How Bad Can This Get: The Paterno Fiasco (4/19)
Posted: April 19th, 2008, 8:18 pm
Good lord almighty. For anyone who thinks the sky is not falling in Happy Valley, read this article. Even for a guy who is pretty against Joe staying any longer than '08, this seriously made me cringe. Read this press conference transcript.
I think this press conference speaks volumes of what is the real trouble up there. He simply is an old man who is set in his ways and does not want to hear about how the floor is falling out from underneath him. It is so frustrating that I can't even put the right words into it. It is absolutely unbelievable. If this guy cared for this program as much as he acts like he does, he'd be calling Schiano and telling him to take over next season. Instead, he is acting in the most selfish way possible, and will not even budge. I am telling you, get ready for the fire fight. That whole program is going to absolutely explode next offseason when those trustee's and the people in the High Command (who Joe has lost all control over) are gonna force him out as head coach. It is going to be the absolute worst coach - school situation in the history of the NCAA. No matter what the Higher Ups do, they'll be chastised for it. Let me ask you: if you were them, what are you supposed to do if you are them right now? Keep this going? He will not even budge on any of this. That's the problem. He is acting in the exact opposite of the school's best interest.
This is straight from Rivals.com, no added commentary by yours truly.
How has the Blue-White Game evolved since you first started at Penn State?
I really can't remember that first one. In fact, we weren't in this stadium. We were at the other place. It's hard for me to remember but it's a scrimmage and it has slowly developed into some of these things that you see today. I don't know how many people will be here but I had a tough time getting over here. I met with 3,500 people over at the Bryce Jordan Center and then trying to get over here the traffic was horrendous. I didn't realize how many people would be here. But, it's kind of fun. It's exciting but I really don't remember the first one. I was assistant coach, I was probably more concerned about were a couple of kids ready to play and not ready to play, what kind of spring practice that we had. In those days we had six weeks of spring practice with no restrictions for when you put pads on, and that kind of... now we have 15 practice, three days you gotta go without anything but helmets. So it's a whole different kind of environment. And the amazing part I guess I would add is the interest. You see so many people that come to literally a scrimmage. And it's not only here, there's a lot of schools in the country that have the same kind of experience and is that a tribute to college football? I think to a degree it is. I think the fact that so many people who graduate from some universities and have been a part of the football program as well as the university, I think yeah. But I really have not given it the kind of thought...
How do you envision the offense being run this fall?
I think people might make a mistake when they try to say what they're going to do. It's funny that people think the spread offense is something new. I played in the spread offense in 1944 in high school. I was the quarterback out of the shotgun. In 1944, my high school team never went into a huddle. The things we're doing now, we did then except we did them from just a little different angle. If I had a blackboard here I could show you how we ran the quarterback draw and the quarterback counterand the reverse and all those kinds of things. I think you do what you can do best. I'm not sure exactly yet where we're going to be as a football team. I think we got some great wideouts, I think we have the potential to have a couple of great tight ends, young tailbacks, we have the ability to be a very diverse football team. What route you take... there's only one football. There's a lot of guys that want to get their hands on the football. I think our job would be to make sure we get it to the right guy at the right time in the right place in the right situation. So whether we want to call it the spread or what, if Clark's the quarterback we'll probably lean toward a couple more things. But Clark doesn't have the job yet. I think Devlin and Cianciolo are good football players. I think who comes out and works hard this summer, comes back to pre-season practice in a little bit and we'll go from there. But there's no need to make a decision right now.
People are worried about recruiting with this one year at a time contract status.
Eh, that's ridiculous. You take a look at the wideouts, Butler was a walk-on, Norwood only had one scholarship. Scirrotto only.. the best freshman skill guy we got is Astorino. Astorino was going to go to Kent State if we didn't give him an offer. You guys can all get caught up... I think we had a heck of a year recruiting.
The fans get caught up.
That's your problem.
It's not your problem?
No, it's not my problem. Why is it my problem?
Well, they're supporting this program.
