup, senior [b]Bobby Burton[/b], is very capable, and we have a promising young QB in [b]Joseph Collins.[/b] [b]Running Back[/b] We’re very excited about the potential of [b]Miguel Gregory,[/b]a redshirt freshman who could develop into one of the Big Ten’s most outstanding backs. He has the speed to turn the corner, and the toughness to run between the tackles, too. Gregory also has good enough hands to play a role in our passing game. Junior [b]Raymundo Parker[/b] and senior [b]Gene Fowler[/b] make us very deep and solid here. Our starting fullback will be [b]Daniel Delgado,[/b] a very good receiver and an outstanding blocker. Delgado is undersized at 212 pounds, but he “plays big.” [b]Wide Receiver [/b] Our starting wideouts, [b]Randy Culpepper[/b] and [b]Alton Gibbs,[/b] have the potential to earn All-Big Ten honors this season. Culpepper is a junior, with outstanding hands and the speed to get open on deep routes. Gibbs, a senior, runs sharp routes and has great instincts. Our third receiver will be promising sophomore [b]Jerry Hubbard.[/b] [b]Tight End[/b] Right now, [b]James Virgil[/b] is listed as the starter. He’s more of a receiving threat than a blocker. His position coach has some questions about his work ethic, and he’ll be pushed hard by two talented freshmen, [b]Modesto Stark[/b] and [b]Pedro Davis.[/b] Davis is a true freshman who was one of the top recruits at his position in the nation last year. [b]Offensive Tackle[/b] Our tackles are the strength of our offensive line. Both starters, [b]Albert Randle[/b] and [b]Tom McCormick,[/b] are seniors with impressive strength and bulk. Randle, the left tackle, has very quick feet for a 330-pounder, and protects our QB’s blind side effectively. McCormick is a punishing run blocker, and is the team’s hardest worker in the weight room. I doubt if Tom is six feet tall, but he holds his own against tall, rangy defensive ends. Sophomores [b]Tom Montoya[/b] and [b]Leland Olson[/b] are the backups. [b]Guard[/b] Big [b]Frank Smith[/b] starts on the left side, but if talented sophomore [b]Chris Sandoval[/b] develops quickly, he will press Smith for playing time. [b]Chris Silverman[/b], also a sophomore, is listed first on the depth chart at right guard. We’ll be recruiting heavily at this position this year, because there’s a big dropoff in quality after these three guys. [b]Center[/b] Here, too, we’re going with a young player who has the potential to become something special. Sophomore [b]Wesley Herring[/b] has been dealing with some off-the-field issues, and if he can clear those up, the sky is the limit for him. Junior [b]Clark Hill[/b] will be the second-stringer. [b]Defensive End[/b] [b]Milton Cole[/b] is attracting lots of attention from pro scouts. At 6’6” and 287 pounds, he has NFL size, and his quickness and agility make him an elite pass rusher. He is also one of the team’s hardest workers. We will probably start a true freshman, [b]Gus George,[/b] at the other end spot. He is already good against the run and is developing his pass rush skills. Senior [b]William Grossman[/b] will also get lots of playing time. [b]Defensive Tackle[/b] [b]Larry Dupont[/b] is one of our captains, and should be a contender for national honors this season. He has a complete package of skills, and might be a first-round NFL draft pick. The other starting tackle, [b]Jerry Magee,[/b] is a tremendous run stopper. Redshirt freshman [b]John James[/b] has tremendous potential, and we have a real stud in the making in true freshman [b]John Bell,[/b] who is still 16 years old. [b]Linebacker[/b] Penn State has been nicknamed “Linebacker U.” and there are three fine athletes at this position who could all become part of that rich tradition one day. All three are effective against the run, all can rush the passer, and all have good coverage skills. Junior [b]Stephen Jones,[/b] the starter on the strong side, is a ferocious pass rusher with impressive speed. Jones is also a particularly sure tackler. [b]John Becker[/b], a sophomore, is tough and aggressive and, like Jones, can make plays all over the field. Another sophomore, [b]Will Gross,[/b] will start at middle linebacker. He’s impressed us with his work ethic and his determination to improve. We believe Jones, Becker, and Gross all have the potential to earn post-season honors before their Penn State careers are over. In the pipeline are talented players like freshmen [b]George Harris[/b] and [b]Rick Hale[/b], and sophomore [b]Andrew Stone.[/b] [b]Cornerback[/b] We’re very happy with the starters at this position. [b]Francis Taylor[/b] has great size; at 6’3”, he’ll be able to match up well with even the tallest receivers. Taylor, a junior, lacks great speed, but has outstanding body control and is a physical player. Sophomore [b]Daniel Jackson[/b] has the ability to be a true shutdown corner. Fast and athletic, Jackson’s potential is nearly limitless. The nickel back will be [b]Alphonso Collins,[/b] who could start for many Big Ten teams. Keep an eye on true freshman [b]Roy Thompson.[/b] [b]Safety[/b] Senior captain [b]Steve Perry[/b] is a 6’3”, 205 pounder who hits like a linebacker. He’ll be playing on Sundays once his career as a Nittany Lion ends. He is one of the team’s most intelligent players, and his quiet style of leadership inspires his teammates. [b]Lawrence Hill[/b] has good coverage skills and outstanding instincts, and is a very good tackler. Redshirt freshman [b]Richard Phillips[/b] will also see time here, and will contribute to the special teams. [b]Special Teams[/b] Junior [b]Stephan Phillips[/b] is as accurate as any kicker in the college game, and he’s been building his leg strength so he can connect on longer attempts and boom kickoffs out of the end zone. The punter, [b]Philip Redd,[/b] will enable us to win many field position battles with his ability to hit long punts and knock the ball down inside the 10. Sophomore [b]Patrick O’Flannery[/b] is an reliable long snapper, while QB [b]Bobby Burton[/b] holds for placekicks. [b]George Harris[/b] is a demon on kick coverage, and [b]James Virgil[/b] and [b]Chris Sandoval[/b] have also impressed special teams coach [b]Ben Harvey[/b] with their willingness to work hard. If true freshman DB [b]Eugene Nichols[/b] doesn’t redshirt, he will return kickoffs; otherwise, junior WR [b]James Pollack[/b] and [b]Lawrence Hill[/b] will handle this duty. [b]Alphonso Collins[/b] is our best punt returner, and [b]Alton Gibbs[/b] was effective in this role earlier in his career. [b]Overall Analysis[/b] [b]We’re strongest:[/b] on defense, particularly at linebacker, and at wide receiver. [b]We’re weakest:[/b] along the offensive line. [b]We have the most potential for greatness:[/b] at linebacker and at running back. [b]We need to recruit heavily:[/b] at guard and center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 [b]Last week of preseason, 2005[/b] We'll be starting our season one week later than some schools are, so we have an extra week to prepare. Our guys are definitely ready to hit someone other than a teammate, however. My offensive coordinator, [b]Lance Rash,[/b] and I have installed a balanced offense that we think will play to our team's strengths. Most of our plays will be run out of the I formation or from a pro set, and we drop the QB back into the shotgun occasionally. I delegate almost all the responsibility for our defense to the coordinator, [b]David Tanner.[/b] He is one of the very best in the business. We'll be running a 4-3, with zone coverage a little over half the time and a nice blitz package. I would love to see the three of us coaching together for decades, like Coach Paterno and his staff did, but I have a feeling that both Lance and David will have many opportunities for head coaching positions in the future. If the right chance comes their way, I will encourage them to take it. We looked at our depth charts again and again and again, and concluded that we could afford to redshirt most of our freshmen. John Bell, the defensive tackle, will be redshirting, and so will linebackers Rick Hale and Andrew Stone. Andrew played last year as a true freshman, but after he realized playing time would be tough to come by again this year, he was very agreeable to the idea of a redshirt year. Cornerback Roy Thompson and wideout Theodore Dick are probably the most promising true freshmen we're going to play this year. We can use their speed on special teams, and Thompson will probably play quite a bit in the secondary. Here is our schedule for the year: [code] Week 1 Open Week 2 at #9 Nebraska Week 3 WESTERN MICHIGAN Week 4 Open Week 5 #10 WISCONSIN* Week 6 #12 OHIO STATE* Week 7 at #7 Purdue* Week 8 at Michigan State* Week 9 #20 MINNESOTA* Week 10 INDIANA* Week 11 at Illinois* Week 12 at Northwestern* Week 13 ARKANSAS STATE Home games are listed in ALL CAPS. Asterisks* denote Big Ten conference games. [/code] Yes, that's five games against preseason Top 20 teams. Now you see why we are being picked to finish in the second half of the Big Ten standings. Hopefully we'll prove some of those prognosticators wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 A long trip home [b]Week 2, 2005 Nebraska 30, Penn State 23[/b] [code] [b]Penn State 0 10 7 6 23 Nebraska 14 10 3 3 30[/b] [b]First Quarter[/b] NEB TD 11:45 7-0 Nathan Brown 10 YD Pass from Lawrence Davis (Wilmer Henry Kick). NEB TD 07:33 14-0 Ellis Taylor 14 YD Pass from Lawrence Davis (Wilmer Henry Kick). [b]Second Quarter[/b] NEB TD 10:37 21-0 Ellis Taylor 4 YD Run (Wilmer Henry Kick). PNST TD 07:52 21-7 Miguel Gregory 1 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). NEB FG 04:08 24-7 Wilmer Henry 45 YD PNST FG 00:50 24-10 Stephan Phillips 35 YD [b]Third Quarter[/b] PNST TD 10:57 24-17 Alton Gibbs 9 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). NEB FG 05:57 27-17 Wilmer Henry 23 YD [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] NEB FG 01:30 30-17 Wilmer Henry 43 YD PNST TD 00:37 30-23 James Virgil 9 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick Failed). Attendance: 70, 279 Temperature: 74 Weather: Slightly overcast [/code] We know we won’t earn the respect we deserve unless we challenge ourselves with tough non-conference games every year. A win in one of these games provides our program with a huge boost. There’s a downside, too: a loss can erode some of our players’ confidence in themselves and in what we’re trying to do here. We traveled to Nebraska this week to play the Cornhuskers, who came into the game ranked #9 in the country. They had beaten South Florida 31-17 the week before, and had held the Bulls to one yard rushing. That’s right; one yard. Actually, South Florida had gained 60 yards on running plays, but Nebraska’s six sacks negated 59 of them. Needless to say, we were prepared for a team that would be tough to