March 29, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State football team concluded the first week of spring practice today and Coach Joe Paterno met with the media following the session, which the media was able to attend.
The Nittany Lions began spring drills last Monday. Penn State will culminate its 15 allotted spring practices with the highly-anticipated Blue-White Game in Beaver Stadium on Saturday, April 19. Kickoff is at 2:00 p.m. and admission and parking are free as in previous years.
Paterno addressed a variety of subjects during his 30-minute session with the media, including an overall assessment of the squad in the early stages of spring practice.
"We've got three really good wideouts. I think we've got a couple of kids that are going to end up being good tailbacks," Paterno said. "Mickey Shuler's kid (Mickey Shuler) has really had a good spring at tight end. We've got a kid out of Delaware, a freshman by the name of (Andrew) Szczerba whose had a couple of really good days out here. We redshirted him (in 2007). Offensively, we need some depth on the offensive line and maybe another young receiver to come through in case someone gets bumped up. And the quarterbacks. All three of the quarterbacks have worked hard and I think we'll be fine there.
"Defensively, obviously you lose two kids the caliber and talent of (Chris) Baker and (Phillip) Taylor and when you've got a kid like (Devon) Still and a kid like (Jared) Odrick who can't do much because of injuries, we're little bit shallow there. And when we practice, we won't practice as long or we won't keep certain groups in there as long. But, other than that I think we've got the makings of a pretty good football team."
A little more than four months after the Blue-White game, Penn State opens its 122nd campaign, hosting non-conference opponents Coastal Carolina (Aug. 30) and Oregon State (Sept. 6) before visiting old rival Syracuse on Sept. 13. The Nittany Lions begin their 16th season of Big Ten Conference competition on Sept. 27, hosting Illinois.
Penn State has won 31 of its last 40 games overall, with its victory total tied for eighth-best nationally over that span. During the past three seasons, the Nittany Lions have won the 2006 FedEx Orange Bowl, the 2007 Outback Bowl and the 2007 Valero Alamo Bowl.
In his 43rd season as head coach, Paterno welcomes back 35 letterwinners and 17 starters from last year's 9-4 team that defeated Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl. Penn State was ranked in the final Top 25 polls for the 33rd time under Paterno (No. 25 USA Today Coaches).
Penn State returns 17 letterwinners on defense (seven starters), 16 on offense (eight starters), and placekicker Kevin Kelly and punter Jeremy Boone. The Nittany Lions have lost the services of 21 lettermen for spring drills -- 12 on offense, eight on defense and three specialists.
The Blue-White Game is one of the nation's most popular spring football contests. Last year, a record crowd of 71,000 attended the game and other Blue-White Weekend activities. More than 40,000 loyal and enthusiastic Penn State fans have attended the contest in nine of the past 12 years, with rainy conditions during the other three contests.
The Blue-White Game can be heard on the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com, the official website of Penn State Athletics.
Activities for Blue-White Weekend will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 18, including a carnival on Friday and Saturday. Other events for Penn State fans all of ages held in conjunction with the Blue-White Game will be announced in early April.