July 23, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., - Penn State senior Daryll Clark (Youngstown, Ohio) has spent this week among many of the nation's finest high school and collegiate players at the prestigious Elite 11 Quarterback Camp.
Clark, the 2008 first team All-Big Ten quarterback, is among seven collegiate/professional counselors at the camp, which is being held at Soka University in Aliso Viejo, Calif.
"The whole experience has been great," Clark said during a break between Wednesday's sessions. "The coaches here are among the best in the country, the counselors are great and there are some very good high school players.
"We've been doing a lot of drills," he added. "Helping them with their footwork, mechanics, release, improving hand-to-eye coordination, things like that. We've also had some chalk talks, where all the counselors talk about their experiences in college football, what it takes to be successful, why we picked our schools..."
A 2009 co-captain, Clark said he "was a close second" in a passing accuracy competition among the counselors. He also said he was the runner-up in an EA Sports NCAA Football 2010 video game competition.
Joining Clark as counselors at the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp are: Chase Daniel (Missouri/Washington Redskins), Cody Hawkins (Colorado), Colt McCoy (Texas), Zac Robinson (Oklahoma State), Mark Sanchez (USC/New York Jets) and Juice Williams (Illinois).
Clark will be among Penn State's representatives at Big Ten Kickoff on Monday and Tuesday in Chicago. Coach Joe Paterno, senior linebacker and co-captain Sean Lee (Pittsburgh) and senior defensive tackle Jared Odrick (Lebanon) also will represent the Nittany Lions at the nation's largest pre-season celebration of college football.
Penn State has earned one of the nation's Top 10 records since the start of the 2005 season, posting a 40-11 (78.4) mark, good for No. 9 nationally. The Nittany Lions won the 2008 Big Ten title, finishing No. 8 in the nation with an 11-2 record.
Entering his 44th season as head coach and 60th on the Penn State coaching staff, Paterno returns 37 letterwinners and 10 starters for the 2009 campaign. The Nittany Lions host Akron on Sept. 5 (12:00 p.m., Big Ten Network) in their season opener.