The Daily Collegian
Offensive linemen aiming for consistency
By Audrey Snyder
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Left tackle Quinn Barham
always knew Joe Patemo was a
hard guy to please.
The 83-year-old
coach demands
many things out
of his players, one =
of them being toughness.
Patemo wants his players tough
enough to withstand the grind of
the season and in Barham’s case,
tough enough to protect the quar
terback’s blindside.
But, there is one other thing
near and dear to Paterno that
Barham said the entire offensive
line hasn’t mastered yet: consis
tency.
Though none of the offensive
linemen changed positions since
the spring, making sure they can
perform at a high level on a
consistent basis remains the
focus.
“We’re not very good right now,
our offensive line,’’ Patemo said.
“We’ve got two or three guys,
three anyway that I think can play
right now. The others, we’re gonna
have to work hard and they’re
gonna have to work hard in order
to be good enough to handle some
of he people we have to play.”
With Stefen Wisniewski and Lou
Eliades occupying the right side,
Doug Klopacz at center and
De'Ontae Pannell and Barham on
the left side, the Nittany Lions
Athletic Klopacz silently captures starting spot
By Brendan Monahan
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
The hill stood at a 50-degree
incline, awaiting the St. Joseph
Regional High School football
players after practices.
St. Joseph football coach Tony
Karcich made it a ritual for his
players to run up the hill locat
ed behind the scoreboard of the
school’s football field in Montvale,
N.J. eight times after every
practice for conditioning purpos
es.
The climb was bad enough, but
even tougher was the hump, the
last part of the hill after an entic
ing plateau that teased the players
into thinking the climb was over.
The offensive linemen led the
way. One of them, Doug Klopacz,
worked through the summer in
hopes of fielding a strong line.
But, the one spot the Lions have
yet to find consistency at is left
guard.
PanneU’s spot is anything but
secure as senior Johnnie
Troutman continues to challenge
for the position.
Throw in Matt Stankiewitch,
who said he’s taken first-team rep
etitions at left guard throughout
the summer, and the Lions have a
decision to make in the coming
weeks.
“There’s nothing really set,”
Stankiewitch said of his time spent
at guard.
“I didn’t even know I was
going to be at left guard, but if
that’s the position they feel I’m
best at they’re going to put you
there.”
With Barham fielding questions
about how his 6-foot-3, 298 pound
frame doesn’t make him a stereo
typical left tackle and Wisniewski
moving back to a position he
played in 2008, the Lions under
stand they have their fair share of
question marks.
Watching film all the time and
relying on their position mates to
share their experience has been
helpful to the entire line, Barham
said.
But the finer details that come
with being an offensive lineman
are what the players believe will
help them become a top-notch
group.
would run up the hill as well as
any skill-position player. The ath
letic Klopacz played left tackle,
had good footwork
and was skilled
enough to get a
look at tight end.
Always the strong,
silent type,
Klopacz never
shied away from
the hill or the
weight room.
Five years later,
Klopacz isn’t backing down from
his newest challenge: holding onto
the starting center spot on Penn
State’s offensive line
Klopacz
Klopacz, who has now waited
four years for the opportunity, Suf
fered an anterior cruciate liga
ment (ACL) tear in his right knee
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Lynn McGowan/Collegian
DeOn'tae Pannell (50) on the field during April’s Blue-White game. Pannell is looking to secure a spot on
the Lions’ starting line in 2010 despite an uncertain lineup as it currently stands.
“Offensive line is not easy," strong enough in pass protection “We’ve gotta go to work.
Barham said. “People think we and good enough to open holes for “We’ve gotta get a bunch of guys
just push people around. It’s cal- running back Evan Royster is why and get them to come together
culating, taking right angles, stuff Paterno and his staff continue to and feel good about themselves
like that. I think it’s just overall stay hard on their offensive line- and look forward to being a tough
working on everything because it men.
all counts.” “That's why we gotta coach,”
Making sure the line will be Paterno said.
his redshirt sophomore year, a set
back that forced Penn State to
move Stefen Wisniewski to center
last season.
But his ability to quietly do his
job has impressed Penn State
football coach Joe Paterno and
kept the coaching staff from
reshuffling the line.
“There’s three or four kids on
that offensive line that are pretty
good, and he’s one of them,”
Paterno said of Klopacz. “Right
now I think we could play with him
and do all right.”
Klopacz’s stability in the spring
and throughout the summer has
allowed right guard Wisniewski
and right tackle Lou Eliades to
shift back to more comfortable
positions.
Karcich said his former player
ft.
understands it’s his senior year,
his last shot, and he’s exhausting
everything he has to make the
best of it.
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 286
pounds, Klopacz may be on the
smaller side of linemen, but he’s
quick and exhibits finesse, where
the majority of his skill set lies.
And earlier in the offseason, the
redshirt senior said quarterback
center exchanges, his fundamen
tal job, were going smoothly.
“It’s never really been a prob
lem for me,” Klopacz said. “It’s
just like secondhand. It’s just auto
matic. It has to be at this level.”
Though solid on those fronts,
Klopacz isn’t all the way there yet,
according to his former and cur
rent coaches.
Paterno and Karcich both said
Tuesday, Aug. 24,2010 I 15
bunch of kids.”
To e-mail reporter: aass22o@psu.edu
Klopacz needs to be more aggres
sive and willing to drive defensive
tackles to the ground. Once in a
while Klopacz will push people
down, but Paterno still needs
more consistency in that area.
“They expect more from him
because physically, he has the
skills,” Karcich said.
That athleticism is why he was
able to climb the hill at St. Joseph
as easily as a skill-position player,
tirelessly going up and down,
putting in the time and keeping
quiet.
“There wasn’t too many times
he said things,” Karcich said, “but
when he said something, [his
teammates] knew he was serious
about it.”
To e-mail reporter: bjmsl46@psu.edu
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