run against. We had a little more success moving the ball on the ground than South Florida did, but not much. Actually, our running game was 78 times as productive as USF’s had been, with Miguel Gregory gaining 62 yards on 14 carries. Our game plan emphasized the passing game more than usual, and John McKinney had a good day (27-40, 238 yds, 2 TD, 1 int). Jerry Hubbard opened our eyes with a couple of great catches, while Alton Gibbs and James Virgil caught TD passes. Defensively, we played well against the run, too. However, their QB, Lawrence Davis, picked us apart methodically all day long. He finished 30-38 for 390 yards and two TDs. We didn’t put enough pressure on him, so he had all day to look for receivers. Steve Perry had 13 tackles, but far too many of them were on pass plays, after a receiver had picked up a first down. We were very pleased with the job our kickoff return team did today. Eugene Nichols had two long returns: a 37-yarder in the second quarter that triggered a touchdown drive, and an 86-yarder that we basically threw away by missing a 19-yard field goal. Nebraska is a very tough team, there’s no doubt about that. But we’re going to play Big Ten teams who are just as good as they are all season long, and if they gain over 500 yards on us like Nebraska did, this will be a very long season. Wisconsin is feeling some pain, too. Miami beat them 42-28, and dropped them out of the Top Ten. The Hurricanes took over the #1 ranking from Michigan, who apparently didn’t whip Temple badly enough to remain on top. Hopefully a good week of practice and the excitement of a home game will help us erase the memories of this week from our minds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 Student athletes? [b]Week 3, 2005[/b] This week began on a very negative note. Two guys from our defense, linebacker George Harris and cornerback Roy Thompson, are now on academic suspension. Harris had beaten out John Becker and was starting, and he had seven tackles in the Nebraska game. Thompson didn’t play against Nebraska, but we had enough confidence in his ability to contribute this year that we didn’t redshirt him. I’m frustrated when these guys don’t take advantage of the academic resources we have here at Penn State. Hopefully Harris and Thompson will get their priorities straightened out so we can have them back quickly. For now, Becker has his job at middle linebacker once again. Wes Herring, our starting center, got banged up in the Nebraska game, but it looks like he’ll be ready to play on Saturday against Western Michigan. We’ll need him, because Western Michigan has played great defense in their two victories this season. Their defense has allowed only two touchdowns so far, and has been especially tough against the run. It looks like we’ll be throwing the ball quite a bit against them, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 [b]Week 3, 2005 Penn State 35, Central Michigan 21[/b] [code] [b]Western Michigan 7 0 7 7 21 Penn State 3 10 22 0 35 First Quarter[/b] WMU TD 12:04 7-0 Gary Short 3 YD Run (Robert Mills Kick). PNST FG 03:07 7-3 Stephan Phillips 38 YD [b]Second Quarter[/b] PNST FG 06:19 7-6 Stephan Phillips 39 YD PNST TD 02:51 13-7 Daniel Delgado 5 YD Pass from John Mckinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). [b]Third Quarter[/b] WMU TD 11:50 14-13 Donald Lambert 1 YD Pass from Joshua Weber (Robert Mills Kick). PNST TD 08:07 21-14 Miguel Gregory 2 YD Run (2 Pts - Alton Gibbs Pass from John Mckinney) PNST TD 05:01 28-14 73 YD Int Return by Daniel Jackson (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST TD 01:07 35-14 Miguel Gregory 28 YD Pass from John Mckinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] WMU TD 01:53 35-21 Donald Lambert 16 YD Pass from Joshua Weber (Robert Mills Kick). Attendance: 106,113 Temperature: 85 degrees Weather: Slightly overcast [/code] We’re lucky. We’re very lucky. We allowed Central Michigan 502 yards of total offense and 25 first downs today. Fortunately, our defense also made some big plays—six sacks and four interceptions—or we would have lost this game. Stephen Jones and Louis Dupont had two sacks each, Steve Perry had two picks, and Daniel Jackson returned an interception 73 yards for a touchdown. We have the athletes on defense to make big plays; now we simply have to be more consistent. I’m pleased with the play of Miguel Gregory, who picked up 110 yards against a very sturdy run defense. John McKinney had a good day too (16-27, 263 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT), and he’s developed a very good rhythm with Alton Gibbs, who caught eight more passes today. There was a big crowd at Beaver Stadium on a nice, warm day, and while I know the fans enjoyed the win, I’m sure many of them are thinking what I’m thinking. If we keep letting teams move the ball like this against us, we’re in trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 [b]Week 4, 2005[/b] We have an off week, so we’re taking a good, long look at why our defense was so generous in our first two games. Only eight Division I football teams are allowing more yards per game than we are, and we are DEAD LAST against the pass. On paper, it looks like we’re defending against the run very well, but that’s as much a function of the fact that teams are constantly throwing against us as anything else. I honestly thought we were going to be better defensively than we have been so far, and I’ve been losing sleep over it. So has David Tanner, who is a fine coach and isn’t deserving the crap he’s catching in the media over the way our defense has played. The players know they need to step it up. They’re embarrassed by the criticism, and they’re aware of the reputation that Penn State has for playing tough defense. They want to play their part in building that tradition, not eroding it. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten this week:[/b] #2 Purdue 38, #12 Wisconsin 24 Michigan State 21, Illinois 10 Iowa 55, Indiana 10 Minnesota 38, Northwestern 20 #20 Notre Dame 38, #3 Michigan 20 #17 Ohio State 34, Army 7 Rankings reflect changes AFTER Week 4’s games. Purdue jumped from #6 to #2 with their win over Wisconsin, while the loss to Notre Dame dropped Michigan from #2 to #3. The computer ratings came out for the first time this week, and we’re sitting at #44. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted April 7, 2006 Author Share Posted April 7, 2006 Back on track [b]Week 5, 2005 Penn State 31, Wisconsin 24 [code] [b]1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q[/b] Wisconsin 7 7 10 0 24 Penn State 0 10 8 13 31 First Quarter[/b] WIS TD 09:06 7-0 Fred Carmichael 14 YD Pass from Jose Pena (Howard Williams Kick). [b]Second Quarter[/b] WIS TD 08:35 14-0 Arnold Charles 18 YD Pass from Jose Pena (Howard Williams Kick). PNST TD 04:45 14-7 Miguel Gregory 50 YD Pass from John Mckinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST FG 00:56 14-10 Stephan Phillips 20 YD [b]Third Quarter[/b] WIS TD 09:06 21-10 Arnold Charles 9 YD Pass from Jose Pena (Howard Williams Kick). PNST TD 08:15 21-18 Daniel Delgado 18 YD Pass from John Mckinney (2 Pts - Randy Culpepper Pass from John Mckinney) WIS FG 02:35 24-18 Howard Williams 20 YD [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] PNST TD 13:53 25-24 Miguel Gregory 10 YD Pass from John Mckinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST FG 04:29 28-24 Stephan Phillips 48 YD PNST FG 00:42 31-24 Stephan Phillips 31 YD [/code] Once again, we allowed our opponents to gain more yards than we did, but we found ways to get the ball into the end zone, and came out with a big conference win. Wisconsin played us tough, as we knew they would, but we came up with a few big plays that made the difference. Again, the special teams provided some of those big plays. In the third quarter, we were trailing 21-10 when Eugene Nichols caught a kickoff a yard deep and brought it out. He took it 98 yards to the Wisconsin 3, and after we lost 15 yards on an illegal crackback block, McKinney hit Delgado for the touchdown. Alphonso Collins returned a punt 36 yards earlier in the game, and although we didn't score that time, it's great to see our return game giving us consistenlty good field position. Steve Perry forced two fumbles that we recovered, and both times we scored touchdowns. One of the TDs was an exciting play in which John McKinney found Miguel Gregory open in the flat, and Miguel took it the distance for a 50-yard TD. Miguel caught another TD pass, and our fullback, Danny Delgado, caught one too. McKinney is doing a great job of spotting secondary receivers now, and we couldn't be happier. John Becker had a very good game, starting in place of George Harris again. George will have to win his job back when, and if, he clears up his academic problems. The weather was chilly, but there was another big crowd at Beaver Stadium. And, while I can't say we're where we want to be yet, we're taking steps in the right direction. A win against a quality opponent like Wisconsin helps everyone to believe in what we're doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted April 10, 2006 Author Share Posted April 10, 2006 Frustration [b]Week 6, 2005 Ohio State 32, Penn State 30[/b] [code] [b] 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Ohio State 13 6 3 10 32 Penn State 10 7 0 13 30 First Quarter[/b] OHST TD 10:25 7-0 Stanley Sumner 78 YD Pass from Randy Glover (Louis Jackson Kick). OHST TD 05:29 13-0 George Beatty 11 YD Pass from Randy Glover (Louis Jackson Kick Failed). PNST TD 01:47 13-7 Miguel Gregory 2 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST FG 00:03 13-10 Stephan Phillips 34 YD [b]Second Quarter[/b] PNST TD 09:42 17-13 Alton Gibbs 11 YD Pass from John Mckinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). OHST FG 04:12 17-16 Louis Jackson 26 YD OHST FG 00:09 19-17 Louis Jackson 21 YD [b]Third Quarter[/b] OHST FG 04:44 22-17 Louis Jackson 35 YD [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] PNST TD 10:17 23-22 Miguel Gregory 1 YD Run (2 Pts Failed) OHST FG 03:34 25-23 Louis Jackson 29 YD OHST TD 02:22 32-23 Russell Steele 32 YD Run (Louis Jackson Kick). PNST TD 02:03 32-30 99 YD KO Return by Eugene Nichols (Stephan Phillips Kick). [/code] I’m beginning to doubt whether or not I have the ability to judge football talent that a successful head coach must have. At the beginning of the season, I thought we would have a very strong defense. We’ve played four games now, and we haven’t been able to stop anybody. Ohio State is an excellent football team. They came into the game with us ranked #2 in the coaches’ poll, and #9 by the media. But we were able to score 30 points against them, and that should be enough to win. All afternoon, though, the Buckeyes moved the ball against us at will. There are