14 I Wednesday, Sept. 8,2010 McElroy From Page 10. individual player is bigger than the team.” While Shaffer had halfback D.J. Dozier and linebacker Shane Conlan to rely on, McElroy is in a similar position surround ed by a star-studded offense and a strong defense. With enough depth at running back that Alabama may not miss a beat if returning Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram is not in the backfield and with wide receivers Julio Jones and Marquis Maze making plays on the outside, the pressure isn’t solely on the quarterback. But even the thought of defeat is some thing McElroy doesn’t let enter his mind. “You never go out thinking about losing. You never go out anticipating losing,” McElroy said. “You just go out and antici pate being the best you possibly can, and fortunately for me over the past 31 games, or whatever the number might be, that expectation is to win and we’ve done a great job and I’ve been very fortunate to play on some very good teams.” But there have been some close calls for the quarterback, such as the time his defense came up with an interception in the end zone to seal a victory in high school or last year’s 12-10 win against Tennessee. The Tide’s ability to win the national championship was partially because McElroy’s teammates said they trust him to manage the game well. “He’s probably the smartest guy I know,” Crimson Tide center William Vlachos said. “I actually lived with him last year and we’re really good friends. Whether it’s on the field, in the classroom, socially, anything he’s just a real heady guy." He's so smart that teammate Dont’a Hightower said sometimes when the two hangout, McElroy’s vocabulary leaves him perplexed. D’Errico From Page 10. practice to develop consistency on her toss. “There's different spins that you can put on the ball that will make it cut one way and drop and stuff like that.” From there, it’s just a regular spike approach, she said. The Lions, who are 6-0 on the young sea son, practice serving and passing every day in practice. Every now and then coach Russ Rose brings out the radar gun to measure how fast his players are serving. D'Errico said she and setter Kristin Carpenter both topped out at 62 mph this past preseason. “If you have a person who can hit a jump serve 55 or 65 mph, then it’s going to cause Cost From Page 10. training, Cost admitted he was sluggish and lazy on the ball. Warming took notice and had a few words for the co-captain. “He challenged me to be dynamic and quick and see if I can change the game a little bit,” Cost said. “I've taken that to heart and I’ve been trying to do that and I think it’s paid off in the first weekend.” The senior said playing more defense has helped his fast start, allowing him to transition easier into the attack. Having a new central midfield partner in Justin Lee, who has a strong defensive mindset has also been a benefit. “In the case of J-Lee being in the middle it's more of a partnership,” Cost said. Colasanti From Page 10. opponent during the week, the better play er you’re going to be in the game,” Fracassa said. He compared Colasanti to Chris Spielman, ar former linebacker at Ohio State, who was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in April of last year. Spielman, Fracassa said, was not neces sarily the quickest at the position, but he was always prepared and, as a result, was always in place to make the tackle. “He’s a hard worker,” Fracassa said of Colasanti. “He’ll study the film, listen to coach, work hard in practice, but he also has something you can’t coach, which is instinct.” Colasanti functions at his best in the middle of a 4-3 defense, Fracassa said, and with Alabama expected to take more chances in the air than Youngstown State because of its talent at receiver, the Lions will likely opt for a nickel package more often than last Saturday. Shots From Page 10. to how his team plays the game an aggressive style of soccer, focusing on cre ating opportunities and keeping the pres sure up. “You could take 10 regular students from the student body, put them all around the penalty area, who have never played soc cer, and even a great team will have a tough time scoring goals against them,” Warming said. “If that’s the way you choose to play. We don’t choose to play that way.” The Lions choose to play with intensity, hoping to win every ball and keep the bail at all times. Senior co-captain Andres Casais, was proud of how hard the team worked this past weekend to do just that. This mentality of coming together as one team is something the Lions have learned to embrace both on and off the field. The team is just as united off the field, “He has such a deep dictionary,” Hightower said. “Sometimes I laugh at some of the things he says because I don’t know whether to take it as an insult or to just joke around with it.” McElroy completed his Rhodes Scholarship essay and begins his formal on-campus interview today. However, Shaffer also used his intelligence to lead to something other than football. The