Penn State's Daryll Clark needs to protect his noggin

Penn State senior quarterback Daryll Clark quickly has become one of the favorite interviews of ESPN's Big Ten blogger Andy Rittenberg. Here are a few interesting excerpts from a Q&A during Big Ten Media Days...

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Q: Will you do different things to protect yourself this year with a younger line? Do you have to have a faster clock in your head to get rid of the ball, or do you expect to be running less?

A: I don't really think they're going to adjust the playbook or anything. I just have to be a lot smarter. I have to play like a veteran. Sometimes, you have to live to fight another down. Sometimes, you don't have to lower the shoulder. Sometimes, you have to slide and sometimes, you have to step out of bounds. I really have to watch the concussions. [Last year] was my third one. I just have to be able to carry the ball and remain durable for the whole season.

Q: How scary is that with the three concussions? You're still a young man. You know the statistics with concussions.

A: It's kind of scary. Concussion, it's not fun, and it's tough to recover from. And also, it depends on how severe it is. Mine was a pretty bad one [last season] at Ohio State. You just be careful out there. You don't play timid like, 'Oh, don't do this.' You don't want to be too nervous where it takes away your game. Play your game, but just be smart out there.

Q: Is that hard for you to change that, to slide more or go out of bounds more?

A: I don't know how tough it's going to be until I get that live contact and see how it's going to be for us. I have a feeling it's going to take some adjustments.

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