Some vintage JoePa today, especially with regards to how the Nittany Lions will defend Eric Decker...Subscribe to Penn State Clips via EmailQ. Is Justin Brown your new punt returner? Can you talk about how he did on Saturday?
A: Well, I don't know whether he's our new punt returner. Royster and Wallace and Smith have been hurt. He's back there. He's one of the guys that's working at returning punts, and he's done a good job of it.
He's a good prospect. But he's a true freshman. We're going to play some tough games now. We're going to be in some games that there's an awful lot that will be based on one play here, one play there.
[Clips comment: Don't throw out those old Chris Bell jerseys. #19 is going to be a star. Perhaps not as a punt returner but certainly as a wideout.]
Q. I wanted to know after you got a chance to watch the films of the game Saturday how you felt Kevin Newsome did, good and bad?
A. I think he did well. For a guy with an awful lot of pressure on him, a lot of people expect him to be great. He's not there yet. He's got a ways to go. But I think overall I give him a plus.
[Clips comment: "A guy with an awful lot of pressure on him"??? For crying out loud, what pressure? He played exactly one play in the romp over Illinois and didn't play against Eastern Illinois until late in the third quarter when it was 45-3. If that's "an awful lot of pressure" he'll never survive his first career I-A start, whether it's this season because Daryll Clark is hurt or at Alabama next year.
We're a little down on Newsome, as his mechanics are awful. If one of the incoming freshmen (Robert Bolden and P.J. Jones) can't beat him out, 2010 is going to be a long season.]
Q: Gerald Hodges played linebacker for the first time on Saturday. What was your thinking there?
A. We think Hodges' future probably will be at linebacker, to answer that in a quick way. I think he's a big kid who likes to hit people, and he can play in space.
Nowadays with all of the spreads that you're looking at, you've got to have a linebacker who can handle some of the offensive sets at that position, which basically takes a kid who is a pretty good athlete, who is close to being a strong safety.
[Clips comment: This is a fascinating glimpse into the endless cat-and-mouse game of offense vs. defense. Defenses are valuing speed more than size to defend the spread. Regardless of where he ultimately ends up, Hodges has future star written all over him.]
Q. What would your plans be to cover Eric Decker? Will you try to rotate cornerbacks?
A. Why in God's name would I answer that in any way? You sound like a Minnesota assistant coach. "What are you going to do with Decker?" You know, I don't know. We may put four corners on him, let everybody else run for touchdowns. I don't know what we're going to do yet. We've got to look at some things. It's Tuesday. We've had one practice. We had a long discussion this morning as to some of the things they do.
[Clips comment: Joe was kidding (we think!), but we could probably do worse than to put four corners on Decker, as he IS the Gopher offense. Their leading rusher, Duane Bennett, is averaging 47 yards per game. Meanwhile, Decker is averaging over 114 receiving yards per game.
As an aside, Bowling Green's Freddie Barnes leads the country with a whopping 75 (!) receptions though six games. He is on pace to shatter the NCAA single-season record of 142.]
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