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Pastimes : College Football: Nits, Gators, Bruins, Vols - Whoever! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: happynappy who wrote (4782)	10/31/2001 8:42:20 AM
From: MythMan	Respond to of 11146

Lions' QB story gets more muddled Wednesday, October 31, 2001 By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer The Penn State quarterback story continues to have plenty of twists and turns. At 10 a.m. yesterday, Matt Senneca, the starter in five of the first six games, said he was informed Sunday by Penn State Coach Joe Paterno that the coaching staff had chosen Zack Mills to start Saturday against Southern Mississippi. Mills had a record-setting performance in the 29-27 victory against Ohio State in which he accounted for 418 yards. "As far as he was concerned, Zack is making more plays, so he should play," said Senneca, who was pulled after one series Saturday. "I can't really complain about it. I can't tell you if he's right or wrong. He did what he felt was best for the team. He's been in this business a hell of a lot longer than I have. I can't second-guess him. It's not right to do that." At 11:30 a.m., Mills had his conference call, and while he had not been told by Paterno he was the starter, he certainly had been led to that conclusion in conversations he had with Senneca. He talked about stepping up his vocal leadership and adjusting to the new demands a starting quarterback faces on a weekly basis. Then at 12:30 p.m., Paterno disputed his conversation with Senneca, said he had no intentions of naming a starting quarterback and indicated both will play against Southern Mississippi. "We are going to practice and see what happens," Paterno said. "I think in all fairness to Matt, when I put Zack in, I intended to put Matt back in. I had intended to play both of them. I think Matt deserves an opportunity to go out there and compete. I am not going to make a decision right now." When asked how Senneca came to the conclusion that he no longer was the starter, Paterno replied: "You would have to ask Matt. I told Matt on Sunday, when he was disappointed, 'You go out there on Monday and go to work and we'll see what happens after that.' " Paterno denied he has a preference for playing older and more experienced players at the cost of younger and more talented players. "I don't think there is any question in my mind that if there is a guy who is a young player and I am convinced he is a better player and can do more for the football team than an older guy, I am going to play the younger player," he said. "I don't know where you guys get this idea that I am bound to older guys. "The trouble sometimes is that you don't see the problems that the younger player brings with inexperience and mistakes. You only see the good plays that the younger player makes. You don't see the mistakes he makes and the unsettledness he creates in the huddle, both offensively and defensively, because he is not sure and is asking questions. Those kinds of things you don't quite sense. "I have always had a rule and continue to repeat it to the coaches. I would rather play a kid two weeks too late than one day too soon. If you put him in and he is not ready, he unsettles your whole football team and loses his own confidence. I am not married to playing older guys. The older guys have been told that. You have to earn your right to play every year, every play and every game. "What appears to you that a younger player is better, you guys don't know what you are talking about sometimes. That is not your fault because you are not involved every day. You are not involved with the mistakes they make and hurt the whole continuity of a football team and confidence of a football team. Once I am convinced that a young kid is going to give us more than an older kid, that is life." Paterno's decision not to name a starter comes in the wake of public comments made by players and opposing coaches about Mills and his abilities. "Mills is the quarterback with the most potential on the Penn State team," Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel said after the game. "He's the one who worried us the most on film." "Whenever he's in the ballgame, he makes the whole team feel at ease," Penn State receiver Tony Johnson said yesterday. "There's a sense of relief in the huddle. Zack is more relaxed than Matt. When Matt's in a jam he gets a little jittery."