Experience wins out for Penn State QB job
Penn State coach Joe Paterno has picked senior Daryll Clark as the starting quarterback for Saturday’s season opener against Coastal Carolina, beating out sophomore Pat Devlin.
Paterno said Devlin would play but that Clark “had a good spring practice and a really good preseason. So we’re going to go with Clark and start him. But I don’t want him looking over his shoulder.”
Paterno has said previously that it could take three to four games before the situation is resolved. The goal is to work toward a one-quarterback system, something that Paterno has been a big believer in: One voice in the huddle.
Paterno last utilized a two-quarterback system in 1999, when senior Kevin Thompson and junior Rashard Casey alternated series throughout the season.
“I told [Clark], and I’ll tell him again before he goes on the field and when we meet on Friday, ‘Hey, just go in there and enjoy it. It’s your club right now. Go get them,’ ” Paterno said.
Devlin didn’t throw a pass in a game during his first year as a college player. Clark, who has thrown for 147 yards on 36 career attempts and rushed for 126 more on 27 attempts, spent the past two seasons as Anthony Morelli’s backup.
“This is what I’ve been waiting on. … It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been very patient, very quiet about everything,” Clark said. “I’d be lying to you if I told you I wasn’t nervous about Saturday, because I am.”
Clark began to shed his label as a run-first quarterback during the Blue-White game when he looked poised in the pocket and showed precision with several of his passes.
“I don’t think he’s really getting credit for being a pocket passer,” safety Mark Rubin said. “He makes great reads, he has great arm strength, good field vision and definitely a command of the huddle.”
Devlin, who holds the Pennsylvania career prep passing yardage mark, said coaches had told him that Clark had been a little more accurate with his passes.
“I don’t know,” Devlin said when asked about his accuracy. “If that’s what the stats say, then that’s what the stats say.”
Clark is on track to get a fifth year of eligibility, which means he could possibly be a two-year starter. That means Devlin may not get a chance to start until his senior year in 2010, although he has said he has no plans to transfer.
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