Blue White Illustrated

challenge Daryll Clark's single-season Penn State record of 3,003 passing yards, set in 2009. The Nittany Lions will need continued improvement in the season's back- stretch, as the toughest part of their schedule awaits. Their upcoming game against Ohio State is of particular con- cern. While the Buckeyes gave up plenty of passing yards in the first half of their season – a surprising 265.3 per game – they also intercepted a league-high 10 passes. When the White Out crowd descends on Beaver Stadium for the matchup against the Buckeyes, it will be hoping for a few more magical moments like McGloin's touchdown run against Northwestern – a moment that had players and coaches alike chuckling Nittany Lions look at juco prospect as 2013 depth chart starts to take shape WHO'S NEXT? Penn State resolved this year's quar- terback situation decisively, with Bill O'Brien announcing in early June that Matt McGloin was the choice. But next year? With only one scholarship player returning at the position, the competi- tion looks as though it will be wide open. The returnee is Steven Bench, who is backing up McGloin as a true freshman this year. The Lions have also received a verbal commitment from highly regarded Virginia prospect Christian Hackenberg, and on Oct. 9 they offered a scholarship to junior college quarterback Jake Waters. Currently enrolled at Iowa Western WATERS Community College, Waters may be one of the hottest juco prospects in the nation. He stands 6-foot-2, 215 pounds and was already mulling offers from Akron, Kansas State, North Car- olina State and Florida Atlantic when Penn State entered the picture. "I talked to [Charlie] Fisher, the quar- terback coach," said Mike Strohmeier, Iowa Western's offensive coordinator and recruiting coach. "We sent film earlier in the year, and our offensive line coach played at Maryland, so he knows the strength coach, Coach [Craig] Fitzgerald, and Coach O'Brien. "Then we sent them an updated prospect list with this year's film of some of our guys, and they made it clear that they really like Jake." Is the interest reciprocal? "I'm definitely, definitely interested in Penn State," Waters said. "Right now, I plan on taking one of my visits there. I just have to figure out the best date right now." Through the first month of the season, Waters had completed 71.3 percent of his passes for 1,444 yards and 18 touchdowns, with only three intercep- tions and three sacks. His statistics created a buzz among Football Bowl Subdivision schools, making Iowa West- ern practices a hotspot for Division I coaches. Strohmeier said Penn State was one of the schools that paid a visit, a trip that resulted in a scholar- ship offer for Waters. "Penn State and N.C. State were the two schools there [Oct. 9]," said Strohmeier. "It was Charlie Fisher there for Penn State. Jake is a really smart kid and that's the one thing Coach Fisher was really hoping to get a feel for. We gave him his transcripts, he talked with our offensive staff for quite a while, just asking us questions, doing everything he can to get a feel for Jake. "He came out to practice, then watched practice and saw how accurate Jake is. Jake's an extremely accurate thrower. He's only 6-foot-2, but he's put together really well. He is a really good athlete, and those are the things that stood out to Coach Fisher. He said he didn't see Jake throw one bad ball all day." While Waters is focusing on his soph- omore season at Iowa Western, he will visit a few schools once he gets the op- portunity in either late November or December. He's never been to State College, but his family has visited, and from the sounds of things, they liked what they saw. "I think he's open to practically any school right now," Strohmeier said. "His older brother played for us and now is a wide receiver at Ohio. I know his mom, his dad and brother [visited] Penn State for the first game against Ohio, and they really liked the atmos- phere up there at Penn State. Jake hasn't seen anything yet. His family got a taste of it, though. We'll see how things play out, but I think he has in- terest in Penn State." During his freshman season at Iowa Western, Waters completed 62.6 per- cent of his passes for 2,659 yards and 26 touchdowns. In high school, he led St. Albert High School in Coun- cil Bluffs, Iowa, to a Class 1-A state title. after the game. "He's gonna come in on Monday and tell me he runs a 4.3- 40," O'Brien said. "I'm gonna tell him that we're timing his 40 with a sun dial. "He tells me every week that we need the quarterback draw. He's a great kid, fun kid to coach. I love coaching competitive people, and he's a very competitive guy."

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