You know what your problem is? You're succumbing to. You succumb to the Web site mob and that's what it is.
What's the Web site mob?
The people sending you guys letters without signing their names.
Oh, they sign their names.
Well that's fine. Then you answer them.
Well, I can't answer them. That's the whole point.
Well, I can't answer them either.
Well, you could.
I just told you what the answer was. I think we're doing great.
Well, a lot of players would want to know who their coach is. Don't you agree with that? In two years?
Don't you think that they talk to me about that and I talk to them?
And what do you tell them?
I tell them, you know what, some of the guys that tell you I may not be here are washing streets and doing dishes and things like that. Alright? I don't get into that. I tell them exactly what I think. Hey, I hope I'm going to coach here while you're here. I may not only the Lord knows what's going to happen. I'm excited about the team I got. I'm excited about our prospects for recruiting. I'm excited about your being interested in Penn State and if I'm not here, the people you see around you, the facilities, the commitment to this program, the kind of attitude that Penn State has had about athletics... we have a whole mess of kids up here today. We must have 50 high school juniors up here today. They take a look at this place and say hey this must be one heckuva place. And if I walked out, they might not even know me.
They don't know you?
They may not. I don't know. I keep looking at the girls on the way over here. I drove over here like this looking at those girls with their shorts. I hope they know me.
One more thing and I'm going to get this out of the way. I won't say another word about it. In your perfect world, one of your assistants would be your successor?
I would hope. I don't know. I think when I decide to get out of it, I think that will be up to some people who are more responsible for the program than I would be if I'm not here.
Are you working toward it though?
I'm looking forward to having a good football team this year. You guys waste my time with all of this.
This isn't a waste of time though.
But it is a waste of time because it doesn't have a darn thing to do with whether we're going to have a good football team this year and that's the only thing I'm worried about.
It has a lot to do with next year and the year after that.
Oh horse manure next year and the year after. You don't know what you're talking about. Hey, do me a favor and get an anonymous trustee who doesn't have enough guts to use his name.
You should have seen the quotes we didn't use.
Well that's find but you're still using an anonymous guy and if a trustee is anonymous enough to not use his name, that's his problem and it's not going to bother me.
How much does the loss of Sean Lee hurt this team and are you still considering naming him a captain?
Well, we're going to vote on captains right after I talk to some of the seniors. Sean Lee is a heckuva football player. Sean Lee is one of the best football players in the country. That's a big loss to us and it's just not the physical part of it. He's everything you want - as far as I'm concerned - in a football player. He's got poise, comes to practice every day and works like a dog and the whole bit. And, when he got hurt, it was a big loss, particularly in the drill. It wasn't even a contact thing. It's going to hurt us but as I said to the squad, if you've got a good football team, somebody comes to the front. If you have a good organiation and somebody goes down, somebody comes to the front, and that's the way I feel about it. A kid like Sales, who really has kind of hung in the back... all of a sudden Sales is a gung-ho guy. He had taken a backseat maybe to Lee. Now, as far as having a football player to replace some of the things that Lee could do... Lee would be as good of a linebacker as there was in the country this year. I'm not saying he's the best because I'm not like that. I don't see a lot of other people but it would be tough for people to tell me there's a better linebacker than Sean Lee in the country. But Sales has come to the front. The walk-on kid from down in the valley, a kid by the name of Josh Hull, all of a sudden, they're playing with a lot more responsibility is not the word I want but a sense of, hey, these guys need me. But I'd still like to have Sean.
How has Stefen Wisniewski progressed?
He's going to be a good football player. He's still got some things to learn but he's a true sophomore. That's one thing about this program when you guys talk about people worried about recruiting, I got a whole mess of kids whose old man played here. Guys that you wouldn't even know. Ahrenhold, Tyler Ahrenhold's a walk-on, Joe Suhey had a father and a grandfather and a great grandfather play here, Rich Mauti's got two kids here from New Orleans, coming from Louisiana, Zordich's kid's coming here, and we went out to recruit people, we knew we were going to get those guys and as a result a lot of people didn't make a big fuss over them because they couldn't get them to come get their picture taken or they weren't going to do something or agree to be in a game someplace. And Stefen was one of them. Stefen's a very straightforward, academically in a very tough course.
