Aug. 10, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - The early morning workouts in the dead of winter, the informal summer workouts and all the hard work and efforts in between are over. On Monday, the Penn State football team returns to the practice field to resume preparations for the Nittany Lions' 123rd season.
Joe Paterno welcomes 37 returning letterwinners and 10 starters for his 44th season as head coach and 60th year on the Penn State coaching staff. In addition, senior linebacker Sean Lee (Pittsburgh) returns to the field after missing the 2008 season with a serious knee injury. Lee and senior quarterback Daryll Clark (Youngstown, Ohio) were elected co-captains by their teammates following spring practice.
The coaching staff will schedule practices around the last week of classes and final exams for Penn State's second summer academic session. Final exams are Friday.
Penn State opens the season on Sept. 5, hosting Akron at 12:00 p.m. The contest will air on the Big Ten Network, the Penn State Sports Network and www.GoPSUsports.com. The Big Ten Network will televise the Nittany Lions' first three games (Akron, Syracuse and Temple) at 12:00 p.m. from Beaver Stadium and at least one conference game this season.
The Nittany Lions will enter the season in the same position where they finished 2008, ranked No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches poll after winning the Big Ten Championship for the second time in four years. Penn State posted an 11-2 record and played Southern California in the Rose Bowl, earning its 22nd top 10 finish under the Hall of Fame mentor. The Associated Press Pre-Season poll will be announced Aug. 22.
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.
Clark leads five returning starters on offense. The 2008 first team All-Big Ten signal-caller, Clark was a semifinalist for the 2008 Davey O'Brien Award and the runner-up for Big Ten MVP. He was a responsible for a school record 29 touchdowns last season (19 passing, 10 rushing). Clark was 192-of-321 for 2,592 yards, the third-highest passing yardage season in school history, and throwing only six interceptions.
Junior tailback Evan Royster (Fairfax, Va.) was a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award and earned second team all-conference accolades. Royster's 1,236 yards in 2008 were the 10th-best rushing season in school history, as averaged 6.5 yards per carry and scored 12 touchdowns.
The offensive line must replace three starters. Senior tackle Dennis Landolt (Burlington, N.J.) has started all 26 games the last two seasons and is the most experienced returnee. Junior Stefen Wisniewski (Bridgeville) shifts to center after starting 12 games at guard last year en route to second team all-conference accolades. Senior tight end Mickey Shuler (Enola) made nine receptions for 120 yards and one touchdown.
The defense returns two starting linemen and a pair of linebackers from last season, in addition to Lee, a starter in every game in 2006 and '07. All four starters in the secondary have departed from a unit that was ranked in the Top 10 nationally in three of the four primary defensive categories last season, including No. 8 in rushing defense at 93.2 yards per game.
Senior defensive tackle Jared Odrick (Lebanon) was first team All-Big Ten selection last year and will anchor the line, which lost its top three defensive ends. A Rotary Lombardi Award candidate, Odrick recorded 41 tackles, with 9.5 TFL (minus-33), 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble and three pass breakups last year. Junior tackle Ollie Ogbu (Staten Island, N.Y.) started nine games last year and recorded 17 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for losses, with two sacks.
Junior linebacker Navorro Bowman (District Heights, Md.) had a breakout season in 2008, leading the team in tackles (106) and ranking second in tackles for loss (16.5) and tied for third in sacks (4.0). The first team All-Big Ten choice and Butkus Award candidate also forced two fumbles, recovered a fumble, grabbed an interception and had five pass break-ups. Senior Josh Hull (Millheim) started every game last year and was second on the squad with 75 tackles (41 solo), with 5.5 tackles for losses, one sack, one interception, three pass breakups and a team-high two fumble recoveries.
Lee tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during an April 2008 practice and was sidelined for the season. He had a superlative junior campaign in 2007 that saw him record 138 tackles and earn All-Big Ten and Defensive MVP honors in the 2007 Valero Alamo Bowl. Also a Butkus Award candidate, Lee's138 stops were No. 5 on the Penn State season list.
The squad's 10th returning starter is senior punter Jeremy Boone (Mechanicsburg), who has led the Big Ten in punting average each of the past two seasons. Boone is on pace to become Penn State's career punting average leader with a 43.02 yard average.
Tickets for four of Penn State's eight home games are on sale. Fans can purchase tickets directly through the Penn State Ticket website at http://www.gopsusports.com/tickets/psu-tickets.html. Tickets are available for the Akron (Sept. 5, 12:00 p.m.), Temple (Sept. 19, 12:00 p.m), Eastern Illinois (Oct. 10, TBD) and Indiana (Nov. 14, TBD) games. Pre-paid parking passes for the general parking lots also are available at GoPSUsports.com.