Additional Stories
Relaxation in order before Paterno turns to '07
Penn State wins Outback Bowl
Tennessee's offense fizzles against PSU
PSU's Hunt shines at Outback Bowl
By Sam Ross Jr.
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
TAMPA - Joe Paterno brings the wisdom of age to temper the enthusiasm of youth on the subject of Penn State possibly winning a national championship in 2007.
Even before the 20-10 win over Tennessee in the Outback Bowl on New Year's Day, Nittany Lions players who will return next season spoke openly about their goal of winning it all next year.
"We'll come out with the fire of trying to get to the national championship," sophomore wide receiver Derrick Williams said. "With all the guys coming back, we can have a great team for next year."
Quarterback Anthony Morelli, who drew praise for his work against Tennessee, which included completing 14-of-25 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown, also talked of great things next year.
"I think we have a lot of talent back, and we can be right there in the national championship picture," he said.
Early in Paterno's traditional post-mortem news conference Tuesday, the 80-year-old coach was asked about his players and their high expectations.
"I think they should be thinking (that)," Paterno said. "Hopefully, we're never going to be satisfied with just being another football team, if we can help it."
Paterno had believed his 2005 team was good enough to make a title run. The Nittany Lions finished 11-1 and ranked No. 3. This season, the team finished 9-4.
"I think we had a pretty good football team (this season). The people who licked us were good teams," Paterno said. "We should be thinking about being pretty good (next season), but when you start talking about being a national champ, you'd better make up your mind you have a lot of work ahead.
"It's one thing to be up there. It's another thing to be the best."
Paterno is well-versed on that. While he has coached two national championship teams at Penn State, he's also had unbeaten teams that got stopped short of No. 1.
Some have tried to make the comparison between this 2006 Penn State team and the 1993 group that closed a 10-2 season by beating Tennessee, 31-13, in the Citrus Bowl. The Nittany Lions went unbeaten the next season, won the Rose Bowl, but they didn't win the national championship.
"For me to start making comparisons, I don't know," Paterno said. "We had Ki-Jana (Carter) and all those kids back. It's a little different cast of characters."
Current feature running back and Outback Bowl MVP Tony Hunt, unlike Carter, doesn't return. The defense also loses its main man, linebacker Paul Posluszny.
But Paterno's excited that he has quarterback Morelli back for another year, just as he had Kerry Collins returning in 1994.
"I think he's ready to become a big-time quarterback," Paterno said of Morelli. "I think he's been good. It's just he's played against some tough teams.
"He might have been a little shell-shocked because of the criticism he got, but I think he worked his way through, kept his poise, and I'm glad to see him doing what he did."
Paterno also praised sophomore cornerback Justin King for the job he did playing opposite Tennessee All-American wide receiver Robert Meachem, who caught four balls for 33 yards.
"We put him on one of the best wideouts in the country, and nobody even mentioned it," Paterno said. "Where he went, King went, and King did a heck of a job on him."
Note: No Paterno news conference is complete without a history lesson. He recalled a friendship he had with former President Gerald Ford and a lunch they shared in State College when Ford was Vice President.
"He started to eat with his left hand, and I said, 'Mr. Vice President, I thought you were right handed,' " Paterno said. "I'd seen him on golf, when they had that fiasco when he almost killed a couple of guys, and I said 'I thought you swung right-handed.' He said, 'You said you saw me playing golf. You're very charitable.' He said, 'When I sit down, I'm left-handed. When I stand up, I'm right-handed ...'
"He (Ford) was really a genuinely good guy."
Sam Ross Jr. can be reached at sross@tribweb.com or (724) 838-5144.
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