Jordan Hill, Larry Johnson and Defensive Lineman U

Due to its long tradition of producing talented, NFL-bound linebackers, Penn State has earned and lived up to the reputation as Linebacker U. From Ham to Millen, from Conlan to Short and Arrington, from Posluszny and Connor to Bowman and Lee, and now with Mauti and Hodges giving way to Hull and the next big recruit, the names ring eternal.

What people may not realize is that Penn State has also become an NFL factory for defensive linemen under defensive line coach Larry Johnson Sr., to an almost astonishing degree.



Johnson, father of 2,000-yard rusher Larry Johnson Jr., has been the defensive line coach at Penn State for 13 years, and he's been so damn good that new head coach Bill O'Brien made sure to keep him around. And for good reason.

Johnson has coached seven first-team All-Americans during his tenure and 14 first-team All-Big Ten linemen. The big names include the likes of first-round NFL draft picks Courtney Brown (1st overall), Jimmy Kennedy, Michael Haynes, Tamba Hali, Aaron Maybin and Jared Odrick.

While Brown and Haynes turned out to be NFL busts and Maybin has bounced around, all of them were tremendous college players, and several have thrived in the league. Tamba Hali is a perennial Pro Bowler. Jimmy Kennedy and Penn State linemate Anthony Adams have had long NFL careers, while Odrick and rookie Devon Still are just really beginning their professional journeys.

Johnson's track record is astonishing, especially recently, with Maybin bursting onto the scene in 2008, Odrick being named Big Ten Defensive Lineman and Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 and Still following up two years later by duplicating Odrick's honors.

This year, Johnson continued his success grooming monsters on the line, as senior Jordan Hill was named first team All-Big Ten and is sure to play on Sundays next season.



Hill, one of the leaders of the team and another key part in keeping this season from falling apart, was oftentimes a one-man wrecking crew — the same way Still and Odrick were before him. As a defensive tackle, Hill finished fourth on the team in tackles with 64, trailing only starting linebackers Gerald Hodges, Michael Mauti and Glenn Carson. He registered 4.5 sacks and had 8.5 tackles for loss, which may not sound like much but is outstanding considering the nonstop double teams he faced. And he was the reason that Mauti and Hodges were able to shine, occupying blockers so the backers could get to the ball.

The best part of all is that Hill saved his best performance for last. Hill said he never even considered leaving Penn State because he loved the place. He loved it so much that he shed a few tears on senior day, his final game as a Nittany Lion, and nothing was going to prevent him from having his moment. Not nagging injuries, not a Wisconsin team with a massive offensive line and the desire to gain momentum heading into the Big Ten title game.

All Hill did in that final outing was completely and utterly dominate, taking over the game from the defensive tackle position. It was a marvel to watch. Hill had 12 tackles, eight of them solo, including three for a loss and two sacks. Every play, he was in the backfield disrupting things, and even when the Badgers managed to move him a little, he found a way to the ball. It was a thing of beauty. Even the announcers were gushing over his dominance.

In his final game of his collegiate career, Hill was far and away the best player on the field, quite literally putting forth the type of performance we saw from Ndamukong Suh at Nebraska.

Hill continued the new tradition at Penn State under Larry Johnson, becoming a standout, NFL-bound defensive lineman. And with freshman Deion Barnes being named the Big Ten Defensive Freshman of the Year, the new Defensive Linemen U is bound to live on as long as Larry Johnson Sr. remains on those Penn State sidelines.

Linebacker U is alive and well, but it's time to make room in the spotlight for the Penn State defensive linemen and their coach.

It's Friday, Time to Dance

Tomorrow, Penn State travels to the Horseshoe to take on Ohio State. As you may recall, the last time the Nittany Lions traveled to Ohio State, in 2008, they defeated the Buckeyes 13-6 en route to the Big Ten title during the greatest weekend ever.



Aaron Maybin was on that team. Now, he can't even manage to get on the field for the Buffalo Bills despite being an entirely too early first-round pick, and some have even called him the worst player in the NFL. Now he has his own rap song on his website, and let's just say he's even worse at rapping than he is at playing football. Here's a snippet:



Go to his site to listen to the whole thing. It's horrible.

