Blue White Illustrated

DELLA VALLE FROM PREVIOUS PAGE "When it came down to it, I said I'm going to go up to Penn State and I'm going to work my hardest. I think it's paid off for me. I'm really happy with my decision. I love being here. I love the new coaching staff and everyone, and it's really working out." After a redshirt in 2010, Della Valle – the last syllable is pronounced the same as the last word in "Happy Valley," he said – played sparingly last season, only to see his role expand with the arrival of Bill O'Brien and his new coaching staff over the winter. By the time he took an interception back 35 yards in the Blue-White Game in April, Della Valle had already established himself as a potential contributor in 2012. In the process, he earned a scholar- ship. He learned during preseason practice that he had received a grant – a satisfying moment for the former walk-on. "I think I let my dad know first, be- cause he was the one handling the money," Della Valle said. "But I think I called my dad and then my mom to let my family know. "It was this summer in early August. Coach O'Brien just said I have a role to play on this team. He was very up front with me. That's what I really re- spect about Coach O'Brien. He's always really honest with me." Della Valle is backing up Adrian Amos at cornerback, but the redshirt sopho- more's biggest contribution to the team so far has been as a punt and kick re- turner. Through the first half of the season, his seven punt returns for 57 yards were leading the team, although he also had a muff against Northwest- ern that led to a Wildcats touchdown. Della Valle's ascent might have begun in the spring, but he received a major boost prior to the Virginia game in early September. Penn State struggled on special teams in its opener against Ohio. The coaches enlisted Gerald Hodges to return punts, but the stand- out linebacker fumbled one of his two attempts and gained only 12 yards on his only kickoff return. At Virginia, spe- cial teams coach John Butler noticed JESSE DELLA VALLE "Coach O'Brien just said I have a role to play on this team. He was very up front with me." that Della Valle was fielding punts clean- ly in warm-ups before the game and encouraged O'Brien to give him a shot. "I had been out there before practice all week just catching punts and things like that," Della Valle said. "I think I caught their eye a little bit, but mainly they just told me to field some punts in warm-ups and just see how it was going. When game time came around, they trusted me and threw me in there, and I was glad that I got the opportunity to do that. "It's obviously a very important part of the game, and I'm just glad to be having a big role on special teams and doing what I can to help the team win." Acknowledged by his teammates as a hard worker who will be a consistent presence as a punt returner, Della Valle now says he couldn't be happier with his decision to chase his dreams. "I just spent a lot of nights thinking about it and what I wanted to do," he said. "Growing up, it's every kid's dream to play major Division I football, and I said, 'You know what? I have a chance at my dream and I'm going to chase it.' "That's what I'm doing still today. I'll keep working and hopefully get more and more playing time and help this team win." AVAILABLE NOW in State College stores………… www.409rallytowels.com Our goal behind STAND UP 4 PENN STATE is to have a massive display of support for our team, past teams and Joe Paterno. We want to build support to a peak at the October 27th "white out"! WE STAND UP 4 PENN STATE! It's about time … Look for us on Facebook – 409 Rally Towels Follow us on Twitter @SU4PS #409rallytowels

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