Skill players lacking at PSU

This is nothing new as of late. Penn State will never return to the glory it once had as long as Joe Paterno remains as head coach. He no longer effectively recruits top talent because players know his ability has slipped, and the program is no longer an annual national power. Players are going where they can be better showcased in their talent and seen on weekly TV. They are also interested in going to schools that are visited by more pro scouts and where more draft picks come from. The SEC, PAC, Big 12, etc. Just listen to their interviews on why they chose to go elsewhere.

Joe says he's going to do what's right for the program, but he is not. He needs to do what should have been done 10 years ago, step away. The Penn State heirarchy needs to finally take charge, take Joe to the side and work out his exit, and do what's right in order to get the program headed in the right direction, and into the next generation of Penn State Football. Hopefully a winning generation, because that just isn't happening anymore in what is now called by many college football fans and players, Crappy Valley. A trus shame that it's come to that, too.

Why don't the higher ups at PSU do something about this? We have been average now...well, almost forever. And I'm sick of it!

If PSU football was a corporation, there would have been a management shake up five years ago. Defensive coaches like LJ, Vandy and Bradley are responsible for this team still having a pulse. McQueary and Kenney at least try. The rest are not holding up their end.

This article would only be true if 100% of all top rated (Star Rated) athletes actually pan out as superstars in college. The path is littered with supposed college superstars who turn out to be duds. Indeed there have been many "undervalued" high school athletes who have excelled in college and in the NFL regardless of their deficiency in "star ratings". The trick is to recruit players who will play well in your system not necessarily because they ran a sub 4.3 forty or is rated five star by an unreliable ranking system. The star system would work if the level of competition is the same for all high schools in the U.S. But we all know that is not the case. So the player who is tearing up his league in one area of the country may not necessarily have such success in another part of the country. It's like a science experiment, if you want to test the validity of an experiment - you need a control to make sure that the environment is equal for all the samples tested.
Notre Dame is always highly ranked in recruiting and they got an Offensive Line player Penn State wanted and a QB that was billed as the next great QB at ND and yet they won only 3 games. Five star players do not guarantee an outstanding season and cannot replace a player with outstanding heart and character.

Palm Bay Reader wrote:

This article would only be true if 100% of all top rated (Star Rated) athletes actually pan out as superstars in college. The path is littered with supposed college superstars who turn out to be duds. Indeed there have been many "undervalued" high school athletes who have excelled in college and in the NFL regardless of their deficiency in "star ratings". The trick is to recruit players who will play well in your system not necessarily because they ran a sub 4.3 forty or is rated five star by an unreliable ranking system. The star system would work if the level of competition is the same for all high schools in the U.S. But we all know that is not the case. So the player who is tearing up his league in one area of the country may not necessarily have such success in another part of the country. It's like a science experiment, if you want to test the validity of an experiment - you need a control to make sure that the environment is equal for all the samples tested.
Notre Dame is always highly ranked in recruiting and they got an Offensive Line player Penn State wanted and a QB that was billed as the next great QB at ND and yet they won only 3 games. Five star players do not guarantee an outstanding season and cannot replace a player with outstanding heart and character.

Rudy, is that you? rudy... rudy.. Rudy.. RUdy... RUDy.... RUDY!! RUDY!

I agree with most of what you say. You never know what you have until you get on the field, and even then, it's not a guarantee. The cliche "that's why they play the game" is never more true than in college football games.

Ridiculous wrote:

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Rudy, is that you? rudy... rudy.. Rudy.. RUdy... RUDy.... RUDY!! RUDY!
I agree with most of what you say. You never know what you have until you get on the field, and even then, it's not a guarantee. The cliche "that's why they play the game" is never more true than in college football games.

In my opinion it comes down to looking at the talent and assesing their potential, sometimes better than other people. Vernon Gohlston was the 39th rated DE in the country. No one outside the big ten was looking at him. He turned out to be a jem. Every major program has a success like this, but it seems PSU doesn't have great assessment of recriuts. PSU can't compete with OSU, USC, or SEC schools because the exposure isn't there anymore. A change needs to happen, I'm afraid.

I agree with most of what u gents are saying. The most underranked player is usually the one that turns out the plays and the heart. Two sayings come to mind "Never look the gift horse in the mouth" and "NEVER EVER LOOK PAST THE SMALL THINGS IN LIFE! who knows someday they will become great! Joe Paw it is time to step down somewhere in the orginzation be there in the sidelines advisory or mentor. You did a great job!

GREG SHIANO!!!!!!!!!!Get rid of Galen Hall and Jay Paterno....Also, the biggest problem PSU has is their seniority issue...Best Example is Rashard Casey was wasted for four years until he got his shot just because Thompson was a little older than the coaches expected him to be great in the pocket in his first season as a starter....Same thing will happen to Patrick Devlin....It's not that PSU cant get the talent its that recruits know PSU is infamous for wasting talent...If you were a stud athlete why would you want to sit on the bench for three years?

So true John from PA!

Listen up! Penn State does need to get rid of Galen Hall and Jay Paterno. The playbook at PSU has been oldschool at best. No change. Apparently they will be running a "Run & Shoot" type offense in 08. Not sure what that will bring this season but its bound to be better than the same old boring offense. Pat devlin posseses better passing skills than Daryl Clark, but Clark may edge him out in running. I think you will see a QB by committee this year. Two headed monster in PSU, thats how I would handle it. They both can help you win games, why not use both in a run & Shoot Offense? One other thing to think about....Paterno is very conservative when it comes to football, he needs to take a chance once in a while on 4th and short....he has two running QB's he can use at his disposal. Penn State has a cake schedule this season, 2-3 losses at the most. Good season for Paterno and the Lions in 08.