only five Division I teams that are allowing more yards per game than we are: Duke, Baylor, Rice, Cincinnati, and Rutgers. Only Duke has been worse against the pass. No insult intended, but those teams are not traditionally considered to be football powerhouses. Nobody expects a Penn State team to be as weak defensively as we have been so far. We’re making every quarterback we face look like a Heisman Trophy winner! This week it was Randy Glover, who went 24-38 for 358 yards and two touchdowns. Glover hooked up with Stanley Sumner for a 78-yard TD early in the first quarter, and five minutes later threw a short TD pass to George Beatty. We put pressure on Glover all day; Stephen Jones and Milton Cole each sacked him twice. Our coverage kept breaking down, and Glover found the open receivers all day long. Steve Perry didn’t start at safety because of a thumb injury. His replacement, Eugene Phillips hung in there, but when a player of Steve’s quality goes down, it will always make a difference. Eugene missed three tackles, and that hurt us some. I was also frustrated with Larry Dupont, who looked lost at times. A senior shouldn’t be caught out of position three times in one game! That kind of poor execution can’t keep happening. It was good to see George Harris and Roy Thompson back from their academic suspensions. Harris will have to earn his position back from John Becker, who has played very well in George’s absence. We had the lead twice, but couldn’t hold it either time. McKinney, who didn’t have his best game, threw a TD pass to Gibbs that gave us a 17-13 lead in the second quarter, but Ohio State made two field goals to lead 19-17 at halftime. Early in the fourth quarter, we put together one of our best drives of the season, and Miguel Gregory scored from a yard out to put us up 23-22. We went for two, but the Buckeyes stopped us. I’m trying hard to look past the negatives and see some of the things we did well. Gregory was the game’s leading rusher with 98 yards, and he scored twice. And Eugene Nichols is getting himself on ESPN every week now. He’s being called the most dangerous return man in college football today. With two minutes to play, after Ohio State had scored to make the score 32-23, Eugene took the kickoff to the house. At least it made the score closer, and it gave the big crowd at Beaver Stadium something to cheer about. If we don’t turn things around, those big crowds are going to be a thing of the past. We have to travel to Purdue next week, so it isn’t getting any easier. I relaxed with the Kristin and the kids on Sunday after church. Johnny and I fired up TiVo and watched Texas beat Oklahoma, 26-23, to take over the #1 ranking in the media poll. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed watching a football game with my son, the way I watched them with my dad when I was a boy. I hope the frustration I'm feeling this season doesn’t reach the point that I don’t enjoy football any longer. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] Wisconsin 17, Iowa 13 #5 Purdue 34, Northwestern 21 #23 Minnesota 36, Indiana 0 #6 Michigan 36, Michigan State 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted April 10, 2006 Author Share Posted April 10, 2006 Penn State football once again [b]Week 7, 2005 Penn State 18, Purdue 3[/b] [code] [b]1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Purdue 0 3 0 0 3 Penn State 6 9 0 0 18 First Quarter[/b] PNST TD 04:33 6-0 Modesto Stark 32 YD Pass from John Mckinney (Stephan Phillips Kick Failed). [b]Second Quarter[/b] PUR FG 10:53 6-3 Walter Orr 25 YD PNST TD 08:47 12-3 Randy Culpepper 36 YD Pass from John Mckinney (Stephan Phillips Kick Failed). PNST FG 01:00 15-3 Stephan Phillips 28 YD [b]Third Quarter[/b] PNST FG 10:02 18-3 Stephan Phillips 22 YD [/code] It’s amazing what a big win can do to raise the spirits of everybody connected with a college football team. It's even better when we know we executed well, both offensively and defensively. We went down to Purdue and won a game very few people outside our locker room thought we could win, and we did it in a way that probably surprised people inside our locker room, too. David Tanner really gave it to our defense this week in practice. To put it simply, he challenged them to play like men and to reverse the trends he’d been seeing before they went down as the worst defensive unit in Penn State history. Coach Tanner’s words really hit home with the defensive captains. Steve Perry played a truly dominant game. He had 13 tackles and intercepted a pass. Larry Dupont knocked down three passes and avoided the mental errors he’d made against Ohio State. In general, the defense looked much more like a Penn State defense, holding Purdue to 276 total yards and only 159 through the air. We also got a great game from our O-line, who dominated the line of scrimmage for all four quarters. They paved the way for Miguel Gregory to gain 158 yards on 28 carries, and did a great job of protecting our QB. John McKinney went 19-33 for 276 yards and two touchdowns. Both of the TDs were fairly long plays, with John hitting Modesto Stark and Randy Culpepper on medium routes and the receivers doing the rest. Stephan Phillips missed two extra points, but he hit two field goals. I hope the misses don’t get into his head, because he’s a fine kicker and we still have a lot of confidence in him. This week, coaching football was much more fun, and I know playing it was much more fun for the team, as well. As the game was ending, our sideline was full of players with smiling faces, like it should be. I’m especially happy for David Tanner, because I’ve known what an excellent coach he is for a long time. Hopefully the critics who don’t know what they’re talking about will shut their mouths now. Our next opponent is Michigan State, and we’ll be playing them in East Lansing. Since we’ve been in the Big Ten, they have become our biggest conference rival. The Land Grant Trophy adds even more depth to the rivalry. The Spartans are 5-2, and have a strong, balanced team. We’ll have to play like we did this week to win, but I believe we’re ready to do just that. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] Michigan State 38, #24 Wisconsin 27 #5 Michigan 31, Iowa 10 Indiana 20, Northwestern 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted May 1, 2006 Author Share Posted May 1, 2006 [b]Week 8, 2005 Penn State 24, Michigan State 22[/b] [code] [b] 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Penn State 14 7 3 3 24 Michigan State 10 3 3 6 22[/b] [b]First Quarter[/b] MIST FG 08:28 3-0 James Reynolds 20 YD PNST TD 05:33 7-3 Modesto Stark 12 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST TD 03:25 14-3 Jerry Hubbard 53 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). MIST TD 00:33 14-10 James Pierce 26 YD Pass from Roger Rich (James Reynolds Kick). [b]Second Quarter[/b] PNST TD 07:18 21-10 Modesto Stark 4 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). MIST FG 04:11 21-13 James Reynolds 26 YD [b]Third Quarter[/b] PNST FG 06:04 24-13 Stephan Phillips 19 YD MIST FG 00:00 24-16 James Reynolds 21 YD [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] MIST TD 01:05 24-22 Scott Wyatt 96 YD Pass from Roger Rich (2 Pts Failed) [/code] “Welcome to the John Rogers Show. Coach, our first caller is Reggie from Altoona. Reggie, you’re on the air with Coach Rogers.” “Hi, Reggie. Thanks for calling.” “Hi, Coach. First of all, congratulations on a nice victory on the road on Saturday.” “Thanks, Reggie. Anytime we can win a road game in the Big Ten, it’s a big victory.” “Coach, I wondered if you could talk a little bit about the play of our defense. We allowed a lot of yardage again this week.” “You’re right, Reggie. Michigan State is a good offensive team, but we shouldn’t be allowing over 400 yards total offense to anyone. Michigan State gained more yards rushing than we thought they would. William Gill is a very good back, but we’ll face a lot of good backs this season and we have to contain them. We did a better job defending against the pass, with the exception of their last possession.” “Bill from Selinsgrove is on the line with a question about John McKinney.” “Coach, what do you think was the biggest key to John McKinney’s success on Saturday?” “Hi, Bill. John has played well for us all year long, but he took a big step forward this week. He did a great job of spotting his second and third receivers when his first man was covered, and made very good decisions all afternoon long. Both his touchdown passes were good examples. Modesto Stark was open, and John spotted him both times.” “Coach, this is Chris from Media. What is our injury situation like for this week? I’m especially concerned about Miguel Gregory.” “Thanks for the question, Chris. Gregory’s bruised kidney will make him questionable for Saturday’s game. If he can’t play, Raymundo Parker will be starting in his place. That demonstrates how important it is to have good depth. Parker is a very good back and we can do a lot of things offensively with him in the game. “Wes Herring’s neck is much better, and he should be ready to go this week.” “Hi, Coach Rogers…this is Laura from Radnor. We have another tough road game this coming week against Minnesota. Are you going to try anything different defensively against them?” “Well, Laura, we don’t expect Minnesota to do anything other teams haven’t tried. We expect them to throw the ball a lot against us. They’ve got two fine quarterbacks in Johnson and Merrill, and they have two really good receivers in James Murphy and Rich House. At the same time, we can’t neglect their running game. Derrick Russell is a big, strong back who can pound the ball inside all day long.” “Coach Rogers, I’m Hank from Lancaster. Could you talk a little bit about the play of Steve Perry this year?” “Sure, Hank. Steve Perry is a tremendous leader and one of the best safeties I’ve ever seen. He had 11 tackles against Michigan State, and he saved a possible touchdown when he tipped the ball away from their wideout inside the 10. I don’t have to tell you that play might have won the game for us.” “Coach, there’s time for one more question. Larry from Tunkhannock wants to ask you about the big play our defense made on the two-point conversion attempt late in the game.” “Coach, we’re really proud of Milton Cole, who is from Tunkhannock. Could you discuss the play he made when Michigan State went for two after that last touchdown?” “Thanks for the call, Larry. I never mind talking about a great play like that. Cole simply overpowered their tackle and put a good, hard hit on William Gill. Milton wasn’t going to let them tie the score. He’s been a rock for us all year. If you have any more players like him out your way, please send them to us, ok?” “Fans, that’s it for the John