Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/79325
He organized summer workouts for the quarterbacks and wide receivers, and spent extra time watching film to better understand how to read a de- fense. (O'Brien mentioned the improve- ment during the team's preseason me- dia day.) When news of the NCAA sanc- tions hit, he was one of the first players to reaffirm that he would stay at Penn State, and while he refrained from crit- icizing the teammates who went else- where, he went out of his way to praise the ones who stayed. "I think guys are just more excited to play this year and get going," he said. "It's a different program now. Guys are excited to be here day in and day out, and we're having a lot more fun with the game. There's definitely a lot more riding on this season than there has been in the past. We've got a chance to make a statement, and every- body on the team understands that." He said he has a notebook full of tips and information from Fisher, and Fisher praised McGloin for putting in the extra work needed to learn his new role. O'Brien will call the plays, but the quarterback will be responsible for getting the offense into formation, and he will be able to audible and check off to adjust to the defense. Said McGloin, "We're definitely not used to doing that at Penn State." Fisher said he's focused first on mak- ing sure McGloin understands the new offense, second on, essentially, har- nessing that competitiveness. "Sometimes guys who are that com- petitive, they have a tendency to think they can make every throw, and that's good," Fisher said. "And it can be bad sometimes. You've got to have the guts to make tough throws. But you've also got to be able to dial back your com- petitiveness and get in a smart mode and say, 'Hey, this isn't a real good de- cision to fire this one in here.' " That's always been the knock on Mc- Gloin, that he forces the ball. His 2011 Outback Bowl performance – five in- terceptions that weren't that far from being seven or eight – is Exhibit A. Fisher said watching film with an eye toward understanding why each mistake is a mistake is what makes the difference. He said the coaches haven't spent time reviewing film from previous seasons with McGloin, pre- ferring to work from current practice films and footage of Tom Brady di- recting the New England Patriots' of- fense. McGloin said, repeatedly, that he loves the new offense, particularly the extra responsibility that will fall on his shoulders. "I like being in control of the offense, making the decisions for the team," he said. "I think that's when I'm at my best." As he said, highly confident. He said he's gotten better at reading the defenses because Fisher and O'Brien have made it easier to under- stand and recognize what the defense is doing. Said McGloin, "I've never had that coaching before, anything like that." And as far as mechanics? Fisher praised McGloin's "good clean delivery" and "good arm," and McGloin said Fisher has taught the intricacies of the position in such a way that all four quarterbacks (including Paul Jones, Shane McGregor and Steven Bench), will look different this fall. He said he's more relaxed, too, because "it's a better environment now." "I've learned to play quarterback at a high level," McGloin said, "and that's all I could ask for." LETTERMEN RETURNING Matt McGloin* LETTERMEN LOST Rob Bolden* RISING STAR Paul Jones came on strong in spring practice, displaying a mar- velous arm and a desire to win the starting position away from his more experienced rivals. That didn't hap- pen, as Bill O'Brien named McGloin the starter in June. But he did win the backup spot ahead of Bolden, who later departed for LSU. BIGGEST LOSS Though Bolden complet- ed only 39 percent of his passes and had a dismal 2-to-7 touchdown-in- terception ratio in 2011, his transfer leaves Penn State with only one quar- terback who has any game experi- ence. NUMBERS GAME The Nittany Lions threw only 10 touchdown passes last sea- son, tied with Minnesota and Indiana for the fewest in the Big Ten. OUTLOOK Hard to say. O'Brien estimat- ed that Penn State showed only about 10 percent of its offense in the spring game, so we still don't have a good feel for what he'll be asking of McGloin and the other quarterbacks. Clearly, there's going to be some on- the-job training involved. And while the numbers McGloin compiled last year in Jay Paterno's passing game were modest – eight touchdowns, five interceptions, a 54.1 percent comple- tion rate – he's been the team's most QUARTERBACK NO NAME 11 Matt McGloin 7Paul Jones 12 Steve Bench 2Shane McGregor YR HT WT Sr. 6-1 211 So. 6-3 Fr. 6-2 204 Sr. 6-1 258 211 effective quarterback the past two seasons. If he struggles in the new of- fense, the Lions don't appear to have many options behind him. Jones and true freshman Steven Bench have never played in a regular-season game, and senior walk-on Shane Mc- Gregor will graduate in December with more degrees (two) than he cur- rently has pass completions (one). PHIL SAYS Entering the 2012 season, McGloin is the only quarterback on the roster with any game experience, but he still had to earn the starting job in spring practice, beating out surging sophomore Jones. Jones fills the No. 2 spot, with Bench projected to be third. O'Brien has said that Jones will play this season. The obvi- ous question is: how much? If Mc- Gloin struggles, we may see quite a bit of the former four-star recruit, who missed last season due to academics. * Starting experience in 2011