Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/83706
THIS WAY WALK As NCAA penalties take effect, PSU hopes nonscholarship players can set a new tempo buckle his chinstrap. Suddenly, Day was completely vul- nerable. He may not have had his helmet anymore – it was rolling around on the turf a few yards away – but he did still have the football under his arm. And he hadn't heard a whistle. "I wasn't down yet, so as soon as my helmet flew off I T knew something was coming," Day said. "From which di- rection, I had no clue. I just knew something was coming, and I didn't have time to prepare myself. But it's just part of football if your helmet falls off. Initially, it hurt pretty good." The it in question was a helmet-to-cranium collision with Bobcats defensive end Carl Jones. The 245-pound Jones dived into the scrum as Day continued to churn for yardage, hitting him hard enough to draw blood. As Day went down, a collective wince rose up from the crowd of 97,000 fans, many of them likely thinking they had just witnessed a serious injury. Offensive tackle Donovan Smith was looking to the sideline, waving for a doctor. Day wasn't sure himself how badly he'd been hurt. "I wasn't too dazed or anything," he said. "I was completely aware of what had happened, and what the situation was: how much time was left and what quarter it was. I knew | he helmet went one way. Its owner, Derek Day, went another. The senior tailback hadn't found much running room after taking a handoff deep in the backfield, and as he tried to escape the congestion, Ohio's Thad Ingol slammed into him hard enough to un-