Does he remind you at all of his old man or his uncle?
Well, it's early to tell. His father Leo was a great player. When we played in the Fiesta Bowl in '81 when Leo played against that Matthews kid from Southern Cal and Marcus Allen won the Heisman Trophy, they didn't block Leo yet and Stephfon, what'd he play like 10-14 years in the NFL? So I think it would be unfair to say he's in that league yet but I think he's got a chance to be. Remember, though, Leo could not play as a freshman. He was ineligible. I don't mean academically. Freshmen were not allowed to play at that time.
How is Jared Odrick doing in his recovery?
He'll play today. He won't play a lot. Larry Johnson, his position coach, they don't want to get him tired in there. So he'll play some but he's coming along fine. He's a good football player.
What has Mickey Shuler shown you?
His old man. If his dad dropped a pass one day in practice, his dad would be the first guy on the practice field and he'd have somebody throwing him passes. And young Shuler's got a little bit of that in him. His grandfather was out on the field the other day, came up to watch him, and we were talking a little bit about it. And I said, he reminds me of Mickey a little when he first got here. He's bigger than Mickey, maybe a little more natural ability than Mickey but he's got the same attitude. I think he's going to be a heckuva tight end. If he works at it. He keeps his mouth shut and doesn't say boo.
What kind of things are the suspended players doing this spring and when will you evaluate whether or not they'll be on the team in the fall?
It depends on their grades to be frank with you. None of them have been out at practice. I tried to wait out whatever the university decided to do with them and there were some things involved with Judicial Affairs that had to get worked out that asked my opinion of certain things that I'm not going to get into that. But I think that I'm going to wait and see how they... they all know where they stand. They've got to do certain academic work. I've gotta feel comfortable that they've grown up. That they're not silly kids and they can walk away from situations and when they do that then we'll re-evaluate their situations.
What was the thinking four years ago when you moved A.Q. Shipley over to center?
Desperation. That's what I was thinking. We needed a center. Shipley, he wasn't happy about it at the time. He actually is a natural nose guard. If we were playing in the old-fashioned Oklahoma defense with a nose guard over the center with two gaps to handle, Shipley would be really good. But nowadays, when you play this four-man line we're playing with, guys have to be big strong guys and handle one gap, Shipley helped us more on offense. And I think he's happy with it. It was a good move for the team because Shipley has become a real strong leader. He's a bright kid and good worker and we needed some leadership on offense.
Do you consider this spring an especially difficult one for you personally?
I have thoroughly enjoyed working with this squad. This is one of the best squads that I've ever been around. I don't know if I'm getting mellow or what but I really have enjoyed them. I've had a lot of fun with them. It's a young squad in a lot of places. I would have loved to have had the four, five kids that aren't with us out there but I think eventually whatever happens with them will be a plus but I really have enjoyed it. This stuff, all this other crap about what are you going to do and how's it going to affect this and what's going to happen, that's a pain in the rear end to be frank with you. It really is. And obviously the way I responded to some things Dave said, I just got tired of that baloney because it doesn't have anything to do with this football team. It's over, it's gone, it's passed and if I have to make a decision I'll make it. But right now, we've got a good squad that's been a lot of fun to be around. Period.
Did you have any reaction to the charges being dropped against Austin Scott yesterday?
I really haven't followed it that much. Austin and I talked last week on the phone and I told him when you get through this thing, I want you to come out and we'll talk a little bit about your future because he can graduate in May and I think he will graduate in May. I told him if I can help him maybe get a better opportunity with a pro team after this thing's over with that I would do that. But it's up to you guys to judge. I don't know. There again, you get me involved in some stuff that...
How is the QB race shaping up and is there a favorite right now?