Rogers Show. Remember to tune in next week, when we’ll have Coach Rogers here to talk about the Minnesota game, or anything else you’d like him to discuss about Nittany Lion football.” [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] #5 Michigan 34, Wisconsin 27 #19 Minnesota 35, #9 Purdue 17 #8 Ohio State 38, Indiana 6 Middle Tennessee State 35, Northwestern 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted June 15, 2006 Author Share Posted June 15, 2006 [b]Week 9, 2005 Penn State 30, #11 Minnesota 20[/b] [code] [b]1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Minnesota 0 14 6 0 20 Penn State 9 7 0 14 30[/b] [b]First Quarter[/b] PNST FG 10:44 3-0 Stephan Phillips 41 YD PNST FG 05:06 6-0 Stephan Phillips 25 YD PNST FG 00:37 9-0 Stephan Phillips 28 YD [b]Second Quarter[/b] MINN TD 11:15 9-7 James Murphy 41 YD Pass from James Johnson (Ronald Ramirez Kick). PNST TD 09:09 16-7 Miguel Gregory 4 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). MINN TD 02:33 16-14 James Murphy 16 YD Pass from James Johnson (Ronald Ramirez Kick). [b]Third Quarter[/b] MINN TD 06:26 20-16 Derrick Russell 5 YD Run (2 Pts Failed) [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] PNST TD 06:46 23-20 Miguel Gregory 5 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST TD 05:04 30-20 72 YD Int Return by Francis Taylor (Stephan Phillips Kick). [/code] It’s a beautiful, cool, sunny day, and with the window of my home office open, I can hear my children playing in the yard. I’m taking a quick look at some of the statistics from yesterday’s game, and reliving some of the best moments from what was easily the biggest victory of my short career as Penn State’s head football coach. Any win against a Big Ten opponent is an achievement. Winning on the road makes it even more significant, and defeating a ranked team adds that much more to its importance. It’s the way we won the game, however, that makes this victory so satisfying. Our defense, which has been much-maligned all season long, stepped up and contained one of the better offensive teams in the nation. We held Minnesota to under 300 total yards, only 77 on the ground. Lawrence Hill, our strong safety, played his best game of the season. He had 11 tackles, and was around the ball all day long. Francis Taylor picked off two passes, one of which I’ll tell you more about later. The entire defense played like they’ve been capable of doing all season long, and it felt great to see David Tanner finally getting some credit. The media was much kinder to him in today’s papers. The defense deservedly got much of the credit for our win, but the offense was clicking too. We controlled the ball for nearly 35 minutes, and gained nearly 500 total yards ourselves. John McKinney had another great game, throwing for 343 yards on 22-34 passing. Miguel Gregory bounced back strong, too. He would have had over 100 yards rushing if we hadn’t been so careful with him, but we aren’t taking any chances with that bruised kidney he has. It was great to let Gene Fowler have some carries in a meaningful situation. Gene’s a senior, he’s popular with his teammates, and he works hard. He picked up 65 yards on ten carries, and broke off a nice 33-yard run to set up a TD pass from McKinley to Gregory that gave us the lead in the fourth quarter. Albert Randle played one of the best games a Big Ten O-lineman has had all year. I haven’t analyzed the film carefully yet, but I remember three huge blocks he made on running plays. He “pancaked” four guys, according to the players, who keep pretty good track of things like that. And I really should mention Stephan Phillips, who put us on the scoreboard with field goals three times in the first quarter. Minnesota's defense did a good job of slowing down our drives early on, and Phillips made sure we came away with three points each time. Stephan has made 13 of 18 field goals this year; he's been money from 40 yards and in. Beaver Stadium was full, and the crowd really responded to our effort. They were making the stadium rock when Francis Taylor picked off a pass and took it all the way--72 yards--to ice the victory. The students didn’t want to leave until they had a chance to give the players a little love, and most of the players went over to the student section and visited the fans for a few minutes. I admit it; it felt good to have the fans cheering for me, too. I knew it would be tremendously difficult, taking a job that most of our fans can’t remember belonging to anyone other than Joe Paterno. You can’t replace a legend; you have to try your best to create your own legend, I suppose. I’m a long way from that point, but we are 5-2 now, and we’re 4-1 in the Big Ten. Ohio State and Michigan are still undefeated in conference play; Ohio State plays Minnesota next week, while Michigan has Purdue. Both Minnesota and Purdue are coming off losses, so the big boys will have their hands full. And, of course, they’ll play each other right before Thanksgiving. We won’t play another ranked team all season long, so it’s not inconceivable that we could finish 9-2 with only one conference loss. That would probably land us in a New Year’s Day bowl, and would help our recruiting efforts significantly. I’m going to enjoy the rest of the day with my family, and then it’s back to work tomorrow to make that pleasant forecast into reality. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] #6 Michigan 27, Illinois 9 #8 Ohio State 54, Northwestern 27 Notre Dame 27, #14 Purdue 21 Iowa 34, Michigan State 24 Wisconsin 31, Indiana 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted June 20, 2006 Author Share Posted June 20, 2006 [b]Week 10, 2005 #21 Penn State 24, Indiana 14[/b] [code] [B]1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Indiana 0 7 7 0 14 Penn State 3 7 14 0 24[/B] [b]First Quarter[/b] PNST FG 09:45 3-0 Stephan Phillips 39 YD [b]Second Quarter[/b] PNST TD 06:43 10-0 Jerry Hubbard 34 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). IND TD 02:23 10-7 James Woods 7 YD Run (Raymond Carlton Kick). [b]Third Quarter[/b] PNST TD 12:07 17-7 Raymundo Parker 37 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). IND TD 07:22 17-14 Dusty Sanchez 15 YD Pass from James Smith (Raymond Carlton Kick). PNST TD 05:50 24-14 James Virgil 59 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). [/code] It’s sometimes tough for a team that has just won a big game to focus on its next opponent, if the team they’re playing next is going through a tough year. Indiana came in this week with only two wins, but they’re still a Big Ten team, with some legit Big Ten talent. We continued to build on some of the things we’ve been doing better lately, and came away with another conference win. Our game plan emphasized the passing game, because the Hoosiers have had some problems defending the pass all year. John McKinney executed that game plan extremely well, and completed 27 of his 42 attempts for 368 yards and two TDs. Statistically, it was John’s best game of the season. He showed a real command of the offense, and he’s demonstrating outstanding leadership. In the first quarter, McKinney found Jerry Hubbard breaking free on a fly pattern, and John put it right in Jerry’s hands. He also connected with James Virgil on a 59-yard TD. That’s the second straight week that we’ve picked up big yardage on that play; last week Virgil got run down inside the 10 after a 63-yard gain, but this time he took it to the house himself. Miguel Gregory was hurting too much to play more than a few plays, but again, we had another back step up and play well. Raymundo Parker did another great job, with 20 carries for 82 yards, including a very nice 37-yard touchdown run in which he found a hole up the middle and broke a couple of tackles. Our defense allowed a few more yards on the ground than we would have liked, and we didn’t manage to put much pressure on Indiana’s quarterback. We tightened up when we had to, however, and held Indiana to 14 points. We missed Steve Perry, who didn’t play much because of a sore ankle, but Stephen Jones was a real force with 11 tackles. Jones has worked his way onto the Butkus Award watch list, and he ought to get some consideration for the All-Big Ten team. This was our last Big Ten home game of the season, as we finish the conference schedule with games at Northwestern and Illinois. Michigan won a big game at home against Purdue and Ohio State won up at Minnesota, so the top of the conference standings look the same. It’s going to be difficult to avoid some scoreboard-watching the next three weeks, but unless we take care of business ourselves, it won’t matter what Michigan and Ohio State do. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] Wisconsin 54, Illinois 21 Iowa 30, Northwestern 12 #6 Michigan 30, #19 Purdue 9 #12 Ohio State 37, Minnesota 27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted July 15, 2006 Author Share Posted July 15, 2006 [b]Week 11, 2005 #17 Penn State 26, Northwestern 6[/b] [code] [b]1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Penn State 0 17 9 0 26 Northwestern 0 0 0 6 6[/b] [b]First Quarter[/b] No scoring. [b]Second Quarter[/b] PNST TD 13:40 7-0 Alton Gibbs 27 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST TD 10:17 14-0 Jerry Hubbard 43 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST FG 00:30 17-0 Stephan Phillips 39 YD [b]Third Quarter[/b] PNST FG 11:20 20-0 Stephan Phillips 33 YD PNST FG 08:12 23-0 Stephan Phillips 29 YD PNST FG 00:46 26-0 Stephan Phillips 28 YD [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] NW FG 10:09 26-3 Jonathan Shaffer 52 YD NW FG 04:16 26-6 Jonathan Shaffer 32 YD [/code] If you had walked into our locker room after this week’s game, you might not have been able to tell that we’d won. Nobody felt much like celebrating, not after what happened to Albert Randle. On a running play during the third quarter, Albert caught a knee in the small of his back and felt something pop. Wisely, he stayed down, and didn’t try to move. As it turned out, he cracked a vertebra in his lower back, and he will be out for the remainder of the season. Since he is a senior, Albert has therefore played his last down of football as a Nittany Lion. Albert is still in the hospital in Evanston, and he’ll probably remain there for at least another week. His parents had flown out from their home in Delaware for the game, so they were already there; I had a chance to speak with them before we left for home. Fortunately, Albert hasn’t suffered any paralysis, and his doctors don’t think he’ll have any problems returning to “normal activity.” None of them are willing to speculate about whether or not that “normal activity” involves football, however. Albert was considered an excellent NFL prospect, with great size (6’4”, 336) and tremendous