I feel like I wrote about the Penn State QB controversy a dozen times last season and finally Penn State fans will receive some form of solace knowing they won’t have to watch a different QB come in on every other series in 2012.
Last week, Nittany Lions coach Bill O’Brien announced Matt McGloin would be the clear starter going into next season. The decision came as no shock, considering dueling quarterbacks just doesn’t work in any system, unless you’re inserting a wildcat package from time to time, but even still. Watching McGloin and Rob Bolden share time under center last season was just brutal. Neither guy ever got into a rhythm all season long and it showed in that stats column.
Matt McGloin on O’Brien’s decision:
“I think coach O’Brien did a great thing by announcing it early. It lets me try to get control of the offense going into the season. [On rotating QBs] It’s a killer to a team, in my opinion. You have to have a clear-cut starter. The team has to believe in the quarterback. That wasn’t the case the last two years. If the (coaches) had put their trust into one guy, we might have been more successful.”
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McGloin’s consistent play this spring earned him the No.1 spot on the depth chart. Paul Jones will slide in at No.2 with dreadful Rob Bolden at No.3. McGloin asserts the depth chart needs to say “then” rather than “or.” The Scranton gunslinger is unproven as a starter having gone 5-5, including tossing five picks in the Outback Bowl in 2011, but that won’t touch his escalating confidence.
McGloin added:
“Now that everybody knows I’m the starting quarterback, I can try to earn the respect of the rest of the team, earn their trust and go from there,” McGloin said. “I can finally get my mind off of it and not worry about somebody nipping at my heels or whether I’m going to get this rep or that rep.
“I can focus on mechanics, watching film, working with the guys who are most important to me (on offense), work on becoming a leader. If I’m going to start Saturday, I can be at ease with my mind and just focus on preparing for the games and not worry about if I don’t play or practice well Tuesday or Wednesday.”
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There’s no question teams are better off with one starting quarterback, but it remains to be seen how McGloin will fare through what is expected to be a fairly brutal Penn State schedule. I will say this: Matt McGloin’s cockiness, attitude, and willingness to lead this team is exactly what Penn State football needs and its what Penn State fans have been craving for many seasons.
Click here to see how Bill O’Brien plans to run the New England Patriots offense in Happy Valley.
Raju Kansagra
It’s finally a relief that a starter has been named. I can’t recall the last time that has happened this early in Happy Valley. While it’s easy to say we could have won more in hindsight, the play calling may not have appreciably changed the ultimate outcomes. There’s so much new going on and it’s all exciting so I am looking forward to the season more so than I have in the recent past.