I think we've got three good kids. I really do. I want to say this and be as fair as I can be. Last year, Jay kept talking to me about Clark and I was reluctant to stick Clark in there too soon. I was afraid that if he wasn't quite ready, it might affect his confidence in himself because even in high school and he went to prep school and he didn't have a lot of tough experiences. But he's had a really good spring but having said that, at times, Devlin lights you up and Cianciolo has a little something about him so I don't know what to tell you. I'm going to try to make sure to give every one of those guys an opportunity. If you'd have said to me, we've got to start tomorrow, I don't know. I'm not sure what I'd do. Again, you have to put the whole puzzle together.... We got a good situation. I guess that's a long answer. I think we got three good kids and I really couldn't tell you how it's going to go.
In general, what are the pros and cons of playing two quarterbacks?
I think there are pros and cons obviously. You wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't feel that way. Believe it or not, I have played two quarterbacks. I think it depends on the individual. We could play two quarterbacks. We played two in the game. We put Clark in there in the bowl game. And when it was appropriate for Clark to do a couple of things.
Any cons to playing two QBs?
Sometimes people say, well, as long as I've been coaching... rah rah rah you're over the hill all that kind of stuff. You know the one thing about coaching as long as I've coached, I've been through it all. There comes a time when something up here says wise up, play two quarterbacks. This thing isn't all black and white like you think it is. We probably should have played Robinson quicker than we played him. People don't realize he was the outstanding player in the Big Ten, coached by a guy that doesn't know how to coach quarterbacks.
Was there anything about the Thompson and Casey experience in 1999 that would color your handling of this one or not?
I think that's a good question for a change, Dave. I really can't remember why I did certain things with Casey and Thompson. I really don't. But I'm sure the same kind of logic would come into play. I think your point is well-taken. I don't want to be too flippant. Eventually when it comes time I think maybe we're going to play Devlin here and Clark here if I come to that decision. I have not. Then it would probably be for the same reasons I did with Thompson and Casey. And I don't remember why I did it with Thompson and Casey. I'll look in there and say, 'Look, we're not getting as much as we should with what we've got. We've gotta maybe change the procedure somewhat.'
I think this press conference speaks volumes of what is the real trouble up there. He simply is an old man who is set in his ways and does not want to hear about how the floor is falling out from underneath him. It is so frustrating that I can't even put the right words into it. It is absolutely unbelievable. If this guy cared for this program as much as he acts like he does, he'd be calling Schiano and telling him to take over next season. Instead, he is acting in the most selfish way possible, and will not even budge. I am telling you, get ready for the fire fight. That whole program is going to absolutely explode next offseason when those trustee's and the people in the High Command (who Joe has lost all control over) are gonna force him out as head coach. It is going to be the absolute worst coach - school situation in the history of the NCAA. No matter what the Higher Ups do, they'll be chastised for it. Let me ask you: if you were them, what are you supposed to do if you are them right now? Keep this going? He will not even budge on any of this. That's the problem. He is acting in the exact opposite of the school's best interest.
This is straight from Rivals.com, no added commentary by yours truly.
How has the Blue-White Game evolved since you first started at Penn State?
I really can't remember that first one. In fact, we weren't in this stadium. We were at the other place. It's hard for me to remember but it's a scrimmage and it has slowly developed into some of these things that you see today. I don't know how many people will be here but I had a tough time getting over here. I met with 3,500 people over at the Bryce Jordan Center and then trying to get over here the traffic was horrendous. I didn't realize how many people would be here. But, it's kind of fun. It's exciting but I really don't remember the first one. I was assistant coach, I was probably more concerned about were a couple of kids ready to play and not ready to play, what kind of spring practice that we had. In those days we had six weeks of spring practice with no restrictions for when you put pads on, and that kind of... now we have 15 practice, three days you gotta go without anything but helmets. So it's a whole different kind of environment. And the amazing part I guess I would add is the interest. You see so many people that come to literally a scrimmage. And it's not only here, there's a lot of schools in the country that have the same kind of experience and is that a tribute to college football? I think to a degree it is. I think the fact that so many people who graduate from some universities and have been a part of the football program as well as the university, I think yeah. But I really have not given it the kind of thought...
