Aaron Maybin ran a 4.78 forty.
Dude may be light (in the 240s) but he is fast!
He wasn't the fastest of the Defensive lineman but seeing as how he is only .2 seconds slower than Derrick Williams I think he will be just fine.
Damn, I wish Project Mayhem were still with PSU!
Monday, February 23, 2009
PSU 2009 Combine Results
The Draft is upon us! Because we certainly don't have actual football to talk about you might as well watch the guys who have fled your team for NFL glory participate in relatively pointless acts of athleticism. Does it mean anything? Not really. However, it is interesting to see raw 40-times and the like to see how what you have been seeing on the field for year/s translates into numbers.
You can always go to NFL.com for your info, however, I found a lot of good stuff right over here.
Lets talk about 40 times as they are probably the most interesting part of the combine. PSU had a couple of guys perform very well in the 40 yd dash and a few guys who were surprisingly slow.
Deon Butler ran a damn 4.38. I will say again: Deon Butler ran a goddamn 4.38 40! He is the fourth fastest man in the damn combine! I knew, or at least I thought I knew that DB was fast, however, he proved that he has elite speed. Which, for DB, is huge. Before he blistered out this ridiculous time he had a 50/50 shot of being drafted. Now, his draft status has to be significantly higher. While he may not be the biggest player in the draft DB has certainly shown that he has great hands and has the ability to run away from pursuers.
Oddly, D-Will was the slowest of the PSU receivers at the combine as DB ran a blistering 4.38 and Norwood edged Williams out by one one-hundredth of a second. Derrick did impress when it came to the bench press putting up 15 reps which was one of the best among the WRs. Had you told bet me money that Butler was 2 tenths of a second faster than D-Will I would've taken that bet and started counting my money! To be fair, this shouldn't impact Derrick's draft status that much. He is still a good WR who is very tough, strong, and versatile. The only thing he is really lacking is elite speed. He certainly could fit in well with a team obsessed with the wild-cat.
AQ Shipley is a bulldog on the field and he must be a beast in the weight room. He is one of the fastest lineman in the draft running a 5.19 in the 40. He put up 33 reps in the bench press. People are questioning his ability to be a pro because of his "arm-length". Are we serious? AQ is a tough, smart, strong, hard-working kid who is nasty on the football field. He is going to be a good pro.
We should get some more stats as the combine continues today.
GO STATE!
You can always go to NFL.com for your info, however, I found a lot of good stuff right over here.
Lets talk about 40 times as they are probably the most interesting part of the combine. PSU had a couple of guys perform very well in the 40 yd dash and a few guys who were surprisingly slow.
Deon Butler ran a damn 4.38. I will say again: Deon Butler ran a goddamn 4.38 40! He is the fourth fastest man in the damn combine! I knew, or at least I thought I knew that DB was fast, however, he proved that he has elite speed. Which, for DB, is huge. Before he blistered out this ridiculous time he had a 50/50 shot of being drafted. Now, his draft status has to be significantly higher. While he may not be the biggest player in the draft DB has certainly shown that he has great hands and has the ability to run away from pursuers.
Oddly, D-Will was the slowest of the PSU receivers at the combine as DB ran a blistering 4.38 and Norwood edged Williams out by one one-hundredth of a second. Derrick did impress when it came to the bench press putting up 15 reps which was one of the best among the WRs. Had you told bet me money that Butler was 2 tenths of a second faster than D-Will I would've taken that bet and started counting my money! To be fair, this shouldn't impact Derrick's draft status that much. He is still a good WR who is very tough, strong, and versatile. The only thing he is really lacking is elite speed. He certainly could fit in well with a team obsessed with the wild-cat.
AQ Shipley is a bulldog on the field and he must be a beast in the weight room. He is one of the fastest lineman in the draft running a 5.19 in the 40. He put up 33 reps in the bench press. People are questioning his ability to be a pro because of his "arm-length". Are we serious? AQ is a tough, smart, strong, hard-working kid who is nasty on the football field. He is going to be a good pro.
