2008 Penn State Nittany Lions


July 2, 2008 | Posted By Larry Cook

Joe Paterno enters his 43rd year as the Penn State Nittany Lions head football coach.  The Nittany Lions have a plethora of weapons on offense for the first time in a long time and plenty of defensive standouts to compliment them.  After a win over Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl to finish 9-4 last season, let’s see how this Big Ten opponent fares this year with our 2008 Penn State Nittany Lions Football Predictions below.

Offense:

Penn State’s biggest question on offense is at quarterback where junior Daryll Clark and sophomore Pat Devlin could alternate.  Clark completed 56 percent of his passes and ran for four touchdowns as Anthony Morelli’s backup last season.  Devlin originally committed to Miami, but decided to come to Penn State after setting a Pennsylvania high school record with more than 8.000 career passing yards.  He’s also very mobile. 

Paterno has a veteran offensive line to work with and several weapons on the outside.  Center A.Q. Shipley and left guard Rich Ohrnberger are in their third seasons as starters.  Wide receivers Deon Butler, Derrick Williams and Jordan Norwood rank among the top six in career receptions in school history.  Evan Royster rushed for more than 500 yards as a freshman last year and will be challenged by speedy freshman Stephfon Green at tailback.  Penn State’s offense could look much like Michael Robinson’s group in 2005, a unit that scored more than 34 points per game.

Defense:

Near the end of spring practice, the Nittany Lions suffered a huge loss when linebacker Sean Lee suffered a torn ACL that will sideline him for the season.  Lee was the second-leading tackler in the Big Ten last season to show you how much this team will miss his duties on the field.  The Lions planned on moving Lee to the middle, but not Josh Hull and Chris Colasanti will compete there.  Tyrell Sales is a returning starter who will play outside along with blazing sophomore Bani Gbadyu.

Penn State’s strength on defense is up front, where the Lions can rotate eight players and not miss a beat.  Maurice Evans is the start who led the team with 12.5 sacks last year at end.  He’ll be opposite Josh Gaines.  Five players started at tackle last season, led by projected 2008 starters Jared Odrick and Ollie Ogbu.  Three starters return in the secondary, which was crushed by Ohio State, Indiana, and Michigan State in the second half of the season last year.  Safety Anthony Scirrotto enters his third season as a starter as the quarterback of this secondary.  Tony Davis and Lydell Sargeant will be at cornerback.

Penn State Nittany Lions Predictions at Info Plays:  4th in the Big Ten

The Lions are strong where it counts in the Big Ten conference.  They will win most of the battle in the trenches with strong offensive and defensive lines, giving Penn State a chance to win every ball game they enter.  If the quarterbacks learn quickly and the offense is more productive as expected, you can count on Penn State to at least equal their 9-4 record of the pas two seasons and a return trip to a January Bowl.

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