strength. He hasn’t allowed a sack all year, and is on the watch list for the Lombardi Award. Albert is a quiet young man, but his teammates have a tremendous amount of respect for him, and they will miss his leadership on the field.With him out of the lineup, we’ll move Tom McCormick to left tackle, and Tom Montoya will start on the right side. Until Albert’s injury, it had been a very enjoyable afternoon. We took good care of the football; we didn’t turn it over once, and we forced three turnovers of our own. We were ahead 26-0 at the end of the third quarter, on two TD passes by John McKinney and four field goals by Stephan Phillips. We didn’t move the ball as well as I would have liked, especially on the ground; Miguel Gregory still isn’t completely healthy, and this week Raymundo Parker and Gene Fowler weren’t nearly as productive. We gave George Drummond, our fourth-string tailback, a few carries, but he didn’t impress us much, either. We looked a whole lot better when Northwestern had the ball. I’m very pleased with the way we pressured their quarterback; while we only got one sack—by DT Larry Dupont—several players got in the passer’s face and made him hurry his throws. Our outside linebackers, Steve Jones and John Becker, looked good in our blitz packages. Our big defensive end, Milton Cole, was named the player of the game, and he deserved it. He had six tackles and forced FOUR fumbles, one of which he picked up and returned 37 yards. Milt looked really good running the ball. He was a fantastic tight end in high school, and he told me later he had always hoped he’d get a chance to carry the ball for the Nittany Lions at some point. Here are the latest Big Ten standings: [code] [b]Conference Overall W-L PF PA W-L PF PA Streak Home Road[/b] 1 Ohio State 6-0 215 111 9-1 345 173 W9 6-1 3-0 2 Michigan 7-0 220 106 9-1 334 163 W7 6-0 3-1 3 Penn State 6-1 183 121 7-2 241 172 W5 4-1 3-1 4 Minnesota 4-3 220 156 7-3 304 193 W1 5-2 2-1 5 Iowa 4-3 217 178 5-4 257 215 L-1 3-0 2-4 6 Michigan State 3-4 166 175 6-4 257 225 W1 5-1 1-3 7 Wisconsin 3-4 204 188 5-5 334 240 W2 2-2 3-3 8 Indiana 2-5 100 211 2-8 145 299 L-4 1-5 1-3 9 Purdue 2-5 149 184 4-6 243 249 L-5 2-3 2-3 10 Illinois 0-6 75 213 1-8 131 312 L-7 0-3 1-5 11 Northwestern 0-6 96 202 0-9 115 321 L-9 0-6 0-3 [/code] As you can see, while our defense has given up a lot of yardage at times, we’ve done a very good job of keeping teams off the scoreboard. Ohio State and Michigan are clearly the class of the conference, but we’re not far behind them. And here is the latest Top 25 poll from the media: [code] [b]Record PTS 25 SOS LW[/b] 1. Florida State ACC 9-0 (7-0) 1612 2-0 34 1 2. Miami ACC 9-1 (6-1) 1549 0-1 50 3 3. Oklahoma B12 8-1 (5-1) 1485 2-1 23 6 4. Ole Miss SEC 8-1 (5-1) 1415 3-0 39 7 5. Michigan B10 9-1 (7-0) 1349 1-0 52 4 6. Florida SEC 7-2 (5-2) 1269 1-1 15 2 7. Oklahoma State B12 8-1 (5-1) 1196 2-0 37 5 8. Ohio State B10 9-1 (6-0) 1126 2-0 74 8 9. Washington Pac10 8-1 (6-0) 1048 0-1 44 9 10. Nebraska B12 8-2 (5-2) 990 4-1 21 11 11. Texas B12 7-2 (4-2) 905 2-2 4 10 12. Texas A&M B12 8-1 (5-1) 843 2-1 38 13 13. Georgia SEC 7-2 (5-2) 796 1-2 56 12 14. Alabama SEC 8-1 (6-0) 756 0-1 13 14 15. Wash State Pac10 8-1 (5-1) 708 1-0 67 16 16. Pittsburgh BigE 9-1 (5-1) 655 0-0 113 15 17. Minnesota B10 7-3 (4-3) 601 0-3 85 18 18. Penn State B10 7-2 (6-1) 515 1-2 64 17 19. Fresno State WAC 9-0 (7-0) 474 0-0 116 24 20. Arizona State Pac10 6-3 (3-3) 400 0-1 47 23 21. Brigham Young MWC 8-1 (5-1) 356 0-0 79 30 22. Utah MWC 7-1 (5-1) 289 0-0 78 27 23. Kansas State B12 7-3 (4-3) 223 1-3 30 22 24. Colorado B12 6-4 (3-4) 161 0-3 42 19 25. Auburn SEC 6-3 (4-2) 98 0-2 35 20 Others receiving votes Missouri 70, USC 41, West Virginia 41, Notre Dame 41, Clemson 36, Tennessee 36, LSU 32, California 29, Purdue 28, Arizona 24, Texas Tech 24, Virginia 21, Michigan State 20, Kentucky 20, Iowa State 18, Arkansas 16, North Carolina 16, Georgia Tech 11, Iowa 8, Wisconsin 3 Dropped out of the Top 25 Missouri (21), USC (25) [/code] Ole Miss’ 31-24 victory at Florida this week shook the top of the poll up a little bit. I guess the writers were more impressed with Minnesota’s 49-30 win over Iowa than they were with our victory over a winless Northwestern team, and I don’t guess I blame them there. We’re going out to Illinois next week for our final Big Ten game of the season. With seven wins, we should be invited to a bowl, and if we beat Illinois, the invitation we get might be a better one. After what happened to Albert Randle, we could all use something to smile about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted July 15, 2006 Author Share Posted July 15, 2006 [b]Week 12, 2005 #18 Penn State 17, Illinois 10[/b] [code] [b] 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Penn State 0 3 7 7 17 Illinois 0 0 0 10 10[/b] [b]First Quarter:[/b] No scoring. [b]Second Quarter[/b] PNST FG 05:01 3-0 Stephan Phillips 22 YD [b]Third Quarter[/b] PNST TD 09:17 10-0 80 YD Fumble Return by Steve Perry (Stephan Phillips Kick). [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] ILL FG 03:23 10-3 Jackie Smith 31 YD ILL TD 01:25 10-10 Keith Campbell 16 YD Run (Jackie Smith Kick). PNST TD 00:06 17-10 73 YD Punt Return by Alphonso Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). [b]Penn State Individual Statistical Leaders:[/b] [b]PASSING:[/b] John McKinney 17-31, 163, 2int. [b]RUSHING:[/b] Miguel Gregory 21-75, Danny Delgado 5-12, Raymundo Parker 4-3, John McKinney 1-0. [b]RECEIVING:[/b] Randy Culpepper 6-57, Jerry Hubbard 3-46, Miguel Gregory 4-28, Alton Gibbs 3-10, Modesto Stark 1-9, Danny Delgado 1-7 [b]KEY RUN BLOCKS:[/b] Tom McCormick 2, Clark Hill 1. [b]PANCAKES:[/b] Tom McCormick 2, Modesto Stark 1. [b]TACKLES/[/b] Stephen Jones 14, John Becker 5, Lawrence Hill 5, Larry Dupont 4. [b]SACKS:[/b] Larry Dupont 1. [b]STUFFS:[/b] Stephen Jones 3, Steve Perry 1, Larry Dupont 1. [b]HURRIES:[/b] Stephen Jones 3, John Becker 1, William Gross 1, Milton Cole 1. [/code] What a week! Our hearts and minds were with Albert Randle all week long, and as a result, I don’t think playing football was as high a priority as it would otherwise have been for any of us. We were outplayed by an Illinois team that has won only one game this season, and we won because of two big plays that we can’t count on being there for us week after week. Albert is doing better, and he’s come back to Penn State. He’s in the hospital here, and I believe every member of the Penn State family has been to see him at least once. My kids made cards for him, and they really seemed to cheer him up. Caitlin’s had a huge Penn State player wearing #76, Albert’s number, scaring a half-dozen Illinois players so much they cowered in fear on their sideline. I wish the game had actually gone that well for us. The Illini outgained us on the ground, 200-57; they outgained us in the air, 228-163. We had a tough time moving the ball without Randle, against a defense that hadn’t stopped anyone all year long. Our offense didn’t score a point all day, so it’s a good thing our defense and special teams managed to find the end zone Our defense had a tough time containing their quarterback, Kevin Campbell, who rushed for 120 yards. We pressured him into some bad throws, especially on their final possession when we forced them to kick the ball away to us. Stephen Jones played a terrific game, and Lawrence Hill and Steve Perry combined on a game-changing play in the third quarter. Campbell completed a long pass to Edgar Rowland, and Hill just blasted him. Rowland, who is a tremendous receiver, fumbled the ball, and it bounced right to Perry. Steve took it 80 yards for a touchdown . Our special teams play literally saved the game. George Drummond blocked a field goal late in the first quarter, and we pressured their kicker into missing an easy one right before halftime. And, of course, our punt return team deserves a lot of praise for the way they stepped up at the end of the game. The blockers did their jobs, and Alphonso Collins took care of the rest. He’s done a great job as a punt returner all season long, and he’s third in the Big Ten with a 14.4 average. Our less-than-impressive victory cost us two spots in the media poll, but more importantly, it kept us in third place in the Big Ten. We finished our conference schedule with a 7-1 record, and I’m very pleased with that outcome in my first year as a head coach. Michigan had an off-week, and has one more coming before their big game at Ohio State. The Buckeyes won, so they’re tied with Michigan at 7-0, and one of them will end up tied with us after they play. Now that 32-30 loss to Ohio State hurts just a little bit more. Next week, we play Arkansas State, out of the Sun Belt Conference. They’re 5-5, and they have some very good athletes. It will be our Senior Day game, and we’re all hoping Albert will be able to join us on the field. He’ll be with us in spirit, at the very least. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] #18 Minnesota 33, Northwestern 28 #5 Ohio State 33, Iowa 14 Michigan State 20, Northwestern 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted July 24, 2006 Author Share Posted July 24, 2006 Senior pride [b]Week 13, 2005 #20 Penn State 31, Arkansas State 21[/b] [code] [B]1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Arkansas St. 7 7 7 0 21 Penn State 7 10 14 0 31 First Quarter[/B] ARKS TD 07:42 7-0 Michael Williams 12 YD Run (Andrew Jones Kick). PNST TD 05:27 7-7 Miguel Gregory 2 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). [B]Second Quarter[/B] PNST FG 07:41 10-7 Stephan Phillips 22 YD ARKS TD 05:17 14-10 Mario Santos 17 YD Pass from Edward Watson (Andrew Jones Kick). PNST TD 00:52 17-14 Miguel Gregory 3 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). [B]Third Quarter[/B] PNST TD 12:15 24-14 Gene Fowler 5 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST TD 02:01 31-14 Randy Culpepper 9 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). ARKS TD 00:59 31-21 Phillip Picard 72 YD Pass from Edward Watson (Andrew Jones Kick). [B]Fourth Quarter[/b] No scoring. [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] John McKinney 21-33, 212, 3 TD, 1 int. [b]Rushing:[/b] Miguel Gregory 14-113-1, Gene Fowler 18-80, Randy Culpepper 1-9, Franklin Ballard 2-1. [b]Receiving:[/b] Alton Gibbs 8-89, Randy Culpepper 7-84-1, Gene Fowler 2-14-1, Miguel Gregory 2-14-1, Modesto Stark 2-11, Jerry Hubbard 1-0. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Tom McCormick 4, Tom Montoya 1, Chris Silverman 1. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Tom McCormick 3. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 1-1 FG, 4-4 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 5-44.6. [b]Kick Returns:[/b] Eugene Nichols 2-66.5, James Pollack 1-27. [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 4-13.2. [b]Sacks:[/b] Steve Perry 1, John James 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Steve Perry 1-0. [b]Tackles:[/b] Steve Perry 8, Leonard Hill 8, William Gross 7, Stephen Jones 6, John Becker 4, Francis Taylor 3, Milton Cole 2, Daniel Jackson 2. [b]Stuffs:[/b] Steve Perry 1, Leonard Hill 1, Stephen Jones 1. [b]Hurries:[/b] Milton Cole 4, Jerry Magee 1, John James 1. [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Steve Perry 2, Francis Taylor 2, William Gross 1, Leonard Hill 1, Stephen Jones 1, John Becker 1. [/code] Senior Day is one of my favorite things about Penn State. There’s always a big crowd, and no matter how the season might have gone so far, the fans invariably express their appreciation for our seniors in a very heartwarming fashion. We usually have a number of recruits on campus this week, too, and I think several of the guys we’re most interested in bringing to Penn State were very interested. I’ll say much more about recruiting during the off-season, when I don’t have any on-the-field action to report. This year, I decided to create a new tradition at Penn State by allowing each of our ten healthy seniors to start the game on offense or defense. Four of our seniors, therefore, got their first collegiate starts: Paul James at wide receiver, William Grossman at defensive end, and Elliott Allen and Charles Strickland at linebacker. They’ve all worked hard during their years at Penn State, and none of them have received a lot of playing time. Strickland and Allen are also excellent students; Strickland is applying to law schools, while Allen plans to teach and coach at the high school level. If they never did one thing to help us win a football game, they’d still be men in which this university should take great pride. The most emotional moment of the afternoon came when Albert Randle walked out on the field with his parents. He was moving slowly, but he was walking without assistance, and the crowd gave him a standing ovation while he waved to them. Albert’s prognosis is improving, but his doctors haven’t said anything about football yet. Arkansas State proved to be a tough opponent. Their play-calling was superb; they caught us off guard on several occasions by running plays from formations we hadn’t seen. Again, we allowed a few too many yards (404), and we relied on big plays to save us too often. Fortunately, Steve Perry had a day full of big plays. In his final game at Beaver Stadium, Steve was all over the field—making tackles, pressuring and sacking the quarterback, knocking down passes and intercepting one of them. Several professional teams are very interested in Steve, and it looks like he has a good chance to be drafted in the first three or four rounds of the NFL draft. Two more seniors deserve mention for their outstanding play this week. Tom McCormick was a force on our O-line, and Gene Fowler gained 80 yards on 18 carries, both career highs. Gene also caught a TD pass from John McKinney. We completed our regular season, and with nine wins, we know we’re going to be invited to a bowl game. We’ll take it easier this week, and I’m sure most of us will be watching the Michigan-Ohio State game. It will decide the Big Ten championship, and regardless of the outcome, we’ll finish third in the conference. That’s not bad for a team that was picked to finish eighth, is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted July 29, 2006 Author Share Posted July 29, 2006 [b]Week 16, 2005[/b] The past three weeks have been very busy ones, since we know we’ll be playing in a bowl game next month. The media has been very complimentary of the job we’ve done at Penn State this season; we met or exceeded most people’s expectations and quieted, at least for now, the doubters who believed that Coach Paterno’s retirement meant the end of Penn State football. We’ve received lots of news regarding awards recently. The choice of Dan Hamilton, the Alabama quarterback, for the Heisman Trophy didn’t surprise anyone. He threw for over 3800 yards and 37 touchdowns, and led the Crimson Tide to the SEC championship and a spot in a GDS bowl. They say Hamilton’s six feet tall, but I sincerely doubt that’s the case. They also say that he’s likely to fall victim to the “Heisman jinx” and never amount to much in the NFL because of his size, but in his case, I think they’ll be wrong. We were disappointed to learn that none of our players earned All-American honors; I believe had Albert Randle not been injured, he would have made a fine All-American tackle. There was, however, a very good Penn State presence on the All-Big Ten teams. Tom McCormick and Francis Taylor made the first team at offensive tackle and cornerback, respectively. The second team defense was full of Nittany Lions, with DE Milt Cole, LB Stephen Jones, and FS Steve Perry all earning that distinction. QB John McKinney, DT Larry Dupont, and SS Lawrence Hill made the third team, and so did Albert Randle, in spite of his truncated season. Scott Benson, the AD, informed me yesterday that the players who had been on academic suspensions are cleared to play in our bowl game. I have half a mind not to take some of them to the bowl, because I’m so frustrated by the situation. Roy Thompson, for example. We chose not to redshirt him this year, and he started two games for us as a true freshman. Then, he fails to take his academics seriously, and winds up academically ineligible. His season was almost completely wasted! Even worse, it’s likely that John McKinney isn’t going to finish the semester with a 2.0. Because he won’t have his official grades until after the bowl game, he’ll remain eligible, but he and I have already had a very serious discussion about the matter. On the other hand, there’s George Harris, who has busted his tail for three semesters here, and fell just short of that magic 2.0 GPA. He was in tears when he learned he’d be ineligible; he’s dreamed of playing for Penn State since he was a boy, because his uncle played here in the 1970s. George is from a tough neighborhood in Washington, D.C., so his educational preparation was inconsistent, at best. Lauren Hardwick, one of our educational support staff, noticed some things about George’s academic work, and recommended that he be tested for dyslexia. It turns out that George is dyslexic, and now he’s receiving some extra assistance. Kristin, the kids, and I had a chance to spend a wonderful weekend together. We went down to Longwood Gardens, not far from Philadelphia, to see the Christmas light display. It’s one of our favorite things to do, and the kids were worried that since Daddy’s the head coach now, we wouldn’t have time for the trip. I’m never going to let myself become so absorbed in my job that I forget about my family; the times I’ve been most miserable as a coach have been the times I’ve let coaching swallow up everything in my life. Without a sense of balance, I can’t function nearly as well, as a father, a husband, or a coach. I’ll have to remind myself of that over the next few weeks, with our bowl game coming up, and then the demands of recruiting season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted August 2, 2006 Author Share Posted August 2, 2006 [b]Week 17, 2005[/b] We’ve known for several weeks now that we’d be playing in a bowl game, and this week we learned where we’re going and whom our opponent will be. We accepted an invitation to the Outback Bowl in Tampa, and we’ll play the Georgia Bulldogs. They’re a very tough and talented team, ranked #18 in the nation. The bowl organizers think they’ve come up with a great matchup between two evenly-matched teams. Most “experts” consider Georgia a slight favorite, but our players enjoy being the underdog, and the “expert” prediction is motivating our players to work hard in practice. Georgia’s record is 8-3, with losses to SEC opponents Mississippi and Auburn. The Bulldogs lost their last game of the season to their arch-rival, Georgia Tech, on a Tech touchdown with five seconds left in the game. They have a very dynamic coach, Spencer Wilson, who’s just a few years older than I am. I’m sure Coach Wilson will have done a few things to put his team in the mood to erase the memories of their heartbreaking loss to Georgia Tech. We’ve spend a lot of time the last few days looking at game films, and I’m very impressed with Georgia’s offense. The Bulldogs are ranked tenth in the nation in total yardage, and they’ll give our defense one of the sternest tests it’s faced all season. Their running back, Roy Teel, made first team All-SEC and second team All-American. Teel averages almost 150 yards a game rushing, and he’s scored 17 touchdowns. He’s a compact back with sprinter’s speed, and he’s a dangerous receiver, too. We can’t concentrate too much on stopping Teel, because they have another weapon who might be even more dangerous. Michael Swanson is a first team All-American wideout who has caught 63 passes for almost 1100 yards. Swanson, like Teel, has serious speed—the kind nobody on our team can match. Their other wide receiver, Alfred Nicholas, is just about as fast. We haven’t seen a team this fast all year, not even Ohio State. Their quarterback, Mike Renner, has many of the same qualities as our John McKinney. Renner’s arm might be just a little stronger, but McKinney is more mobile. We’re going to tweak our blitz package between now and the bowl game, in an attempt to give Renner a few things to worry about that he won’t have seen on our game films. Their offensive line is very solid, and they have an All-American tackle in Mike Tyson. We have spotted one matchup that’s very favorable for us, however. I think their right guard, Harold Key, will have his hands more than full with our left defensive tackle, Larry Dupont. Key has allowed twelve sacks this year, and he’ll need some help keeping Dupont out of their backfield. Our defense has allowed teams to move the ball all year long, but we’ve done a very good job of keeping points off the scoreboard. Our defense ranks 96th among D-1 teams in yardage allowed, but when you look at POINTS allowed, we jump to 19th. The last time I checked, the winner of a football game is the team that scores the most points, not the team that gains the most yards. The Georgia defense can be exploited, especially on the ground, and they haven’t managed to put much pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Their team total of 16 sacks is the lowest among Division I teams. I probably shouldn’t say much about that, since we have only 17 sacks ourselves—but we’ve done a much better job of hurrying passers and disrupting their rhythm. Their best defensive player is linebacker Jermaine Gardner. He’s always around the ball, and he’s a deadly tackler. He’s an every-down linebacker because he drops back into pass coverage very well. Their best pass rusher is defensive end John Hanna, and Tom Montoya, our right tackle, will have the primary responsibility for keeping him under control. Their secondary isn’t spectacular, especially if their free safety, Michael Cooper, isn’t healthy by the bowl. Our offensive coordinator, Lance Rash, and I are preparing a fairly aggressive game plan that will hopefully keep their defense guessing all day long. Our defense has done a much better job of keeping opponents off the scoreboard than Georgia’s has, despite the fact that we’ve allowed teams to move the ball on us so freely. On the other hand, Georgia is averaging thirty points a game, so they’re very used to putting the ball in the end zone. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a high-scoring game, one that might turn on a big play or two. We have taken pride all season long in the fact that we don’t give the football away, and we’ve been very opportunistic when it comes to creating turnovers. Our turnover margin is +11, which ranks us ninth in the country. If we can force Georgia into a few mistakes while minimizing our own, I really like our chances against them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted August 7, 2006 Author Share Posted August 7, 2006 [b]Week 20, 2005 Outback Bowl #20 Penn State 45, #18 Georgia 29[/b] [code] [b]1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q Georgia 10 7 6 6 29 Penn State 16 9 17 3 45 First Quarter[/b] UGA TD 12:45 7-0 Michael Swanson 36 YD Pass from Michael Renner (Noah Lewis Kick). PNST SAF 10:15 7-2 John Becker stuffed Michael Renner in the end zone for a safety. UGA FG 06:31 10-2 Noah Lewis 28 YD PNST TD 04:48 10-9 59 YD Int Return by Lawrence Hill (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST TD 01:54 16-10 Miguel Gregory 1 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). [b]Second Quarter[/b] PNST TD 10:03 23-10 James Virgil 3 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). UGA TD 02:23 23-17 Roy Teel 1 YD Run (Noah Lewis Kick). PNST SAF 00:05 25-17 Lawrence Hill stuffed Charles Macias in the end zone for a safety. [b]Third Quarter[/b] PNST TD 10:40 32-17 Alton Gibbs 3 YD Pass from John McKinney (Stephan Phillips Kick). UGA TD 08:50 32-23 Christopher Trujillo 48 YD Pass from Michael Renner (2 Pts Failed) PNST FG 04:56 35-23 Stephan Phillips 40 YD PNST TD 01:47 42-23 78 YD Int Return by Daniel Jackson (Stephan Phillips Kick). [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] PNST FG 00:46 45-23 Stephan Phillips 48 YD UGA TD 00:16 45-29 Michael Swanson 80 YD Pass from Michael Renner (2 Pts Failed) [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] John McKinney 23-40, 270, 2 TD. [b]Rushing:[/b] Miguel Gregory 22-108, Gene Fowler 7-25, Randy Culpepper 1-9. [b]Receiving:[/b] Randy Culpepper 5-130, Alton Gibbs 5-60-1, Jerry Hubbard 3-36, James Virgil 6-28-1, Gene Fowler 2-8, Miguel Gregory 2-8. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Tom McCormick 3. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Tom McCormick 2. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 2-2 FG, 5-5 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 6-41.5. [b]Kick Returns:[/b] Eugene Nichols 3-20.0. [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 4-10.2. [b]Sacks:[/b] Stephen Jones 2, John Becker 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Steve Perry 2- -2, Daniel Jackson 1-78-1, Lawrence Hill 1-59-1. [b]Tackles:[/b] John Becker 8, Stephen Jones 7, Lawrence Hill 6, Steve Perry 5, George Harris 2, Francis Taylor 2, William Gross 2, 8 players with 1. [b]Stuffs:[/b] John Becker 2, Lawrence Hill 1, Stephen Jones 1, George Harris 1, William Gross 1. [b]Hurries:[/b] Jerry Magee 1, Milton Cole 1. [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Francis Taylor 2, Daniel Jackson 2, Alphonso Collins 2, John Becker 2, William Gross 1. [/code] The phone has only recently stopped ringing, and the emails are still filling my inbox. I’m tired; no, make that exhausted! It’s a good exhaustion, though. I’m discovering what it’s like to coach a team to a victory in a bowl game. It wasn’t the prettiest, or the easiest victory I’ve experienced as a coach, but it’s in the books. We fumbled the ball away twice, but we intercepted four passes. Once again, our defense allowed an opponent to move the ball, and like the other high-powered offensive teams we faced this year—Ohio State and Nebraska—Georgia managed to score touchdowns, too. We made some of the big plays that characterized our season, however, and scored more points than we have all season long. Our defense put quite a few points on the scoreboard itself, with two touchdowns and two safeties. Those 16 points, in fact, exactly equal our margin of victory. The pace of the game was frenetic, and it seemed like there was almost always someone racing down the field for a touchdown. There were FIVE scoring plays of at least 35 yards, and we set up one of our other touchdowns with a 66-yard bomb from John McKinney to Randy Culpepper. It made for a very exciting game for the fans, who filled up Raymond James Stadium. John Becker was all over the field, disrupting the flow of their offense and making key tackles. I was particularly impressed with the way he dropped back into pass coverage. We’ll have John for two more years, I hope, and over that time I can easily see him developing into one of the best linebackers in the nation. I was also thrilled to see Steve Perry play so well in his final collegiate game. He has been a tremendous leader for us, and I’m looking forward to seeing him play in the NFL next year. He won’t be the only senior from this year’s team who will be playing football for a living. I think Tom McCormick and Larry Dupont will be drafted fairly high, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Alton Gibbs’ name on a draft list, either. If Albert Randle’s health continues to improve, I’m sure an NFL team will take a chance on him. After all the public appearances and interviews that are always part of winning a bowl game, my staff and I will be devoting almost all our football-related attentions to recruiting. In the next few weeks, I’ll be introducing you to some of the players we’re hoping to bring to Penn State next season. For now, I’m going to relax and watch a few more bowl games. Two of the teams who beat us this year, Ohio State and Nebraska, are playing in GDCS bowls, and the national championship game, the Rose Bowl, will feature Oklahoma State and Miami. It’s not always easy for me to watch a game like a fan, but I’ll give it my best shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted August 7, 2006 Author Share Posted August 7, 2006 [b]Offseason Week 1, 2006[/b] I sat down with our athletic director, Scott Benson, to talk about my first season on the job. Scott likes to give us coaches “report cards,” which rubs some people the wrong way. I don’t mind it, though, especially since my grades this season turned out good! Our program received a B for Team Performance, which seemed about right to me. We went 10-2, losing to two ranked teams by seven and two points, respectively. We also received a B for our overall Talent level, and again, that’s what I’d have given our team, too. We were a step slower and a bit less athletic than the very best teams in the nation. In every other category, Scott gave us an A: Recruiting, Board Expectations, and Prestige. He felt like we did an excellent job building for the future with last year’s recruiting class. The board had “requested” a Top 20 ranking, and we delivered it. They were thrilled by the fact that we finished third in the Big Ten, tool. Consequently, our program’s prestige continues to rise. Our overall grade was an A, which put a big smile on my face. Just as importantly, Coach Paterno is very pleased with the job I did. I find myself constantly asking myself how he would handle the situations I face as a head coach, and I’m flattered that my performance has met with his approval. Scott was very happy to let me know that the football budget has been raised $125,000 from last year, giving us a total of $2,275,000 to spend. Our weekly recruiting budget will be $69,000, which should be enough to keep us in the running for the most talented players in the nation. Ten different schools offered me the opportunity to coach their football teams, but I’m not interested in leaving Penn State. This is where I played; this is where I coached; this is where I want to stay. The fact that Penn State is paying me $1,975,000 only makes the situation that much sweeter for me. The only news I received all week that could be considered potentially negative for our program was the revelation that two of our players are considering leaving early for the NFL draft. I’m honestly not surprised that Stephen Jones is thinking about the NFL, but I’m a little perplexed by John McKinney’s interest in passing up his senior year. I think with one more year’s worth of development, John will be a very good NFL quarterback, but I’m afraid he’ll be making a mistake if he leaves early. I left Scott’s office feeling like I was walking on air, and came home to surprise Kristin and the kids with a dinner out at our favorite Italian restaurant. I’m pumped about the recruiting season, and right now I’m thinking life is just about as good as it gets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 Here are Penn State's 2005 statistics. The headings say "2006" because I didn't figure out a way to post them here until I'd advanced to the offseasion, but they do represent the season just completed by the Nittany Lions. [code] Bowl Bound - 2006 Penn State Nittany Lions Stats Penn StatePlayer Stats Links: | Attributes | Depth Chart | Off/Def Ratings | Overview | Roster | Special Teams Ratings | Stats | 2006 Passing Stats #POSNAMEGATTCMPCMP%YDSYDS/ATTTDINTLGGPBPSACKRATING 11QBJohn McKinney1240624059.1%30237.4231066161432135.4 20QBBobby Burton22150.0%2010.00020000134.0 2006 Rushing Stats #POSNAMEGRUSHYDSYPGYPCTDLGCRMHFUMFLOST 30RBMiguel Gregory122099910.04.747442152 38RBGene Fowler7512210.04.330331022 31RBRaymundo Parker8672160.03.221370231 42FBDaniel Delgado1022880.04.000180000 86WRAlton Gibbs128440.05.500200021 45FBFranklin Ballard68340.04.250240000 80WRRandy Culpepper128310.03.880100022 41RBGeorge Drummond1470.01.75030000 11QBJohn McKinney121630.00.19040021 20QBBobby Burton2100.00.00000000 2006 Receiving Stats #POSNAMEGATTRECYDSYPGYPCYACTDLGGCDPDP%IR 80WRRandy Culpepper12113608960.014.9286266443.53 86WRAlton Gibbs12148707800.011.1270448464.13 84WRJerry Hubbard1047294040.013.977353436.42 30RBMiguel Gregory1240293120.010.8199550037.50 82TEJames Virgil523162590.016.277363100.00 83TEModesto Stark1029171690.09.944332000.01 42FBDaniel Delgado1087760.010.940218000.00 31RBRaymundo