How do you envision the offense being run this fall?
I think people might make a mistake when they try to say what they're going to do. It's funny that people think the spread offense is something new. I played in the spread offense in 1944 in high school. I was the quarterback out of the shotgun. In 1944, my high school team never went into a huddle. The things we're doing now, we did then except we did them from just a little different angle. If I had a blackboard here I could show you how we ran the quarterback draw and the quarterback counterand the reverse and all those kinds of things. I think you do what you can do best. I'm not sure exactly yet where we're going to be as a football team. I think we got some great wideouts, I think we have the potential to have a couple of great tight ends, young tailbacks, we have the ability to be a very diverse football team. What route you take... there's only one football. There's a lot of guys that want to get their hands on the football. I think our job would be to make sure we get it to the right guy at the right time in the right place in the right situation. So whether we want to call it the spread or what, if Clark's the quarterback we'll probably lean toward a couple more things. But Clark doesn't have the job yet. I think Devlin and Cianciolo are good football players. I think who comes out and works hard this summer, comes back to pre-season practice in a little bit and we'll go from there. But there's no need to make a decision right now.
People are worried about recruiting with this one year at a time contract status.
Eh, that's ridiculous. You take a look at the wideouts, Butler was a walk-on, Norwood only had one scholarship. Scirrotto only.. the best freshman skill guy we got is Astorino. Astorino was going to go to Kent State if we didn't give him an offer. You guys can all get caught up... I think we had a heck of a year recruiting.
The fans get caught up.
That's your problem.
It's not your problem?
No, it's not my problem. Why is it my problem?
Well, they're supporting this program.
You know what your problem is? You're succumbing to. You succumb to the Web site mob and that's what it is.
What's the Web site mob?
The people sending you guys letters without signing their names.
Oh, they sign their names.
Well that's fine. Then you answer them.
Well, I can't answer them. That's the whole point.
Well, I can't answer them either.
Well, you could.
I just told you what the answer was. I think we're doing great.
Well, a lot of players would want to know who their coach is. Don't you agree with that? In two years?
Don't you think that they talk to me about that and I talk to them?
And what do you tell them?
I tell them, you know what, some of the guys that tell you I may not be here are washing streets and doing dishes and things like that. Alright? I don't get into that. I tell them exactly what I think. Hey, I hope I'm going to coach here while you're here. I may not only the Lord knows what's going to happen. I'm excited about the team I got. I'm excited about our prospects for recruiting. I'm excited about your being interested in Penn State and if I'm not here, the people you see around you, the facilities, the commitment to this program, the kind of attitude that Penn State has had about athletics... we have a whole mess of kids up here today. We must have 50 high school juniors up here today. They take a look at this place and say hey this must be one heckuva place. And if I walked out, they might not even know me.
They don't know you?
They may not. I don't know. I keep looking at the girls on the way over here. I drove over here like this looking at those girls with their shorts. I hope they know me.
One more thing and I'm going to get this out of the way. I won't say another word about it. In your perfect world, one of your assistants would be your successor?
I would hope. I don't know. I think when I decide to get out of it, I think that will be up to some people who are more responsible for the program than I would be if I'm not here.
Are you working toward it though?
I'm looking forward to having a good football team this year. You guys waste my time with all of this.
This isn't a waste of time though.
But it is a waste of time because it doesn't have a darn thing to do with whether we're going to have a good football team this year and that's the only thing I'm worried about.
It has a lot to do with next year and the year after that.
Oh horse manure next year and the year after. You don't know what you're talking about. Hey, do me a favor and get an anonymous trustee who doesn't have enough guts to use his name.
You should have seen the quotes we didn't use.
Well that's find but you're still using an anonymous guy and if a trustee is anonymous enough to not use his name, that's his problem and it's not going to bother me.
