Bad pass then bad cold for Clark

The Penn State quarterback from Ursuline has had a tough time the last few days.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

As cruel fate would have it, Daryll Clark began to feel the effects of a cold virus on the long flight home from Iowa on Saturday evening.

His illness paled in comparison to the sick feeling the Penn State quarterback had after he and the Nittany Lions were dealt a debilitating loss to Iowa. But the recovery from his cold has mirrored the resurgence from his Iowa performance.

Sunday Clark was at his worst. Monday he felt a little better. By Tuesday, you could still hear him sniffling, but the junior quarterback said he was on the mend and should be back to his old self by Saturday’s home game against Indiana.

Like the vitamins and orange juice he’s been taking for his cold, Clark has been rejuvenated by the advice and counsel he’s received from various sources.

Saturday night he spoke to his father, Daryll, and former Penn State quarterback Michael Robinson. At various points, he’s listened to his coaches, namely Joe and Jay Paterno. And his teammates and even some students on campus have supported Clark, who threw the late-game interception that led to the Hawkeyes’ game-winning field goal.

“It’s very important that I move ahead,” Clark said. “I’m pretty sure I’ve done that. I went through my little episode when I was real hurt ... but you have to move forward.”

Penn State (9-1) has two games to play and a Big Ten title at stake.

“Saturday night was a tough night for me,” said coach Joe Paterno, who has been hobbled by a leg injury. “There’s no sense in kidding you about that. Football games are tough these days on me. And then you get home and you play the game 10 times in your head. That’s tough. You don’t get any sleep Saturday nights.”

There was plenty for Paterno to dissect and much of it had to do with his quarterback. Two weeks ago, Clark suffered a concussion in the Ohio State game and sat as backup Pat Devlin led the Lions to the comeback victory. The bye allowed Clark to recuperate.

He said sitting out the Iowa game was never discussed. But the coaches added a “Wildcat” formation — wide receiver Derrick Williams took a direct snap as Clark split wide — so Clark avoided unnecessary hits. The “Wildcat” was also implemented in case Devlin, who isn’t as mobile, had to replace Clark.

“So much of the stuff we have in, they’re made for people who can run,” Paterno said. “I wouldn’t put Devlin in a situation where if Clark went down, we’d put him in and we had to run him.”

Paterno said he briefly considered playing Devlin for a series or two, but he ultimately decided Clark didn’t played badly enough to be pulled.

Still, he was asked, if Clark’s running ability is no longer a part of his game, how much separates the starter from the backup?

“He’s not that much better than Devlin, no,” Paterno said. “But, I don’t want to start moving guys all over the place because we lost a game by one point in the last play of the game.”