Parker864510.012.828021000.00 38RBGene Fowler786330.05.52719000.00 45FBFranklin Ballard622290.014.517020000.00 88WRTheodore Dick362280.014.040250350.00 89WRPaul James21000.00.0000000.00 2006 Offensive Line Stats #POSNAMEGRBPNKSAHOLDFALSEMISSBL 71OTThomas McCormick1220202411 76OTAlbert Randle913170400 62OGChris Sandoval92171011 51CClark Hill6108007 52CWesley Herring8123114 66OGChris Silverman11117114 70OTTom Montoya3103003 42FBDaniel Delgado10100001 69OGFrank Smith6032112 82TEJames Virgil5000202 83TEModesto Stark10010019 45FBFranklin Ballard6000005 2006 Kicking Stats #POSNAMEGXPFG 1-29FG 30-39FG 40-49FG 50+FG%LONGPOINTS 19KStephan Phillips1232-359-108-104-70-272.4%%4895 2006 Punting Stats #POSNAMEGPUNTSAVGNETTBIN20LONG 05PPhilip Redd127441.232.79456 19KStephan Phillips1200.00.0000 2006 Kick Return Stats #POSNAMEGRETYDSAVGLONGTD 44FSEugene Nichols1231109035.2991 81WRJames Pollack335518.3270 96DTJerry Magee912525.0250 31RBRaymundo Parker823216.0180 40FBTodd Price211717.0170 43ILBCharles Strickland311414.0140 2006 Punt Return Stats #POSNAMEGRETYDSAVGLONGTD 86WRAlton Gibbs12263.040 27CBAlphonso Collins123751113.8731 2006 Defensive Stats #POSNAMEGTAKSOLOASTSACKSTFHURDPPDINTDEF TDMISSTAKOOPBPA 54OLBStephen Jones121078027691301100203 32FSSteve Perry128551341400671025 23SSLawrence Hill128347360300341415 50OLBJohn Becker116444202340500314 53ILBWilliam Gross126340230511300500 26CBFrancis Taylor1247272001002041111 97DEMilton Cole123030043123000000 90DTLarry Dupont12241774279000080 37CBDaniel Jackson9191360200722930 27CBAlphonso Collins12178900001010740 59OLBGeorge Harris310730100000000 96DTJerry Magee9101001260010020 48FSGabriel Kidd67250000000305 44FSEugene Nichols126510000000503 95DEWilliam Grossman95411110000410 21SSRichard Phillips24310000100102 39CBRoy Thompson54310000200013 94DTJohn James62201012000300 93DEAgustin George42200020000010 43ILBCharles Strickland31010000000100 40FBTodd Price21100000000000 25CBRamon Harris10000000000001 56OLBElliott Allen20000000000100 [/code] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted August 9, 2006 Author Share Posted August 9, 2006 This is the team overview from 2005, which contains game scores, final rankings, and team statistics. [code] Bowl Bound - 2006 Penn State Nittany Lions Overview Penn StateTeam Overview Links: | Attributes | Depth Chart | Off/Def Ratings | Overview | Roster | Special Teams Ratings | Stats | Team Info RECORDCOACH POLLMEDIA POLLRECRUIT CLASSPRESTIGESTRENGTH OFCONF PROJ 10-214th16th24thHigh (73)59th8th Place Team Schedule WEEKOPPONENTSCORE 1OPEN- 2at #13 NebraskaL 30-23 3Western MichiganW 35-21 4OPEN- 5WisconsinW 31-24 6#11 Ohio StateL 32-30 7at PurdueW 18-3 8at Michigan StateW 24-22 9#14 MinnesotaW 30-20 10IndianaW 24-14 11at NorthwesternW 26-6 12at IllinoisW 17-10 13Arkansas StateW 31-21 14OPEN- 15OPEN- Big Ten Standings TEAMW-LCONF W-LPFPA Ohio State11-28-0426230 Michigan9-37-1395239 Penn State10-27-1334232 Minnesota9-35-3357238 Michigan State8-44-4307262 Iowa5-64-4291278 Purdue5-63-5256259 Wisconsin5-63-5362273 Indiana2-92-6155312 Illinois2-91-7154339 Northwestern0-110-8135354 Team Injury Report POSNAMEINJURYSTATUS Team Stats OFFENSEDEFENSE Points Per Game27.8 (#27)19.3 (#21) Total Yards Per Game372.4 (#66)413.3 (#98) Rushing Attempts426 (#63)404 (#17) Rushing Yards Per Game118.8 (#89)132.7 (#48) Rushing YPC3.3 (#90)3.9 (#80) Passing Attempts408 (#27)448 (#115) Passing Yards Per Game253.6 (#44)280.7 (#108) Passing Completion %59.1 (#22)48.7 (#8) Turnover Margin-13.0 (#111)- [/code] I'm positive the turnover margin statistic is reversed. If you look at the individual statistics, you'll see that the Nittany Lions rarely turned the ball over, and that they were very aggressive when it came to taking the ball away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted August 26, 2006 Author Share Posted August 26, 2006 [b]Offseason Week 8, 2006[/b] The past few weeks have been busy ones for the Penn State football program, as our attentions are clearly focused on the 2006 season that lies ahead. The first headlines of the new season came shortly after my meeting with Scott Benson. Our offensive coordinator, Lance Rash, decided to leave Penn State for San Diego State, who offered him a tidy raise. We began interviewing candidates for the position almost immediately, and we were thrilled when our first choice, George Dickson, accepted the job. George is in his early forties, and last year he coached the quarterbacks at his alma mater, Brigham Young University. He brings with him an excellent reputation for developing quarterbacks, and we predict his talents will enable him to help players at all offensive positions reach their potential. Coach Paterno naturally participated in the interview process, and was particularly impressed with George’s ability to evaluate talent. I believe he will be able to devise game plans that will befuddle our opponents, and our players will be happy to hear that he favors the same kind of balanced offense we ran under Coach Rash. Coach Bingham isn’t coming cheaply, but Scott realizes that talent costs money, and approved a contract that will pay George $675,000 a year. That salary puts him roughly on par with David Tanner, his defensive counterpart, who earns $700,000. I’m not writing the checks, but to me, they’re worth every penny. We learned that two of our players, linebacker Rick Hale and tight end Pedro Davis, are transferring out of our program. Both of them are very talented players—our staff evaluated their potential at 4.5 on a 5-“star” scale—so losing them really hurts. The fact that they’re both excellent students only makes the situation worse. I can’t stand losing young men of that caliber. Hale has enrolled at Virginia, while Davis is on his way to Syracuse. They’re both redshirt freshmen, and of course, they’ll have to sit out a year at their new schools. I shook their hands and wished them well, and I sincerely hope they’ll be happy with their decisions. We took a look at several players who were interested in transferring, but in the end, we didn’t offer a scholarship to any of them. With the departures of Rick and Pedro, we now have 13 available scholarships, and we’ve already made our first 13 offers. Our number one target is Calvin Ferguson, a running back from Cardinal Gibbons High in Baltimore. He is universally considered the top high school running back in the nation, and we have him listed as the #1 player coming out of high school at any position, anywhere. Calvin is 6’0” and 193 pounds, and his calling card is his blinding speed. Calvin isn’t fast; he’s scary fast; 4.26-in-the-40, state 100 meter dash champion fast. Apparently, the most important factor in Calvin’s eventual college choice will be his relationship with his head coach, and I’ve been very pleased with the rapport he and I have established so far. He’ll be one of the first five recruits we bring to State College for a visit. Joining him on campus on our first visit weekend will be Stephon Jones, a safety from Vermont; Anthony Lloyd, a guard from Connecticut; and two Pennsylvania athletes who are attending junior colleges in upstate New York: linebacker Joseph Martin and safety Charles Brown. All five are among the top fifty players in this year’s recruiting class, and if we manage to land all of them, you’ll hear me celebrating all over the state of Pennsylvania. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted August 28, 2006 Author Share Posted August 28, 2006 [b]Week 10, Postseason 2005-2006[/b] I’ve always enjoyed recruiting. Sure, it’s stressful and exhausting; during recruiting season, I’m lucky if I put in less than 15 hours a day. While we naturally concentrate our recruiting efforts in Pennsylvania and the states closest to us, where many boys grow up dreaming of being Nittany Lions, we also recruit on a national scale. That can mean quick flights to California, Texas, Florida, and who knows where else. Still, I’ve always looked forward to sitting down with a player and his family, talking to them about what Penn State and its football program have to offer. We can promise a recruit the opportunity to receive a fine education, and we can promise him the support he’ll need to achieve that goal. We can also promise him the chance to play high-quality football in an elite conference, for a program that has a long and proud tradition. Perhaps I’m saying such positive things about recruiting because our efforts this year have been so successful thus far! The week after our first five recruits visited campus, I drove out to the town of Nanty Glo, the home town of Charles Brown, the junior college DB we’re so high on. Brown eagerly accepted our scholarship offer, and he officially became the first recruit of my career as a head football coach. I’m thrilled about having Charles come to Penn State. He’s a tremendous athlete who will be able to step in and play right away for us. Charles is also an outstanding student and a potential leader in the locker room. Charles chose Penn State over schools like LSU, Michigan, and USC, so signing him was a real plus for our program. Two days later, another of the players we brought in that first week signed his letter. Anthony Lloyd is a rangy 6’8”, 270-pound offensive lineman who can play both guard and tackle. He’s from Connecticut, and is considered one of the three best guards in this year’s class. Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Syracuse were among the other schools who offered Anthony a scholarship. We’re thin at guard, so there’s a chance he could contribute right away. We were also thrilled to hear that Calvin Ferguson had us “very high” on his list. Both our new offensive coordinator, George Dickson, and I went down to Baltimore to visit Calvin and his family, and we watched him play in a basketball game. Calvin displayed his athleticism when he brought down the house with an incredible tomahawk dunk, made all the more impressive by the fact that he’s only 6’0”. George and I just looked at each other and smiled. That 39" vertical he's supposedly got? It's the real deal. The next day, Calvin called to let us know he had us at the top of his list. It seemed that a couple of the schools who were recruiting him—he didn’t mention which ones—led him to believe he’d be used mainly as a third down back. While Ferguson is a very good receiver (he caught 22 passes for over 300 yards as a senior), we think he’s got the talent to be a feature back. I imagine it’s tough for a player who gained over 1800 yards rushing and scored 22 touchdowns to hear he’s being projected as a role player! I spent the entire next day at home, playing with the kids and watching a movie with Kristin. Calvin Ferguson, and the other young men we hoped to bring to State College, knew how to reach me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.