We should get some more stats as the combine continues today.
GO STATE!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Fired Up Friday
Penn State Football's website had an interesting article up about just how goddamn popular the Nittany Lions are and how hundreds of thousands of fans flock to Happy Valley to watch the Lions year after year. In short, PSU = Mad Street Cred. PSU's street cred might as well come from the crowd in Beaver Stadium because it certainly isn't going to be generated by Penn State's home-schedule.
That being said, I do love these stories because it is all about the preposterous excellence that is Penn State football. 757,775 people watched Penn State football games in person in 2008. There was an average attendance of 108,254 which was second in the nation (DAMNED WOLVERINES!). These are great off-season articles which are not only just plain cool but also are great recruiting tools. What recruit would not be impressed by these sorts of numbers.
There is, of course, a pathetic attempt to try to generate hype around PSU's mediocre home schedule for 2009:
Season tickets are available for the 2009 home schedule, which will feature contests with three Big Ten teams that played in bowl games last season: Iowa (Sept. 26-All University/Varsity "S" Day), Minnesota (Oct. 17-Homecoming) and Ohio State (Nov. 7), as well as the first visit by old rival Syracuse (Sept. 12) since the 1990 season. The clash with the Buckeyes will be the 300th game in Beaver Stadium history.
Seriously? I guess Iowa is going to be a good game because the Lions could extract some sort of revenge for the '08 loss? I don't buy it. I don't feel any animosity towards the corn-fed-niceness of Iowa. Minnesota? I know they had a resurgence in 2008, however, i'm pretty sure they beat absolutely nobody of any relevance. Ohio State. Ok, Ohio State will always get me fired up. I don't like Ohio State and I'm sure they don't like me. Bring it on. Syracuse? The Orangemen? Honestly, I could not care less. I mean, some of these home games are a perfect opportunity to spend the day with your family (so they don't start to hate you during the season).
I enjoyed the Syracuse rivalry (when Syracuse wasn't total shit) as much as the next guy but now I could not care less. In fact, all I can think about (scheduling wise) is the 2010 2011 seasons where PSU has a home and home with Alabama. How fucking great is that going to be!??!?
WOOOOO! FIRED UP FRIDAY!
That being said, I do love these stories because it is all about the preposterous excellence that is Penn State football. 757,775 people watched Penn State football games in person in 2008. There was an average attendance of 108,254 which was second in the nation (DAMNED WOLVERINES!). These are great off-season articles which are not only just plain cool but also are great recruiting tools. What recruit would not be impressed by these sorts of numbers.
There is, of course, a pathetic attempt to try to generate hype around PSU's mediocre home schedule for 2009:
Season tickets are available for the 2009 home schedule, which will feature contests with three Big Ten teams that played in bowl games last season: Iowa (Sept. 26-All University/Varsity "S" Day), Minnesota (Oct. 17-Homecoming) and Ohio State (Nov. 7), as well as the first visit by old rival Syracuse (Sept. 12) since the 1990 season. The clash with the Buckeyes will be the 300th game in Beaver Stadium history.
Seriously? I guess Iowa is going to be a good game because the Lions could extract some sort of revenge for the '08 loss? I don't buy it. I don't feel any animosity towards the corn-fed-niceness of Iowa. Minnesota? I know they had a resurgence in 2008, however, i'm pretty sure they beat absolutely nobody of any relevance. Ohio State. Ok, Ohio State will always get me fired up. I don't like Ohio State and I'm sure they don't like me. Bring it on. Syracuse? The Orangemen? Honestly, I could not care less. I mean, some of these home games are a perfect opportunity to spend the day with your family (so they don't start to hate you during the season).
I enjoyed the Syracuse rivalry (when Syracuse wasn't total shit) as much as the next guy but now I could not care less. In fact, all I can think about (scheduling wise) is the 2010 2011 seasons where PSU has a home and home with Alabama. How fucking great is that going to be!??!?