Selfish Suicide Links

Yesterday, it was approximately 8,000 degrees here in Philadelphia. Maybe 9,000. When work was done, all I wanted to do was go home and relax in the air conditioning. One problem: the El wasn't running eastbound.



Why, you ask? At the time, I had no idea. All I know is a police officer was there yelling that there were no eastbound trains, only westbound. I asked him why, and he said something happening at 8th Street. Turns out, some bitch decided to jump in front of a train:

Subway service between the 15th Street and Spring Garden Street Stations was shut down for several hours starting just before the afternoon rush yesterday for an investigation into an apparent suicide at the Eighth Street Station, a SEPTA spokeswoman said.

According to agency spokeswoman Sylvana Hoyos, an unidentified woman jumped in front of an eastbound Market-Frankford El train around 3:20 p.m.

The unidentified woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

SEPTA provided shuttle-bus service between the 15th Street and Spring Garden Stations during the shutdown. Train service resumed around 6:30 p.m. - Robert Moran

I hope this unidentified woman is rotting in hell. I know how SEPTA works, so I wasn't about to wait a half hour for a stupid shuttle bus that would take another half hour or more to get near my house. Instead, I hopped back on the Broad Street Line and got off at Girard, then proceeded to walk the 20 or so blocks, in the scorching heat, to my house. Oh, and did I mention I was the only white person in sight for 15 of those blocks?



On my walk, I passed by a bank that puts up the temperature on those time/temperature signs. It said 98 degrees. By the time I got to my house, I was a sweaty mess. My clothes were drenched. Frankly, it looked like I had just jumped in a pool with all my clothes on. Disgusting.

The moral of the story is if you're going to kill yourself, fine. I have no problem with that whatsoever. More power to you. But don't be a selfish asshole and ruin everyone else's day. Do what any considerate person would do: Shoot yourself in the head, jump off a tall building, hang yourself, overdose on sleeping pills … anything but jump in front of a train, thus ruining everyone else's day that relies on trains for transportation. Selfish bitch.

Let's link …

-Ever wonder why Tony Dungy is so nice to Michael Vick? KSK solved the mystery, and no, it's not because Dungy is a swell guy.

-Spence really misses Cliff Lee, as do many Cleveland fans I'm sure.



At least they still have LeBron. We're stuck with Iguodala and Brand.

-Usain Bolt, still pretty fast:



-Eight Five is now a kicker:



-A George Lynch commercial? Yes, please.



Uh, I don't see a future in acting for Georgey boy.

-Brandon Jennings and Kevin Love, at the Elite 24 Midnight Run:







-Who says white men can't jump?



-Aaron Maybin finally signed with the Bills. Now Buffalo has a chance to finally realize that all Maybin has in his arsenal is a speed rush. The guy had a great season for Penn State last year, don't get me wrong, but he can't stop the run, can't overpower anyone and has exactly one move — the speed rush. He had to leave after last season because his stock was never going to be higher. I hope he proves me wrong, but something tells me the Bills faithful will be proclaiming him a bust in a year or two.

-A letter to Big Ben.

-Another way Bobby Bowden can catch, and pass, Joe Paterno:

Bowden-Prostate: Never mind that now. I have 42 wins as a head coach in the Arena League, Bobby. Meaning even with the vacated wins gone, you’d be 27 up on Paterno. If they can count the wins from Samford in your record, certainly they can count games your own dear prostate won coaching Arena League Ball.

Bowden: Hoo-wee! Let’s celebrate!

Bowden-Prostate: How?

Bowden: [/falls asleep, loses to Wake Forest.]

-Ten things Mets fans can do at Citi Field.

-Want to see some fantastic basketball photos? Go here, via Ball Don't Lie.

