2006 Penn State football preview

2005 Record: 11-1 (7-1 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Joe Paterno

Players Drafted:
Tamba Hali DE - Round 1 - Kansas City
Michael Robinson WR - Round 4 - San Francisco
Calvin Lowry S - Round 4 - Tennessee
Alan Zemaitis CB - Round 4 - Tampa Bay
Tyler Reed OG - Round 6 - Chicago
Ethan Kilmer WR - Round 7 - Cincinnati

Top Recruits:
Maurice Evans DE - 6'3" 250 Middle Village, NY
J.B. Walton OG - 6'3" 265 Indian Head, MD
A.J. Wallace CB - 6'1" 195 Pomfret, MD
Patrick Devlin QB - 6'3" 194 Exton, PA
Chris Bell WR - 6'3" 200 Norfolk, VA
Bani Gbadyu OLB - 6'1" 205 Gaithersburg, MD

Key Players Returning:
Anthony Morelli QB
Tony Hunt RB
Deon Butler WR
Derrick Williams WR
Jordan Norwood WR
Paul Posluszny LB
Justin King CB
Levi Brown OT
Jay Alford DT
Dan Connor LB
Tim Shaw LB

A year ago Joe Paterno's job as Penn State's head football coach almost seemed to be in question. "The game had passed him by..." said some members of the media. Boy did he silence the critics as Paterno led the Nittany Lions to a 11-1 record and a victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

The outlook for 2006 is a positive one, but Joe Pa has lost a lot of talent from his 2005 squad. In all, Paterno will have 9 returning starters and 35 returning lettermen in 2006.

Penn State Offensive Outlook

On offense, the Nittany Lions return 5 starters from the 2005 team where they were a constant threat with Michael Robinson under center. They averaged over 34 points per game and were seconds away from an unblemished Big Ten record. Junior QB Anthony Morelli replaces Robinson, and he’s advertised as a poised decision maker with decent mobility. He’s a better passer than Robinson and will have a trio of WRs that can make big plays. Sophomores Deon Butler, Derrick Williams, and Jordan Norwood collectively may be the best group of young receivers in the nation.

Tony Hunt will be the workhorse in the backfield. He rushed for over 1,000 yards last season and will be required to provide the same stability this year to ease the transition of Morelli at quarterback. He will have a capable backup in senior Austin Scott to share some carries, but Hunt has decent hands to catch passes out of the backfield and will be the primary back. The only returning starter on the offensive line is Levi Brown, a big OT who will be playing on Sundays in the future.

Penn State Defensive Outlook

The defense is loaded with linebackers that will terrorize opposing offenses. Paul Posluszny is coming off of a knee injury but appears to show no ill effects. He topped Ohio States AJ Hawk for postseason awards as the nation's top linebacker last season and is the clear favorite to win the 2006 Butkus Award, providing he stays healthy. Tim Shaw and Dan Conner will be the other starting linebackers, and each amassed over 70 tackles last year.

DT Jay Alford returns for his senior season to anchor a very inexperienced line. He’s quick for a defensive tackle and will produce late in games when offensive linemen wear down. The secondary lost a lot of talent with Lowry and Zemaitis being drafted, but look for Justin King to step in and man one of the CB spots.

Penn State Special Teams

Sophomore Kevin Kelly is another young kicker in the Big Ten who has a lot of upside. He had a decent freshman campaign, but will need to come up with some big kicks this year for the Lions to knock off some tough opponents on their schedule.

Punter Jeremy Kapinos is one of the nation's best at his position. He has the great touch on his punts and seems to understand how to punt to the dangerous returners in the conference.

The return specialists, Derrick Williams and Justin King, are each capable of turning a kick into a TD at any time.

2006 Keys to Success: Offensively the line will need to step up because, as mentioned above, only OT Levi Brown returns as a starter. Brown is not doubt a big time offensive lineman, but football minds know that offensive lines are better when a group has played together. With new bodies filling four positions the Lions will have to work hard in preseason practices to come together as a unit.

While the Penn State linebackers are very good, the secondary will be filled with four new starters. Teams will look to use play-action to hold the linebackers in check and then attack the Lions through the air. The secondary will need to prove early in games that they can cover or Big Ten quarterbacks will continue to air it out against the Lions. Another concern with the defense is three new starters on the defensive line. These new starters will need to keep offensive linemen off of the linebackers so they can fly around and make tackles.

2006 Overview: After winning the Big Ten in 2005 the Nittany Lions have a number of new faces on both sides of the ball. Despite this fact, Paterno has had solid recruiting classes recently, and he returns with a team that has a viable chance to repeat as conference champs. They open conference play with a huge game at Ohio State. However, they will be battle-tested as week two sends the Nittany Lions to face The Irish at Notre Dame. Then Joe Pa and company will have a week to gather themselves against Jim Tressel’s former team, Division I-AA Youngstown State.

PSU will find a way into a Bowl game at the end of the year, but it will be difficult to repeat last year’s performance and win the Big Ten in 2006.

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