In this edition of Lasch Marks, we will review the 2007 regular season position by position. We'll start with quarterback.



Quarterback:

The trials and tribulations that were Anthony Morelli's Penn State football career finally have come to an end, sans one December bowl game. Morelli came to PSU as a much ballyhooed western PA quarterback after spurning Pitt and committing to Penn State over a bevy of offers from the nation's top programs. Most recruiting services had him ranked as one of the top 2 QB's in the country coming out of high school. Morelli finally got his shot at the starting spot last season and his results over the past two years were mediocre at best. He ended up with a 17-8 record as a starting quarterback, with his two highlight wins coming in the 2007 Outback Bowl against Tennessee, and a regular season blowout win over Wisconsin this year. Morelli was as advertised....major physical tools and a cannon for an arm, but struggled to pick up the mental side of the game. He struggled mightily in big games, and as recently as two days ago, analysts listed their keys to the game for the opposing team as "make Morelli beat you." Morelli actually improved as the season went on this year, and the offensive coaches seemed to do a better job of putting him into positions to succeed. Still, the offense looked like it came straight out of high school football playbook, and was as basic as any you'll ever see at the Division-I level. My main question surrounding Anthony Morelli's college career, is how much of his failures should be placed on him versus the lack of coaching and development he received from Jay Paterno? It will be interesting to see if Morelli ever succeeds in the NFL when he has the luxury of working with some noted QB coach. Overall a disappointing Penn State career filled with inconsistency and turnovers.

Grade: C



Running Backs:

Sadly, the best thing that happened to this group was Austin Scott being removed from the football team. He was a disaster in every sense of the word from dancing in the backfield to looking slow to fumbling the football. He should have been replaced long before his arrest and banishment from the program. Rodney Kinlaw however is someone all PSU fans should be proud of. He had a great senior season after getting the nod as the starter and ran for over 1,000 yards. Kinlaw probably would have been an elite tailback had he not suffered serious knee injuries early in his PSU career. He was tough, durable, and brought a completely new dimension to the offense. Evan Royster also got a chance to play and showed flashes of the player he can be in the next 3 years. Royster is a strong, tough runner who always finishes runs. The only thing he lacks is breakaway speed, but he has all the tools and potential to be a workhorse back for the program. Brent Carter moved back from safety and looked pretty good in his only true action of the season on Saturday in East Lansing . He'll surely get a look next year and compete for time with Royster, redshirt freshman Stephon Green, and incoming freshmen Brandon Beachum and Mike Shaw.

Grade: B



Wide Receivers:

A mixed bag here. Derrick Williams actually stepped up and made some plays this year after struggling for the better part of 2 years. Norwood is a consistent possession receiver. Deon Butler once again struggled once conference play began. Chris Bell couldn't get on the field, and when he did, really contributed little. Terrell Golden had a solid year, but really was never a threat in the offense. Brett Brackett and Graham Zug also saw time this year, but didn't really have roles in the offense. There's no doubt that inconsistency at the QB position hurt this group, and it will be interesting to see how Williams, Norwood and Butler finish their PSU careers. Chris Bell must have a big preseason and summer next year, and put himself in a position to contribute. Hopefully Deion Walker will be added to the corps next season.

Grade: B-



Tight Ends:

2007 was a disaster for Andrew Quarless. He was in and out of Joe Paterno's doghouse and never was able to find a role in the offense. At various points of the year he struggled both in catching the football and with his blocking. It's almost a lost year for him, and the staff absolutely needs to find a better way (or any way) to utilize him next year. Mickey Shuler actually looks like a decent receiver, but needs to get much bigger to be able to physically handle Big Ten defensive ends and linebackers. Andrew Sczerba should be a factor at this position next year.

Grade: C-



Offensive Line:

The most pleasant suprise of 2007. The line got better and better every week, and ended up as a consistent positive for the team. AQ Shipley should be all-conference at center. He had a terrific junior year, and should be elected captain in 2008. The guards were also good, as Rich Ohrnberger continues to develop into a solid player with a mean streak. Mike Lucian was a pleasant surprise in filling in at guard after senior John Shaw was injured. True freshman Stefan Wisniewski stepped in late in the year and played very well. He has a real shot to be a future all-american once he gets bigger and stronger. The tackles (Gerald Cadogan and Dennis Landolt) were solid all season after being labeled as question marks coming into the campaign. Lou Eliades was the one player who was missing in action this year, after sustaining a concussion early. Look for him to work his way into what will be a very solid guard rotation next season. Also, much maligned coaches Bill Kenney and Dick Anderson need to get some credit here for finally developing a consistent line that improved as the season went on. The only thing that kept this group from getting an A was some early season struggles in the run game.