Last night, I wound up watching much more of the Phillies game than the Eagles because, as you know, the Phils game was incredibly entertaining while the Eagles game was not. However, Donovan's touchdown to DeSean was a thing of beauty (1:10 in):

Five Penn Staters Drafted, Three Notables Not

In the recent past, Penn Staters haven't exactly lit it up in the NFL, but players like Paul Posluszny have given NFL teams hope, so Penn Staters continue to get picked.



Coming as no shock to anyone, Aaron Maybin was the first Penn Stater off the board, going to Buffalo at No. 11, joining Posluszny on the Bills' defense. Maybin was the lone Penn Stater picked in the first round, and again, that was no shock to anyone. Maybin had a tremendous season last year, and he had to come out when he did. His stock was never going to be higher, and he joins a defense in Buffalo that does have some talent. Hopefully Maybin can continue to harass quarterbacks at the next level.

The next Nittany Lion to go was the man, Derrick Williams, who, ironically, will remain a Lion. Detroit took D-Will in the 3rd round at 82, and as weird as this is going to sound, this a good thing for Derrick Williams.



Think about it: The Lions just got their franchise quarterback in Matthew Stafford, already have the freak of nature that is Calvin Johnson, drafted Brandon Pettigrew as well, and now Derrick Williams can come in as a threat either out of the backfield or lining up next to or opposite Calvin Johnson. With Pettigrew and Johnson getting a ton of attention, D-Will should get plenty of opportunities in the not-so-distant future to use his play-making ability. And of course, you have to figure he'll be a factor in the return game.

After D-Will, Deon Butler also went in the third round, as Seattle plucked him up at 91 to essentially become the next Bobby Engram. If Deon can do that, he certainly will have a very successful career. Given the fact that he has great hands, the ability to stretch the field and is a pretty decent route-runner, I think Butler will become a very reliable receiver in Seattle.

The final two Penn Staters drafted were both from the offensive line: Rich Ohrnberger went 123 in the fourth round to New England, and A.Q. Shipley landed with the Steelers at 226 in the 7th. Both players had incredible years at Penn State last season, and I'm inclined to believe they'll both be in the league for a while, most likely as backups, but you never know.

Of course, the biggest disappointment for Penn Staters at the draft goes to Maurice Evans.



In 2007, Maurice Evans was without question the best defensive lineman at Penn State, and arguably the best d-lineman in the Big 10. He was incredible. But in the offseason, he got busted with marijuana in his apartment, was suspended to start the season, and never really got back into it. With Aaron Maybin taking off, Evans struggled and had a dismal year by all accounts. When he decided to enter the draft, it really made me wonder if he was still getting high routinely.

I mean, the decision to enter the draft when his stock was at all-time low, you have to be high to do that. He could have come back to school, recaptured his 2007 form and become a first or second round pick. Instead, he went undrafted this weekend. I think he'll probably make a team, but he cost himself millions upon millions of dollars. Maurice Evans is a moron, plain and simple.

Other notables that didn't get drafted are Gerald Cadogan and Jordan Norwood. Cadogan has the size to play at the NFL level, but he is slow and really has trouble with speed guys, so it's not shocking he was passed over. Norwood is a reliable receiver and an excellent route runner, but he is just too small for the NFL. That's not to say he can't latch on somewhere. After all, Greg Lewis is in the NFL. It would be foolish to draft the kid though. Hopefully he can find a team to give him a shot.

Oh, and if you go to NFL.com's Penn State draft page, you'll notice Lydell Sargeant listed. He wasn't drafted because, well, he isn't very good. He was a serviceable college player, but there isn't a receiver in the NFL he can cover, and 5'9" 190 isn't doing him any favors.

Update: Undrafted Free Agent Signings, Penn Staters as follows:

-Jordan Norwood to the Browns.

-Maurice Evans to the Giants.

-Josh Gaines to the Eagles.

-Dan Lawlor to the Redskins.

-Mark Rubin to the Rams.

-Anthony Scirrotto and Gerald Cadogan to the Panthers.