WOOOOO! FIRED UP FRIDAY!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
New No Taunting Rule
The NCAA is thinking about instituting a new no taunting rule. The new rule would basically turn some taunting calls from dead-ball fouls into live-ball fouls, meaning, if player A taunts Player B while headed into the endzone the TD could be called back.
Orson hates it because, well, it is retarded.
I hate it because it should be completely unnecessary.
Look, taunting happens when young men meet in the crucible of college football. But is taunting such a scourge upon the sport that we need to ramp up the rules even more? I mean, if you taunt another player you will already be penalized but now we want to take points off the board?
I will say, I don't think this will impact PSU that much. I'm not saying that PSU doesn't do any taunting, however, I think that when it does occur the offending player finds himself in Joe's doghouse for at least the rest of the game. A penalty is bad, however, the way to affect the players is to take away their playing time.
Success with Honor!
GO STATE!
Orson hates it because, well, it is retarded.
I hate it because it should be completely unnecessary.
Look, taunting happens when young men meet in the crucible of college football. But is taunting such a scourge upon the sport that we need to ramp up the rules even more? I mean, if you taunt another player you will already be penalized but now we want to take points off the board?
I will say, I don't think this will impact PSU that much. I'm not saying that PSU doesn't do any taunting, however, I think that when it does occur the offending player finds himself in Joe's doghouse for at least the rest of the game. A penalty is bad, however, the way to affect the players is to take away their playing time.
Success with Honor!
GO STATE!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Spring Survival Kit
The college football season is over. LOI day is past. We are in a dead period as far as college football news goes. Accept it. However, this does not mean that you shouldn't have something to look forward to on your calendar.
First, the NFL combine is going to be featuring 8 Nittany Lions in this year's week long meat-market. This should occupy you from Feb 20th-26th. It would be a great boost to the program if these guys had a good combine. Particularly, Derrick Williams and Co. need to show that PSU's skill position players can be big time pros.
Second, Spring practice should get ramped up in late March and along with it will come our first information on how Newsome and Co. are coming along.
Third, the 2009 Blue White game is going to be on Saturday April 25, 2009. The Blue White game has been great over the past few years as it has allowed studs like Royster and Green to shine. It really has given the Nittany faithful something to look forward to.
Last, the NFL draft is on the same weekend as the Blue/White game. Would it kill anybody to stagger these out? It would be nice to devote an entire weekend to only one football-centric venture, it is kind of nice to fire up two TVs and listen to Paterno's commentary on the game.
Do not despair, noble PSU fans. Things may be dull now, however, there are things to look forward to on the horizon!
GO STATE!
First, the NFL combine is going to be featuring 8 Nittany Lions in this year's week long meat-market. This should occupy you from Feb 20th-26th. It would be a great boost to the program if these guys had a good combine. Particularly, Derrick Williams and Co. need to show that PSU's skill position players can be big time pros.
Second, Spring practice should get ramped up in late March and along with it will come our first information on how Newsome and Co. are coming along.
Third, the 2009 Blue White game is going to be on Saturday April 25, 2009. The Blue White game has been great over the past few years as it has allowed studs like Royster and Green to shine. It really has given the Nittany faithful something to look forward to.
Last, the NFL draft is on the same weekend as the Blue/White game. Would it kill anybody to stagger these out? It would be nice to devote an entire weekend to only one football-centric venture, it is kind of nice to fire up two TVs and listen to Paterno's commentary on the game.
Do not despair, noble PSU fans. Things may be dull now, however, there are things to look forward to on the horizon!
GO STATE!
Monday, February 09, 2009
CNNSI Generally Likes PSU's New Class
I was trolling around CNNSI.com today when I happened across this little article about the Lions. There is the usual sub-plot about how "Joe is Old", however, this article takes the position that Joe's age is not the issue everyone wants to make it. Really, the article is very upbeat about PSU's recruiting class and, to be honest, it was refreshing to hear.
