Howland’s Davis back at CB
Suspensions have lessened the amount of Penn State football players practicing this spring.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The flip side to having so many players missing from Penn State spring practice is that those Nittany Lions who are in camp have the opportunity to stand out for more playing time.
Five players have been suspended in recent months for off-field issues, with a sixth having been kicked off the team last week. Familiar faces like linebacker Dan Connor and cornerback Justin King have departed Happy Valley for the NFL.
A right-knee injury has sidelined linebacker Sean Lee, who was expected to be the team’s poster boy for the 2008 season. Cornerback A.J. Wallace has been out for more than week after injuring his jaw.
So for guys like Tony Davis, that means a move — at least temporarily — from safety back to his more comfortable position of cornerback, where Davis, for now, is getting first-string reps. He doesn’t mind it a bit.
“I’ve played corner ever since I started playing football, when I was 6,” said Davis, who was a standout at Howland High School. “I just love playing corner. That’s my favorite position on the field.”
Davis said he’s healthy, having finally gotten over a nagging shoulder injury that didn’t feel 100 percent before spring practice.
He also had to undergo an emergency appendectomy that sidelined him just before the Ohio State game.
Mark Rubin took his place at safety for most of the rest of the season, and Rubin has remained at that spot in spring practice.
What the future holds for Davis remains to be seen — it is just spring practice, after all. It is a time when coach Joe Paterno likes to try to move people around like chess pieces.
In Davis’ case, it’s a switch back to a familiar position. He earned a reputation as hard hitter while playing corner in 2006 opposite King.
“I’ll just come in and play whatever position they put me at,” Davis said.
“For me, I really don’t know if I should prepare for safety or corner right now.”
Across the line of scrimmage, the fresh faces getting the most attention are at quarterback, where Daryll Clark (Ursuline) and Pat Devlin are competing to take over as the starter.
But there is a question with wide receiver depth beyond talented starters Derrick Williams, Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood, especially after the arrest of Chris Bell.
Already suspended, Bell was kicked off the team last week after university police charged him with threatening a teammate with a knife in a campus dining hall.
Otherwise unproven backups like Kevin Cousins, Graham Zug, and Derek Moye may be the beneficiaries this spring.
At tight end, starter Andrew Quarless is one of the quintet of still-suspended Nittany Lions. Mickey Shuler, a part-time starter last year when Quarless was sidelined for off-field issues, is aiming to get the full-time gig this year.
He certainly has the pedigree — his father, Mickey Sr., was a standout at Penn State in 1970s, and is tutoring Shuler now on the finer points of route-running and footwork.
“It’s kind of like a dream come true,” Shuler said. “I’ve always wanted to come to Penn State since I’ve been little.”
The 251-pound Shuler, who will be a junior this fall, has added about 40 pounds to his frame since arriving at Happy Valley, bulking up for the rigors of Big Ten football. Whether Quarless is sidelined or not, Shuler senses opportunity.
“My mind-set really hasn’t changed that much since last year,” Shuler said.
“No one competes to be second- or third-string. Everything competes for that number one spot.”