Of those, I would guess that Norwood and Evans will definitely make some team somewhere. The rest, I'm not too sure about. Rubin and Scirrotto don't deserve to be anywhere near the NFL, Gaines was just an average player in college, and Cadogan may latch on as a backup somewhere, but maybe not.

Maybin Declares

In sad but unsurprising news for Penn State fans, Aaron Maybin is declaring for the NFL draft.


That's Maybin not getting held by an Ohio State lineman.

Thanks to the early-season suspension to Maurice Evans, Maybin got an opportunity to play this year and made the most of it. The guy had a tremendous season, wreaking havoc all year long. It would have been foolish for him to come back. The truth is, all Maybin could possibly do is hurt his draft status if he came back because, let's face it, he'd be hard-pressed to have the same kind of year next season. He's incredibly undersized for the NFL, and currently, he only has one real move—his speed rush—as Arkansas Fred just called to tell me when he received a text from Lavar's Love Child that Maybin was going pro.

It certainly will be a loss for the Lions, but it's something to be expected. Here's hoping that Maurice Evans, Navorro Bowman and Jared Odrick all come back … and Larry Johnson too. Evans should come back to rebound from the down year and off the field issues and regain his status as one of the nation's elite defensive ends. Bowman, when paired with a healthy Sean Lee, has a chance to be in the Butkus Award talk, enhancing his profile and draft status, and Odrick could use another year to truly become a beast.

I wish Maybin the best of luck. I just don't want the Eagles to draft him. They need another undersized defensive end or out of position linebacker like I need a hole in the head.

LET'S GO BIRDS!!!!!!

A Wonderful Weekend

Honestly, what more could you ask for out of a weekend? Penn State absolutely crushed Michigan in the second half on Saturday to improve to 8-0, and the Rays and Red Sox went all the way to 7 games, with the young Tampa Bay squad eventually coming out victorious to meet the Phillies in the World Series.

Friday night truly made me miss Penn State more than any other time I've been there this year. Why? Because once we entered The Phyrst, I remembered just how cheap the drinks in State College are. Three beers, $5. Two pitchers, $10. Awesome.



The trip out to Penn State was pretty good as well … once we got out of the clusterfuck that is the Schuylkill Expressway. From there it was smooth sailing, and we managed to grab a few drinks right outside town, head on over to the bar and get pretty, pretty drunk. Also, there's now a Five Guys Burgers on College Ave. where the Wendy's used to be. Those are some pretty good burgers.

Anyway, Saturday morning came, and for the first time all season, it was actually football weather. The air was brisk. The sun was shining. Fall had officially arrived. After an awesome tailgate with more food than you can image, it was time to finally destroy Michigan.

Except things didn't exactly go according to plan. The Nittany Lions received the opening kickoff, and on the first play, A.Q. Shipley and Daryll Clark had a little problem. In the shotgun, Clark either didn't expect the snap or Shipley simply soared it over his head. Either way, it was a fumble that Penn State recovered for a loss of 16. Great start.

After a three and out, Michigan got the ball on its own 14 and marched right down the field. Michigan. Like, 2-4 shitty Michigan. Brandon Minor did most of the damage, steamrolling Penn State players, especially abusing Anthony Scirrotto. Needless to say, I was pissed.



Then things got worse. On the next possession, Clark fumbled again, and this time Michigan recovered. They drove down the field again and put up a field goal. Less than 12 minutes in, Penn State was down 10-0. They did answer with a 44-yard touchdown run by Evan Royster, the only Penn State player that looked like he gave a damn early on.



But Michigan came right back as Steven fucking Threet was giving Penn State fits and Brandon Minor powered in for his second touchdown. It was horrible.

I was absolutely killing Penn State, Tom Bradley and losing my mind. I was yelling at Arkansas Fred, telling him I was canceling my season tickets for next year if they lost the game, which seemed like a real possibility. I mean, the No. 3 team in the country was losing to a 2-4 Michigan squad—the worst Michigan team ever. I was livid. Josh Hull, Tyrell Sales, Mark Rubin and Scirrotto were all too slow and too weak to deal with this stinking spread offense.

