Okay, so Anthony Morelli was impressive over the spring, but this fall the young man will take over as the starting quarterback of the Penn State Nittany Lions. Does he have what it takes? The 6-4, 214 pound junior did see action in six games last season and was not too shabby. He completed 13-20 pass attempts for 155 yards and a touchdown, good for an efficiency rating of 146.60. Is that a glimpse of things to come from this promising young star?
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haven't seen too much of this guy yet and won't wager on Penn St. until I see him more...the QB position is just so vital in college football...Comment -
I'm from Pittsburgh (where Morelli went to high school) and I graduated from PSU in '01, so I'm kind of close to the situation. The knock on Morelli has always been that he's got no intelligence whatsoever. He had that knock going into PSU and he's never kicked it.
Personally, I think Morelli should be fine. It doesn't take a genius to run that offense. It's not like PSU is running some really complex offense where he's making multiple reads on pass plays. Don't get me wrong, I think he'll struggle quite a bit in the big games against the good defenses, but PSU is still an 8-3 or 7-4 team.Comment -
thanks for your imput mjc...Comment -
Blue Ribbon Yearbook.
How much better would Michael Robinson be after another full season at quarterback? The possibility boggles the mind. But there was a time when Robinson wasn't even the certain 2005 starter. The job was expected to go to one-time superstar recruit Anthony Morelli, who made a late recruiting decision to spurn Pitt for Penn State. And 2005 was supposed to be his payoff.
Once the Nittany Lions got rolling with Robinson, Morelli became the backup. As a sophomore, Morelli hit 13-of-20 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. Now a sturdy junior, Anthony Morelli (6-4, 220) doesn't have to look around for Robinson. He is the guy.
Period.
There's a reason the recruiting gurus were so infatuated with the Pittsburgh Penn Hills star.
"I thought Morelli had a really good spring, as did [sophomore] Paul Cianciolo (6-4, 222)," Paterno said. "There was one area we tried to emphasize. We knew coming into the spring we had very talented skill people both offensively and defensively. We have some kids that can really run in the secondary and the wideouts. We tried to emphasize that and put Anthony through a lot of tough situations just to get him ready for what might happen in the fall, as we did with Paul."
Just because the Nittany Lions are changing quarterbacks, don't expect wholesale changes in the style of offense.
"A lot of it will depend on how the cast of characters proceeds," Paterno said. "Right now, we are doing just about the same things we have done at the end of the year. We are not doing a lot of different things. I am not interested in changing a lot of things until it is necessary to change them. "If you have a lot of people who know what they are doing, I am not a guy that is going to change just for the sake of changing. We will change when we think it is necessary. Right now, I have to wait to see how everything plugs in."
Paterno, who enjoyed the versatility the mobile Robinson gave him, knows Morelli is a different type of player.Comment