How much does the loss of Sean Lee hurt this team and are you still considering naming him a captain?
Well, we're going to vote on captains right after I talk to some of the seniors. Sean Lee is a heckuva football player. Sean Lee is one of the best football players in the country. That's a big loss to us and it's just not the physical part of it. He's everything you want - as far as I'm concerned - in a football player. He's got poise, comes to practice every day and works like a dog and the whole bit. And, when he got hurt, it was a big loss, particularly in the drill. It wasn't even a contact thing. It's going to hurt us but as I said to the squad, if you've got a good football team, somebody comes to the front. If you have a good organiation and somebody goes down, somebody comes to the front, and that's the way I feel about it. A kid like Sales, who really has kind of hung in the back... all of a sudden Sales is a gung-ho guy. He had taken a backseat maybe to Lee. Now, as far as having a football player to replace some of the things that Lee could do... Lee would be as good of a linebacker as there was in the country this year. I'm not saying he's the best because I'm not like that. I don't see a lot of other people but it would be tough for people to tell me there's a better linebacker than Sean Lee in the country. But Sales has come to the front. The walk-on kid from down in the valley, a kid by the name of Josh Hull, all of a sudden, they're playing with a lot more responsibility is not the word I want but a sense of, hey, these guys need me. But I'd still like to have Sean.
How has Stefen Wisniewski progressed?
He's going to be a good football player. He's still got some things to learn but he's a true sophomore. That's one thing about this program when you guys talk about people worried about recruiting, I got a whole mess of kids whose old man played here. Guys that you wouldn't even know. Ahrenhold, Tyler Ahrenhold's a walk-on, Joe Suhey had a father and a grandfather and a great grandfather play here, Rich Mauti's got two kids here from New Orleans, coming from Louisiana, Zordich's kid's coming here, and we went out to recruit people, we knew we were going to get those guys and as a result a lot of people didn't make a big fuss over them because they couldn't get them to come get their picture taken or they weren't going to do something or agree to be in a game someplace. And Stefen was one of them. Stefen's a very straightforward, academically in a very tough course.
Does he remind you at all of his old man or his uncle?
Well, it's early to tell. His father Leo was a great player. When we played in the Fiesta Bowl in '81 when Leo played against that Matthews kid from Southern Cal and Marcus Allen won the Heisman Trophy, they didn't block Leo yet and Stephfon, what'd he play like 10-14 years in the NFL? So I think it would be unfair to say he's in that league yet but I think he's got a chance to be. Remember, though, Leo could not play as a freshman. He was ineligible. I don't mean academically. Freshmen were not allowed to play at that time.
How is Jared Odrick doing in his recovery?
He'll play today. He won't play a lot. Larry Johnson, his position coach, they don't want to get him tired in there. So he'll play some but he's coming along fine. He's a good football player.
What has Mickey Shuler shown you?
His old man. If his dad dropped a pass one day in practice, his dad would be the first guy on the practice field and he'd have somebody throwing him passes. And young Shuler's got a little bit of that in him. His grandfather was out on the field the other day, came up to watch him, and we were talking a little bit about it. And I said, he reminds me of Mickey a little when he first got here. He's bigger than Mickey, maybe a little more natural ability than Mickey but he's got the same attitude. I think he's going to be a heckuva tight end. If he works at it. He keeps his mouth shut and doesn't say boo.
What kind of things are the suspended players doing this spring and when will you evaluate whether or not they'll be on the team in the fall?
It depends on their grades to be frank with you. None of them have been out at practice. I tried to wait out whatever the university decided to do with them and there were some things involved with Judicial Affairs that had to get worked out that asked my opinion of certain things that I'm not going to get into that. But I think that I'm going to wait and see how they... they all know where they stand. They've got to do certain academic work. I've gotta feel comfortable that they've grown up. That they're not silly kids and they can walk away from situations and when they do that then we'll re-evaluate their situations.
What was the thinking four years ago when you moved A.Q. Shipley over to center?