Bradley had to get three corners in the game, even though he refused, and he needed to wake the fuck up and get Maurice Evans in the game more. Oh yeah, and the offense needed to get its head out of its ass.

Well, it did. Clark hit Jordan Norwood—who had a horrible game up until that point with two key drops—with 23 seconds left to bring the score to 17-14 at half. I felt a little better, but I was still pissed they were losing to a terrible team. I mean, Notre Dame kicked the shit out of Michigan. Dumb.

But then, then, the second half happened. Finally, Penn State looked like a team capable of making a serious run at the National Championship. The defense stepped it up big time. With Scirrotto out of the game with a concussion (thanks to Minor), the Lions brought it Drew Astorino and started playing three corners a lot more, with A.J. Wallace, Tony Davis and Lydell Sargeant manning the field. And Bradley started playing Mo Evans a lot more. And he pulled Josh Hull and Tyrell Sales for most of the second half, opting instead to keep in Navorro Bowman, paired with redshirt freshman Mike Mauti for most of the second half. And Mauti actually played really well.

With those great adjustments by Bradley, the Penn State defense dominated. And the offense followed suit. They tied the game on their first possession, and then, Jared Odrick forced a safety with a little help from Mo Evans. At that moment, the game was essentially over.

From there, Penn State steamrolled the Wolverines, extracting 11 years of frustration on Rich Rod's Michigan squad. Evan Royster continued to be the quietest best back in the nation, rushing for 174 yards on 18 carries. Daryll Clark remembered Deon Butler was all sorts of good, and connected with him 8 times for 105 yards.

And on defense, the Lions were phenomenal in the second half. They gave up no points at all, and forced a fumble thanks to Aaron Maybin, who has had himself a tremendous season thus far.



And Stephfon added insult to injury with an 80-yard screen pass touchdown. It was glorious.



Now all that stands in Penn State's way of a trip to the BCS title game is a visit to Columbus to take on the Buckeyes next week. Needless to say, it is huge.

And as always, LET'S GO PHILS!!

Penn State is Ranked No. 3 in Case You Haven't Heard

I'm not sure if you've heard, but Penn State is ranked No. 3 in the country. The Nittany Lions are a perfect 7-0, coming off a dominant 48-7 annihilation of Wisconsin at Camp Randall on Saturday night.

And while Penn State is getting some love in the polls, the media seems to be kindly ignoring the No. 3 team in the nation, despite the fact the Lions have completely destroyed every team they've played, remain the only unbeaten team in the Big 10 and have the most balanced offense in all of college football. Yet, Joe Paterno and his team rarely get mentioned in the national championship discussion without the disclaimer of something to the effect of: "Well, IS Penn State MAYBE in the national title hunt?"



The talk seems to be centered around the SEC and Big 12, which is understandable since both conferences are incredibly loaded, but ESPN and company seems disinterested in discussing Penn State unless it is to pile on Joe Paterno. And while the nation seemingly turns a blind eye to what's going on in Happy Valley, Penn State has simply continued to win and win big.

As one of the few people really focusing on what Penn State is doing, Adam Rittenberg points out, the critics are running out of things to say about this team.

After a 48-7 win at Wisconsin, the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions should start to get their due. Aside from non-BCS flag bearer BYU, no Top 10 team has been as convincing in victory as Penn State, which has won all seven of its games by 14 points or more.

The Lions have won by an average of 34.3 points and rank among the top 10 nationally in at least six major statistical categories. They have answered questions about their quarterback situation, their response from a troubled offseason, their ability to withstand personnel losses on defense and their poise in tough road environments.

Heading into the game on Saturday, Penn State was the only team in the country averaging more than 250 rushing yards and 240 passing yards a game. They have the most experienced offensive line in the nation, and it shows. With playmakers like Derrick Williams, Daryll Clark, Evan Royster, Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood, Penn State ranks 9th in total offense, averaging over 482 yards a game, and 7th in scoring, averaging more than 45 points per game.