The article also made me start to wonder about what the 2009 offense will look like? Will Brown make it on the field this year at WR with Zug and Brackett? Regardless of what the combination, PSU's WR corps will have significantly more size that in '08. Moye, Brackett, Zug, and now Brown are all well over six feet tall. I'm not saying the WRs will be better this year, however, it would be nice to have some more size on the outside. Maybe break some tackles. I haven't looked it up but I feel that last year's WRs didn't have a great YAC.
Could 5-star recruit Eric Shrive see the field this year? I know he is a frosh and it is tough to become a starter on the offensive line, however, he is goddamn huge at 6' 7" and over 300 bills maybe he could do it.
Kevin Newsome enters the program in the most ideal way possible. He has enrolled for the spring semester so he will clearly get a jump on getting ready for the fall. However, there is not likely to be a big controversy as to whether Newsome should red-shirt a year as he will likely back-up Mr. Clark. This will allow Kevin to gain experience by watching Clark and we can feel secure in the fact that he should not be red-shirting. Should Newsome get some playing time in clean-up, should Clark be injured, or, better yet, should we have a few plays specifically designed for Newsome he will get some good exposure to game speed which will prepare him for 2010.
I'm totally fired up! WOOOOOOOO!
GO STATE!
The article also made me start to wonder about what the 2009 offense will look like? Will Brown make it on the field this year at WR with Zug and Brackett? Regardless of what the combination, PSU's WR corps will have significantly more size that in '08. Moye, Brackett, Zug, and now Brown are all well over six feet tall. I'm not saying the WRs will be better this year, however, it would be nice to have some more size on the outside. Maybe break some tackles. I haven't looked it up but I feel that last year's WRs didn't have a great YAC.
Could 5-star recruit Eric Shrive see the field this year? I know he is a frosh and it is tough to become a starter on the offensive line, however, he is goddamn huge at 6' 7" and over 300 bills maybe he could do it.
Kevin Newsome enters the program in the most ideal way possible. He has enrolled for the spring semester so he will clearly get a jump on getting ready for the fall. However, there is not likely to be a big controversy as to whether Newsome should red-shirt a year as he will likely back-up Mr. Clark. This will allow Kevin to gain experience by watching Clark and we can feel secure in the fact that he should not be red-shirting. Should Newsome get some playing time in clean-up, should Clark be injured, or, better yet, should we have a few plays specifically designed for Newsome he will get some good exposure to game speed which will prepare him for 2010.
I'm totally fired up! WOOOOOOOO!
GO STATE!
Friday, February 06, 2009
Devlin To Delaware
According to ESPN.com, Pat Devlin is going to be Blue Hen.
Pat clearly wanted more PT and he will get exactly that down in Delaware. I wish we could've kept Mr. Devlin as he showed that he could be a big time college QB, however, I am glad that Clark is the starter. It was also nice to land Newsome on the recruiting trail. Possibilities abound!
Good luck to you, Pat.
Go State!
Pat clearly wanted more PT and he will get exactly that down in Delaware. I wish we could've kept Mr. Devlin as he showed that he could be a big time college QB, however, I am glad that Clark is the starter. It was also nice to land Newsome on the recruiting trail. Possibilities abound!
Good luck to you, Pat.
Go State!
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Recruiting Game
A lot of hay has been made of PSU's recruiting over the past few years. In fact, a lot of people think that Joe should no longer be the head coach because he doesn't get out and recruit as much as he used to. This is, of course, nonsense.
Now, it is difficult to judge recruiting classes before any of the players take to the field on the college level. Some guys will excel at the college game and others will struggle. This is why it is difficult to put a whole lot of stock in the various grades handed out by Rivals and Scouts inc. However, it certainly is fun to talk about who has the best class and who is recruiting well and which of your arch rivals couldn't recruit a turd to attend their turd-festival!