Grade: B+



Defensive Line:

Injuries and suspensions hurt the DL as multiple players missed significant portions of the season. When the group was at full strength, they were dominant at times. Maurice Evans emerged as one of the top defensive ends in college football. Chris Baker emerged as the team's best DT, although his future with the program is in doubt after his second major arrest in the last 7 months. Jerome Hayes was outstanding as a stand up pass rusher, but his future is uncertain after tearing his ACL. Abe Koroma, Ollie Ogbu, Phil Taylor, Jared Odrick and Aaron Maybin all showed flashes of hopefully what is yet to come in the next few years. The lowlight for this group was obviously the physical beating they took against Ohio State.

Grade: B-



Linebackers:

Dan Connor broke Paul Posluszny's school tackles record to cement himself as one of the all-time greats at Linebacker U. Sean Lee was every bit on Connor's level with his second stellar season in a row. Navarro Bowman showed flashes of brilliance at times before his season was ended by a suspension. Terell Sales was steady as the 4th linebacker for most of the year. Chris Colisanti saw little action all year, but should have a much bigger role next year. There is a ton of depth at this position, and it's by far the strength of the team/program.

Grade: A-



Secondary:

Probably the biggest disappointment in the 2007 season. Justin King went from borderline first round pick to borderline first day pick. To be fair, he battled a separated shoulder and horrible coaching schemes (constant 10+ yard cushions) all year. Lydell Sargeant struggled in both coverage and tackling and was finally replaced in the starting lineup by AJ Wallace. Wallace didn't fair much better getting beat much more than making plays. King and Wallace were the #1 ranked corners in the country in their respective recruiting years, and both have all the athletic ability and speed in the world. It's beyond mind boggling that Tom Bradley rarely if ever plays press coverage and uses this speed and athleticism to their advantage. Anthony Scirrotto took a step back this season, which you have to think had a lot to do with his off the field issues. Tony Davis started the year at SS and then got hurt which was a big loss to the secondary. Mark Rubin played most of the second half of the season and was not good. This unit absolutely must be better next season. It will be interesting to see if King still decides to declare for the NFL draft since he will reportedly graduate in December.

Grade: D+



Special Teams:

Jeremy Boone was a pleasant surprise and probably earned himself a scholarship. Kevin Kelly ended the year with a career high 98 points, but didn't really figure into the outcome of any games. Kickoff coverage was pitiful finishing as one of the worst units in I-A football. The return teams were average and had a couple of big plays for touchdowns (Derrick Williams' versus ND being the biggest).

Grade: C



Coaching:

Despite what Joe Paterno will tell you, this was an awful season for Penn State football, both on and off the field. Expectations were this team could be a darkhorse for the MNC.......they ended up a mediocre 8-4 losing to teams with considerably less talent on their rosters. Players are not being developed, in fact, they're getting worse as they get older. Gameplans (or lack thereof) and routinely head scratchers if you can even figure out what they are. Offensively, the coaching staff rarely if ever tries to attack anything specific on the opponents defense; they just run a bunch of random plays and hope they work. The defense got worse as the season went on, and with the talent on that side of the ball, it's beyond amazing that they could give up 30+ points in 3 of the last 5 games. Joe Paterno publicly admitted that he "works from home" many days during the week, and obviously we are at the point where he needs to honestly ask himself if he has what it takes in him to be a division I football coach. Michigan, Illinois and certainly Michigan State were all inferior teams to the Lions in terms of talent on the field.....unfortunately, said talent couldn't overcome horrible coaching. The whole season took a turn for the worse when Paterno changed the entire offensive gameplan the day before the Michigan game. To make matters worse, several off the field incidents including multiple brawls and a rape charge marred the program's image. The only thing that saves them from an F is the job Bill Kenney and Dick Anderson did with the offensive line.

Grade: D