quarterbacks
The last player to hold this starting job began with rock bottom expectations, a far cry from this year’s crop
After the Blue-White Game on April 20 at Beaver Stadium, it looked as though the 2013 quarterback competition would somewhat mirror that of 2010. Daryll Clark, the recordbreaking quarterback had graduated. Fighting to replace Clark would be lightly-used backups and highly-touted true freshmen. But this year’s race took a bit of a turn after Coach Bill O’Brien told Steven Bench—the 2013 incarnation of McGloin—he would no longer be considered a serious contender for the job. Four days after he went 9-for-15 for 99 yards and a touchdown in the Blue White Game, Bench decided to move on from Penn State. JUCO transfer Tyler Ferguson will battle a true freshman for the job. Bench’s departure has left Penn State in a complicated situation, albeit one O’Brien has been planning for some time. In what seems like the first time ever, every quarterback on the Penn State roster will run out to start summer camp with exactly zero regular season snaps as an FBS (Div. I-A) signal-caller. Taking an optimistic view of the situation, these inexperienced quarterbacks are being coached by a staff that saw no problem with transitioning an offense from the Woody Hayes era to that of Nick Saban. Gone are the days of “three yards and a cloud of dust” and punting from your
by Dan Vecellio
opponent’s 37-yard-line. At Penn State, O’Brien and his staff have given the offense, and more specifically the quarterbacks, freedom not seen with any regularity under the previous staff, allowing these players to take a chance and make a play. For it to continue, though, the staff requires a smart and steady hand to command the offense.
THE CONTENDERS
Tyler Ferguson comes to State College
by way of The College of the Sequoias, in Visalia, California. Ferguson took the junior college route after a collarbone injury sidelined him midway through his senior year of high school. While he still had offers from smaller FBS schools—bigger programs were
Dave Cole 8 WE ARE! 2013