We will find out over the next 4 years exactly how good the 2009 recruiting class is, however, for the moment, we must content ourselves with what the recruiting experts say about these kids. Scouts Inc. grades PSU's 2009 recruiting class as the tenth best in the country. Put that in your pipe and smoke it you Paterno-hating recruitniks! This is also PSU's 2nd top ten recruiting class in the last four years. Not too shabby. Also, you must consider that not only has PSU assembled a nice collection of talent but also the team has been able to address pressing needs on the offensive line, the defensive secondary, and the wide receiving corps. Taken together, you have to be pleased with PSU's recruiting effort in 2009.
In short, Lions rule. As we were graded as having a better recruiting class than:
Michigan
Florida St. (hang it up, Bobby, you are never catching Joe!)
Notre Dame
To name a few.
GO STATE!
Now, it is difficult to judge recruiting classes before any of the players take to the field on the college level. Some guys will excel at the college game and others will struggle. This is why it is difficult to put a whole lot of stock in the various grades handed out by Rivals and Scouts inc. However, it certainly is fun to talk about who has the best class and who is recruiting well and which of your arch rivals couldn't recruit a turd to attend their turd-festival!
We will find out over the next 4 years exactly how good the 2009 recruiting class is, however, for the moment, we must content ourselves with what the recruiting experts say about these kids. Scouts Inc. grades PSU's 2009 recruiting class as the tenth best in the country. Put that in your pipe and smoke it you Paterno-hating recruitniks! This is also PSU's 2nd top ten recruiting class in the last four years. Not too shabby. Also, you must consider that not only has PSU assembled a nice collection of talent but also the team has been able to address pressing needs on the offensive line, the defensive secondary, and the wide receiving corps. Taken together, you have to be pleased with PSU's recruiting effort in 2009.
In short, Lions rule. As we were graded as having a better recruiting class than:
Michigan
Florida St. (hang it up, Bobby, you are never catching Joe!)
Notre Dame
To name a few.
GO STATE!
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Signing Day Tomorrow
News has been slow lately, however, that will change as tomorrow is signing day!
People bemoan the recruiting practices of teenage boys and, to be honest, it is a little slimey. However, recruiting is the life-blood of a college football program. It is particularly interesting for PSU who has been more of a "rebuild" program rather than a "reload" program. Tomorrow will have some impact on whether PSU is looking at two years of 8-4/9-3 or whether the Lions will be able to win 10+ games again this year.
It seems as though PSU has needs at virtually every area of the game. For example:
The Defensive line needs added depth and explosion after losing two huge DE to the NFL.
Linebackers need to be replenished as well. Sean Lee is returning from a significant injury and this will be his last year with the Lions.
Graduation has depleted the defensive secondary.
The offensive line only has two returning starters for the '08 campaign.
While PSU does have a big time player at QB the Lions have virtually no depth behind Clark.
Both RBs are returning from injuries sustained against USC in the Rose Bowl.
The most productive Wide Receiving corps in school history just graduated.
So, yeah. Tomorrow could be important.
People bemoan the recruiting practices of teenage boys and, to be honest, it is a little slimey. However, recruiting is the life-blood of a college football program. It is particularly interesting for PSU who has been more of a "rebuild" program rather than a "reload" program. Tomorrow will have some impact on whether PSU is looking at two years of 8-4/9-3 or whether the Lions will be able to win 10+ games again this year.
It seems as though PSU has needs at virtually every area of the game. For example:
The Defensive line needs added depth and explosion after losing two huge DE to the NFL.
Linebackers need to be replenished as well. Sean Lee is returning from a significant injury and this will be his last year with the Lions.
Graduation has depleted the defensive secondary.
The offensive line only has two returning starters for the '08 campaign.
While PSU does have a big time player at QB the Lions have virtually no depth behind Clark.
Both RBs are returning from injuries sustained against USC in the Rose Bowl.
The most productive Wide Receiving corps in school history just graduated.
So, yeah. Tomorrow could be important.
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