Desperation. That's what I was thinking. We needed a center. Shipley, he wasn't happy about it at the time. He actually is a natural nose guard. If we were playing in the old-fashioned Oklahoma defense with a nose guard over the center with two gaps to handle, Shipley would be really good. But nowadays, when you play this four-man line we're playing with, guys have to be big strong guys and handle one gap, Shipley helped us more on offense. And I think he's happy with it. It was a good move for the team because Shipley has become a real strong leader. He's a bright kid and good worker and we needed some leadership on offense.
Do you consider this spring an especially difficult one for you personally?
I have thoroughly enjoyed working with this squad. This is one of the best squads that I've ever been around. I don't know if I'm getting mellow or what but I really have enjoyed them. I've had a lot of fun with them. It's a young squad in a lot of places. I would have loved to have had the four, five kids that aren't with us out there but I think eventually whatever happens with them will be a plus but I really have enjoyed it. This stuff, all this other crap about what are you going to do and how's it going to affect this and what's going to happen, that's a pain in the rear end to be frank with you. It really is. And obviously the way I responded to some things Dave said, I just got tired of that baloney because it doesn't have anything to do with this football team. It's over, it's gone, it's passed and if I have to make a decision I'll make it. But right now, we've got a good squad that's been a lot of fun to be around. Period.
Did you have any reaction to the charges being dropped against Austin Scott yesterday?
I really haven't followed it that much. Austin and I talked last week on the phone and I told him when you get through this thing, I want you to come out and we'll talk a little bit about your future because he can graduate in May and I think he will graduate in May. I told him if I can help him maybe get a better opportunity with a pro team after this thing's over with that I would do that. But it's up to you guys to judge. I don't know. There again, you get me involved in some stuff that...
How is the QB race shaping up and is there a favorite right now?
I think we've got three good kids. I really do. I want to say this and be as fair as I can be. Last year, Jay kept talking to me about Clark and I was reluctant to stick Clark in there too soon. I was afraid that if he wasn't quite ready, it might affect his confidence in himself because even in high school and he went to prep school and he didn't have a lot of tough experiences. But he's had a really good spring but having said that, at times, Devlin lights you up and Cianciolo has a little something about him so I don't know what to tell you. I'm going to try to make sure to give every one of those guys an opportunity. If you'd have said to me, we've got to start tomorrow, I don't know. I'm not sure what I'd do. Again, you have to put the whole puzzle together.... We got a good situation. I guess that's a long answer. I think we got three good kids and I really couldn't tell you how it's going to go.
In general, what are the pros and cons of playing two quarterbacks?
I think there are pros and cons obviously. You wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't feel that way. Believe it or not, I have played two quarterbacks. I think it depends on the individual. We could play two quarterbacks. We played two in the game. We put Clark in there in the bowl game. And when it was appropriate for Clark to do a couple of things.
Any cons to playing two QBs?
Sometimes people say, well, as long as I've been coaching... rah rah rah you're over the hill all that kind of stuff. You know the one thing about coaching as long as I've coached, I've been through it all. There comes a time when something up here says wise up, play two quarterbacks. This thing isn't all black and white like you think it is. We probably should have played Robinson quicker than we played him. People don't realize he was the outstanding player in the Big Ten, coached by a guy that doesn't know how to coach quarterbacks.
Was there anything about the Thompson and Casey experience in 1999 that would color your handling of this one or not?
I think that's a good question for a change, Dave. I really can't remember why I did certain things with Casey and Thompson. I really don't. But I'm sure the same kind of logic would come into play. I think your point is well-taken. I don't want to be too flippant. Eventually when it comes time I think maybe we're going to play Devlin here and Clark here if I come to that decision. I have not. Then it would probably be for the same reasons I did with Thompson and Casey. And I don't remember why I did it with Thompson and Casey. I'll look in there and say, 'Look, we're not getting as much as we should with what we've got. We've gotta maybe change the procedure somewhat.'
