Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE, PA.
The two biggest offseason questions surrounding Penn State football remain unanswered, and there are just four days till the opener.
Who’s the starting quarterback? And where will Joe Paterno coach from?
It’s anyone’s guess at this point, as Paterno, 84, declared himself “50-50” for being on the sideline vs. Indiana State after walking into the Beaver Stadium media room Tuesday with a cane. He’s feeling better since accidentally getting leveled in practice three weeks ago by a receiver, injuring his right shoulder and pelvis.
“I’ve got some medical people who want me upstairs and I want to be downstairs,” Paterno said. “That being upstairs is for the birds.”
The notoriously stubborn Paterno appears to be having another tug-of-war with his doctors. They are urging caution while Paterno wants to be where he’s most comfortable — on the field.
“I’ve made good progress. I’m walking around with the cane. I could probably get by without the cane right now, but I can’t move fast yet and I have trouble moving out of the way of some things,” Paterno said. “But today is Tuesday. I got three more days, four more days before I have to really make up my mind what I’m going to do.”
If Paterno has made up his mind about his starting quarterback, he’s not ready to share his selection.
Both Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin will play Saturday, Paterno said, and both have improved enough this offseason that “the quarterback situation is not one of my concerns right now.”
When pressed if he had settled on a starter, Paterno said, “I don’t think it makes any difference. They’re both going to play. We’ve got three days of practice.
“We’ll see what happens.”
Bolden last year was the first true freshman to open the season at quarterback in Paterno’s head-coaching career, which began in 1966. Bolden struggled at midseason, then suffered a concussion before Matt McGloin took over for good in November.
McGloin, a former walk-on, threw for 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and seemingly had a hold on the starting job until tossing five interceptions in the 37-24 loss to Florida in the Outback Bowl in January. Bolden didn’t play in the bowl game, finishing with five scores and seven interceptions in 2010.
Both Bolden and McGloin have split first-team reps in August. Both, Paterno said, have made the kinds of preseason improvements expected from players with a year of experience.