But Penn State isn't only impressive on offense. Through seven games, the Lions are ranked 6th in the nation in scoring defense, surrendering a paltry 11 points per game, and eighth in yards per game, allowing the opposition to gain just 259 per contest. And that balance has shown through, with Daryll Clark and Aaron Maybin named Big 10 Players of the Week. Clark brought home the award on the offensive side while Maybin broke through for the first time on defense.





The scary thing? The dominance doesn't end there. Penn State also has tremendous special teams. Kevin Kelly, who I admittedly despised before this season, is 9-for-10 in field goal attempts, Jeremy Boone has done a nice job pinning teams back, the coverage teams have been superb and Derrick Williams is Penn State's all-time leader in kick returns for touchdowns, a mark he set Saturday with this (at the 1:04 mark):



Quite simply, this team is good. Scary good. And with Michigan in a dire state, Penn State should have no trouble getting over the hump against the Wolverines at home next Saturday. Then, all that really stands in the way of a national championship birth is a tough contest in Columbus in two weeks (maybe the final game at home against Michigan State, maybe). But considering the way Ohio State played against Wisconsin, that game doesn't look quite as daunting as it did before the season began.

So, keep skimming over the details on the Lions, national media. They'll just keep on winning.

And as always, LET'S GO PHILS!!!!!

The Bowman Show

Amid all the excitement from the Eagles defense and the Phillies extending their lead in the NL East, I completely forgot to mention my long, exhaustive Saturday … and Navorro Bowman.



Since Arkansas Fred took a pass on the Penn State-Temple game this weekend, for what I can only assume was a fun day at the ballet, I headed out to State College with my father, cousin and aunt's boyfriend—at 6 in the freakin morning. Noontime games are rough when you aren't staying for the weekend.

Anyway, after hitting up WaWa, we embarked on that dreaded 3-hour ride out 80. Thanks to our early planning, the trip was surprisingly smooth, and we arrived in our parking spot next to Beaver Stadium at 9:30 a.m. For a 12 o'clock game. Ugh. That's a lot of time to kill for an extremely tired quartet, but we managed by taking a nice little walk to the Hooters Bottle Shop, nabbing a 12-pack and hiking back up to the stadium.



We got back to our car, cracked open the brews and ate some food. Finally, it was 11:30, my other cousin met up with us, and we headed into the game. Minutes before the band leader went into his flip, I told my cousin, "You know what, since Jerome Hayes is out for the year, my new favorite player is Navorro Bowman." I'm not making this up. You can ask him if you don't believe me.

Well, after a terrible start to the game, Penn State racked up 31 points in the second quarter and the game was essentially over. Highlights included Evan Royster and Stephon Green completely dominating and my cousin affectionately naming the cowboy hat-wearing douchebags in my section Brokeback. I can't believe I hadn't thought of that.

But the real highlight of the game was the redshirt sophomore linebacker Navorro Bowman. Almost as if to validate my declaration that he is now my favorite player, Bowman was a beast on Saturday. Literally. The man who dons No. 18 had 11 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and an interception. It was like he was playing Notre Dame all over again.



His incredible play made me especially happy, seeing as he is now my new guy. To be honest with you, Bowman looked a lot like Paul Posluszny and LaVar Arrington out there Saturday—albeit against a pretty poor Temple team. Still, it was nice to see a sophomore with so much talent show a flash of brilliance. And prove once again just how smart I am.

The 45-3 win also saw a breakout game by defensive end Aaron Maybin, who had 5 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and completely made his man look like a fool on virtually ever play.



The victory, accompanied by a Florida State loss, also put Joe Paterno back in his rightful place as the all-time leader in Division I wins with 376 and vaulted the Lions to No. 12 in the country. The Nittany Lions have now completely destroyed all 4 of their opponents, outscoring them by a combined 211-40 for an average margin of victory of almost 43 points per game.

Saturday, they'll finally get a real test as Big 10 season starts, taking on No. 21 Illinois at 8 p.m. in Happy Valley. I expect Bowman to dominate again.

Update: Bowman was named Big 10 co-Defensive Player of the Week.