In today’s edition, the Centre Daily Times — which is State College’s newspaper, for those of you who don’t know Central PA — finally weighed in on Anthony Morelli’s dumping Pitt for Penn State. In a surprisingly balanced piece given the euphoria gripping Happy Valley over Morelli, CDT sports columnist Heather Dinich splashes a little cold water on Lion Fan.
But first, Dinich sets the scene in State College this week.
At 77, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno can still sell snow to an Eskimo. Even more impressive, he can still sell a 3-9 program to a nationally-ranked quarterback.
Still a teenager, Penn Hills senior Anthony Morelli is already being hailed by some as the player to turn around a team that recently finished its worst season in the program’s 116-year history.
“See everyone? No need to worry!” read one post on the Blue White Illustrated Internet message board Wednesday, when players signed binding contracts to their respective schools.
“Now I can get to sleep!” read another.
“Welcome Anthony the Great!” yet another.
Less than two months ago, the cry of “Joe must go” rang out through the valley. Now Paterno is the “closer,” the man who’s “still got it.” A top-notch class of 25 recruits, none of whom have decommitted, proves he never lost it.
But then Heather points out that recruiting has hardly been the problem at Penn State since that pivotal loss to Minnesota in 1999.
It’s how that talent develops on the field that has become questionable… Keep in mind the class of 2000 was ranked third in the nation. Junior Zack Mills, part of that signing class, has had the misfortune of hearing the expectations turn to boos as quickly as the next hero arrives. He knows how tough it is to be a Penn State quarterback in a town where fans turn quicker than a Porsche.
Exactly. Penn State’s stellar showing in last year’s NFL draft was proof enough for me that talent isn’t the problem up the road. It’s player development. And Jay Paterno, Penn State’s Quarterbacks Coach, is held by myself and many others to be the weakest link in PSU’s player development system. Seriously, when was the last time that a quarterback left Penn State any better than he was when he showed up there? Exactly. Just before Daddy hired Jay.
Dinich then makes the same mistake that Blue White Illustrated made yesterday.
The headline in Thursday’s Harrisburg Patriot-News deemed Morelli a “face saver.” All of a sudden, with his commitment, Penn State has one of the top 10 recruiting classes in the nation, according to some.
According to who, exactly? In the teens doesn’t quite equal top ten, dear. But that small quibble aside, Dinich finishes up with a good question for the next loudmouthed Nittany Lion fan that you meet.
Who is Morelli going to throw to? [And] over his four-year high school career, Morelli’s completion percentage was just 45 percent. [brackets mine]
The few half-assed, ball-dropping receivers that Penn State did have last season have either graduated (e.g., the drunk driving Tony Johnson) or been tossed off the team for whichever crime is popular this week in a small town with nothing else to do (e.g., the thug Maurice Humphries). And they didn’t get squat for receivers in their “top ten” recruiting class. So either the old guy who can sell snow to an Eskimo has got to quickly convince some hot prospects that Penn State is suddenly “Wide Receiver U” or Morelli’s completion percentage ain’t going nowhere but down.
And just wait until this allegedly slow kid gets his first look at some of the defenses that he’ll face in the Big Ten — some of the most complex in college football. Ohio State (even without Mark Dantonio), Michigan, and Iowa, in particular, are gonna score more picks on this poor schmoe than a banjo player on crack.
…unless, that is, JoePa and Little JayPa can pull off a trick that they haven’t pulled off in years. Legitimate quarterback development.
Hail to my wife not finding any more of my Nittany Lion bashing on this site. Jeez, did I get a nasty look last night…
(Come to think of it, I don’t learn very well, do I?)
