Blue White Illustrated

fter a decade covering the Penn State football program, my annual Blue-White Game routine was undone this year. Waking up late on an April Saturday morning, grabbing a quick shower and shave, making myself presentable with a polo shirt and pants of some varying shade of khaki – those traditions all held firm. Even my usual breakfast of two strips of thick-cut bacon, a couple over- easy eggs and a tall glass of orange juice remained. But, having been approached by Penn State and the Big Ten earlier in the week with an offer to participate in a unique opportunity, I understood a few key ele- ments would be drastically different this year. I had been given a chance to shad- ow the game's real, conference-sanc- tioned officiating crew, and as a result, the most critical part of my day would come at its start. Flipping open my cramped bathroom's medicine cabinet, every penny-pinching fiber of my being took a backseat to my eyesight. First the left, then the right, I popped in a fresh set of contact lenses to ensure the clearest Blue-White Game experience of my professional career. By the time redshirt freshman quar- terback Tommy Stevens dropped a per- fectly placed ball into the hands of wideout Juwan Johnson to my sideline, just two plays into the scrimmage, I was happy about my choice. Seemingly caught on a sideline tightrope, the red- shirt freshman receiver lost control of the ball as safety Marcus Allen knocked it away in a fraction of a second. The call? No catch, third down, and maybe most important, my first real-life example of just how completely unqualified I was for the job. Really though, that realization had be- gun sinking in hours earlier at the Lasch Building as the day's expanded nine- man crew, including a personal tour guide for the day, side judge Frank Stera- tore, gathered at 11:15 a.m. for its usual pregame meeting. Joining the officials in one of the team's position meeting rooms, I'd come prepared with my re- porter's notebook at the ready and an iPad loaded with a nine-question rules quiz completed for group review. Led by veteran official Jerry McGinn, the hour-long session was to include a review of rule changes for the 2016 sea- son, film study and a group evaluation of the quiz. During a series of personal in- troductions, the officials revealed a wealth of experience at every level of football to match an equally broad mix of backgrounds and hometowns. All sides of Pennsylvania were represented, as were Ohio, Illinois and other Mid- western locales. Upon hearing the Ohio official's intro- duction, I dryly cracked a joke about his obvious bias against Penn State. No one laughed. And if my comedic chops were subpar, so too was my performance on the rules quiz, which I had completed earlier that morning. That I was able to distinguish its language, let alone provide answers, felt like an accomplishment in itself. Take, for example, this beauty copied word-for-word from the quiz: "4th/10 A30. The score is A24-B22. Potential punter A8 muffs the snap, recovers and starts to run. A8 is on A's 32 when he completes a pass to A88 who is downed on A's 46. Time expires in the fourth quarter during the down. Ruling & Clock" My answer looked like this: "B possession, :00 clock, A25 spot" The correct ruling, based on current NCAA interpretation, would be a loss of down for Team A, the expiration of the clock and, believe it or not, the end of the game with no final opportunity for Team B from the spot of the infraction. As I skimmed through a handout of 14 changes and revisions for the 2016 sea- son before heading up to Beaver Stadi- um, I noticed that other rules I hadn't ever considered were also covered. For instance, although tablet technol- ogy can now be used by coaching staffs in the press box and team locker rooms, the devices are still not permitted on the sidelines. Also, a tripping penalty now "affords the ball carrier the same pro- tection from tripping that other players have had for many years." And, easily the most complicated among the revisions, blocking below the waist is legal for players inside the tackle box, and backs at least partially inside the tackle box. But, once the ball has left the tackle box, blocks below the waist must be directed from the front – "within the clock-face region between '10 o'clock and 2 o'clock' forward of the player being blocked." There was also this: Maybe in the in- terest of protecting the officials them- selves, out-of-control coaches can now be disqualified if they receive two un- sportsmanlike conduct penalties. Under the stunning blue skies at Beaver Stadium later that afternoon, Penn State head coach James Franklin did not appear to be at risk of getting tossed. In fact, the roles were reversed when he huddled with the crew prior to the Nittany Lions' spring scrimmage. This time, it was the coach offering up instructions to the officials. JUDGMENT CALL OFFICIAL BUSINESS BWI goes behind the scenes with the crew that worked the spring game A

• Cover