Blue White Illustrated

Early indicators show no ligament damage for Jordan Hill CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC MATT HERB | M A T T@B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Penn State players looked stricken as they watched the team's medical staff at- tend to Jordan Hill in the second quarter of Saturday's game against Purdue. The standout senior defen- sive tackle had gotten caught in a pileup at the line of scrimmage and didn't stand up when the play ended. As the doctors and trainers examined Hill, his teammates knelt nearby. "I went down and prayed that he would be able to be in good health," defensive end Deion Barnes said. "He has a bright future, and I wouldn't want him to have his career shortened because of a game like this." "A lot of people started thinking, 'What's going to happen,' " cornerback Adrian Amos added. "I just sat there and prayed that everything was going to be all right." The initial indications were that the injury wasn't as bad as it looked when Hill was helped off the field. He said that tests performed on the sideline and again in the locker room by the team's director of athletic medicine, Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, indicated he had not torn the ACL or MCL in his left knee. But more tests will have to be per- formed in State College to determine the true extent of the injury. "I'll prob- ably have an MRI for precautionary reasons," Hill said as he walked slowly to the bus following Penn State's 34-9 victory at Purdue. Likewise, coach Bill O'Brien was cautiously optimistic that Hill hadn't suffered a torn ligament. "Right now I would say no," he said following the game. "But I don't know, so you'll have to give me a couple of days on that." Hill is one of Penn State's defensive stalwarts. He broke into the starting lineup as a sophomore and has started every game for the Nittany Lions at defensive tackle the past two seasons. He's currently fourth on the team in tackles with 45 stops and also has 4.5 PAINFUL WINCE Defensive line coach Larry Johnson helps Hill walk off the field Saturday. Steve Manuel Another great job by Ted Roof. Great game plan and the defense was dominant. Hope Jordan Hill comes back. PSUPride1 I know the game is won, but the Lions can't keep having mental breakdowns on offense at the end of games. Having said that, they did a pretty good job of moving the ball and wore Purdue down in the second half. Just need to minimize our mis- takes in the last few minutes to finish strong. FROM THE WEB bohucon ONLINE REAcTION TO PSU'S LATEST GAME Statistically, the game was domi- nated by Penn State on both sides of the ball. Purdue had no chance. In the fourth quarter the team really just tried to run out clock or this would have been worse. locopsu tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and an in- terception. When Hill went down, he was re- placed in the lineup by senior James Terry. Terry finished with two tackles, and the Lions rolled over the Boiler- makers, keeping them out of the end zone until the final play of the game. If Hill is unable to play Saturday at Nebraska, Terry would most likely get the start alongside DaQuan Jones. Defensive end Sean Stanley said he's confident the Nittany Lions will be able to maintain their defensive mo- mentum even if Hill isn't back in ac- tion next week. Losing the three-year starter would hurt, he said, "but we always have someone who can step up. James Terry played a lot of plays today and did a great job." For Stanley, the hardest part of Sat- urday's game was watching a team- mate and friend in pain. "Me and Jordan are real close, and it hurt to see the replay," he said. "But we're going to rally around him, and people are going to step up." N O V E M B E R 3 , 2 0 1 2 10 Great win! All: We all need to get back on the bandwagon. That was one of the most dominating performances by a PSU team in recent history. 7spencer Really a super job of preparing for those wide receiver screens. You need a lot of discipline and good tackling from your second- ary to shut them down. dmk228 PSU should be playing all of its games on the road. The Lions do not execute as well at Beaver Stadium. Ian They seem to be improving. Mc- Gloin is obviously the cog that makes the wheels turn, but I think with an off-season, spring practice and summer drills, next year's offense can be pretty effec- tive as long as next year's QB can get up to speed with how the offense is run. A lot of credit goes to Bill O'Brien and his of- fensive braintrust. JoeHomsey B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M

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