Finally: Ursuline’s Clark getting quarterback start at Penn State

Daryll Clark nosed out main challenger Pat Devlin for the starting QB job Saturday.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Daryll Clark called his father after getting the word. Then some text messages started coming in. The next day, he saw the news posted on the Internet.

After two years as a backup, Clark is finally the starting quarterback at Penn State.

“This is what I’ve been waiting on. ... It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been very patient, very quiet about everything,” Clark said Wednesday. He will start Saturday’s season opener when the No. 22 Nittany Lions play Coastal Carolina.

“I’d be lying to you if I told you I wasn’t nervous about Saturday, because I am,” the senior from Ursuline said.

Coach Joe Paterno broke the news to his three quarterbacks — Clark, his chief competitor, Pat Devlin, and third-stringer Paul Cianciolo — at a brief meeting Monday night. Clark called his father, who spread the word to family and friends who sent text messages.

More congratulatory messages buzzed in when other friends read the news online after Paterno told the media Tuesday.

Both Clark and Devlin said Wednesday they felt they got equal shots at the job, each splitting time with the first-string offense. Both said they thought the competition was close.

Clark has the edge in experience. He saw limited snaps the last two years behind Anthony Morelli, though he did impress with his 50 yards and one touchdown on the ground in last year’s Alamo Bowl win over Texas A&M.

For his career, Clark is 20-of-36 for 147 yards. Besides the Alamo Bowl, he has seen few minutes in big spots; Devlin has played even less.

Devlin, understandably, sounded frustrated Wednesday. The son of two Penn State graduates said coaches had told him that Clark had been a little more accurate with his passes.

“I don’t know,” Devlin said when asked about his accuracy. “If that’s what the stats say, then that’s what the stats say.”

Devlin said he “didn’t ever feel like I lost the job. I think that’s a bad way to look at it. I want to go in for the win, and not to lose.”

Devlin holds the Pennsylvania career prep passing leader with 8,162 yards at Downingtown East. He came to Penn State two years ago after backing out of an initial commitment to Miami when the Hurricanes fired some assistants.

Clark is on track to get a fifth year of eligibility, which means he could possibly be a two-year starter. That means Devlin may not get a chance to start until his senior year in 2010.

Asked if he was thinking about transferring, Devlin said, “I don’t think so. Right now, I’ve been consumed from fighting for this job. Right now, I’m going to keep working hard.”

Devlin is expected to get playing time Saturday against heavily overmatched Coastal Carolina, a Championship Subdivision school. Paterno, however, said he did not want Clark “to look over his shoulder.”

That pleased Clark.

“I thought that was really important because it let me know how much confidence he has in me to run a successful offense,” he said.