Blue White Illustrated

Jordan Hill leads Penn State's senior class into its final meeting with Ohio State THE LAST STAND MATT HERB | M A T T@B L U E WH I T E O N L I N E . C O M By all accounts, Jordan Hill's foot- ball career is not going to end when Penn State wraps up its 2012 season in a month. Hill is expected to play in the NFL after excelling at defensive tackle for the past four years and may even be the first Nittany Lion chosen in next April's draft. But while he's likely years away from hanging up his cleats permanently, the standout senior sounded posi- tively wistful as he talked about the Nittany Lions' upcoming game against Ohio State. "For all of us seniors, it's our last White Out, the last time in front of a White Out crowd, and the last time we'll play Ohio State," he said. "In the situation that [Penn State and Ohio State] are both in, and [given] the sea- son that we're both having, in my opin- ion, this is the biggest game for us." Hill and his teammates are eager to make the most of the opportunity they have created for themselves – an op- portunity to re-establish Penn State as a legitimate national power just as the eyes of the nation are turning to Beaver Stadium. In addition to being Penn State's border rival, Ohio State is the highest-profile opponent on the Nittany Lions' schedule this year. The Buckeyes are unbeaten through eight games and ranked seventh in the As- sociated Press poll, and the unranked Lions would like nothing better than to deal them their first loss. Hill has been a big reason for Penn State's success, although, as is usu- ally the case with defensive tackles, his impact isn't easily quantified. He's fourth on the team in tackles with 37 and has 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception. To those who may be wondering just how well Hill has been playing lately, teammate Michael Zordich this week posed a simple question: "Did you watch the game Saturday?" Zordich was referring to the Iowa game, in which Hill more than held John Beale his own against center James Ferentz. The Hawkeyes managed only 20 rush- ing yards in a 38-14 loss. "He was all over the field," Zordich said. "He's got the hands, he's got the feet, he's got the hips. He's just a very tough defensive lineman to play against. He's extremely strong and he's quick. He's really got everything you want." Hill said he was motivated by some- thing Ferentz said to him before the game. "It kind of got me riled up, lit a fire under my butt," he said, declining to elaborate on what exactly the All- Big Ten offensive lineman said. Ohio State's offense figures to be a lot more formidable than Iowa's, which was beset by injuries to its backfield and offensive line. Braxton Miller is the team's passing and rush- ing leader, ranking second in the Big Ten in total offense at 292.9 yards per game. And while Miller was shaken up on a hard tackle last week against Purdue, he is listed as the starter going into Saturday's game. "It won't be easy to stop him," Hill said. "But we've had a lot of practice going against running quarterbacks this year. … As long as we keep our containment and do our jobs, we O C T O B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 2 11 should be able to make plays." On Tuesday, Hill was asked whether he ever thought he would be playing in a nationally significant game after the troubled off-season the Nittany Lions endured – an off-season that ended with the team receiving some of the harshest sanctions the NCAA has ever handed down. He said it was no surprise that the spotlight has once again found the Nittany Lions. "Even after everything we went through, we knew that if we were still playing football, there were going to be big games," he said. "When you're playing in the Big Ten, there are al- ways going to be big games." This game arrives at just the right time for Hill. When the season began, he said, he was so amped up that he wasn't playing his best football. "The first couple of games, I was like, 'I'm a senior, I've only got 12 games left, I've got to try to make every play I possibly can,' " he said. "That's not the way I've ever played, and it's not how you should play. You should play within yourself and know what you can do and go do it. So I was like, 'I'm done with that. Just play the game the way you know how to play.' The results speak for themselves." B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M WELL-ROUNDED Michael Zordich said Hill "really has everything you want" in a defensive line- man. "He's got the hands, he's got the feet, he's got the hips," Zordich said.

• Cover