former Lion who once asked to be cut from NFL training camp so he could complete an internship on Wall Street, is now successfully employed by Goldman Sachs. “He was smart, I liked his poise and his family and I thought he could become a good quarterback,” Joe Patemo recalled of his recruiting of Shaffer. “He lost one game in two years. He lost the Orange Bowl to Oklahoma when we had another shot at a national champi onship, so he was quite a guy, so I don’t compare him to anybody.” Whether McElroy is huddling up his teammates on the sidelines during the first quarter of the national championship or getting on them to quit dragging in prac tice, Shaffer sees the confidence McElroy exudes. “Confidence is key,” Shaffer said. “You have to have confidence in yourself and confidence in your team. He’s been suc cessful in a competitive conference and on a team that’s usually around the top five in the rankings. To have that many wins in a career speaks volumes about all the teams you’ve played on.” While McElroy’s teammates said they are well aware of his streak, don’t think the quarterback will be keeping track of his consecutive wins any time soon. “When I step out on the field I don’t think about the streak or how many games we’ve won in a row or anything like that,” McElroy said.” To e-mail reporter: aass22o@psu.edu some difficulty to the other team,” Rose said. “If you just hit a serve at 45 mph then it’s no more than a free ball.” However, D’Errico said she tries to find a balance between just hitting the ball hard and keeping it in play to be effective. Rose said while there are matches where D’Errico’s serve nets the Lions a number of points, there have also been times when it gets her into trouble. But since arriving at Penn State her freshman year, D’Errico, now a senior co captain and three-time national champion, said her serve has progressed during her career. Rose said his libero is probably about 20 pounds stronger than when she came to Happy Valley. To e-mail reporter: jyksl42@psu.edu “When he drops, I go forward and when I drop he goes forward.” “It’s a lot of communication so the fact he’s such a good defender allows me to get forward more.” As a whole, the team is playing strong defense, which Cost said has been a big part of his fast start. Cost said the defense sparks the offense and promotes attacking situations, which has led to six goals for Penn State and two shutouts in as many games. Cost’s teammates know what their cap tain is capable of and if he can build off his start, the Lions will have another weapon in their arsenal. “Drew has always done nice work for us,” senior midfielder Matheus Braga said. “He’s been great.” To e-mail reporter: adrso79@psu.edu Michael Mauti, who spends most of his time in the 4-3 as the strongside linebacker, stays on and Colasanti exits when the defense goes to nickel. But Mauti said regardless of how often Colasanti is in the game, he will be crucial if the Lions are to pull off the upset. “That middle linebacker is the anchor of our front seven,” Mauti said. “He had a great game on Saturday, and we’re gonna need that kind of play from not only him but from all our linebackers.” Colasanti, who wasn’t in on Youngstown State’s first-half touchdown, said it was a simple problem of overpursuit. When asked if he expected Alabama to try and exploit the Lions’ defense that same way this weekend, he nodded and grinned. As for any intimidation from going to a raucous Tuscaloosa atmosphere, Colasanti said there is none. “I had to wait three years and I’m ready to go,” Colasanti said. “I take advantage of every play that I get and play each play to the fullest. This is my last year.” To e-mail reporter: ajcs23B@psu.edu midfielder Matheus Braga said. And that attitude transfers onto the field, where the defense and offense work together to stay sharp and keep the team’s shape. Goalkeeper Warren Gross is grateful for his team’s efforts to make his job easier by seeing so few shots. He recognizes what that does for the success of the whole team as well. “We’re out playing teams,” he said. “The biggest thing too is we’re out working teams on the field. You can see that late in the game when we’re pursuing the goal and scoring more.” Though the Lions are pleased to come away with two victories from their opening weekend, they know they’ll have to keep playing the way they have been to be suc cessful. “We’re working really hard to get a win,” he said. “And if you get a shutout, even bet ter.” “That’s just one ingredient to how good we want to play and what we’re aiming at.” To e-mail reporter: massB6o@psu.edu SPORTS Work lor The Daily Collegian Business Division Beins a Busina? •Selling and placing advertising •Creating and designing ads for local clients •Working with local and national advertisers •Helping companies reach their business goals •Becoming involved in a organization that influences 40,000 people a day Join Ifs fur a recruiting session! Monday, Sept. 13, from 5:45-7:00 Wednesday, Sept. 15, from 5:15-6:15 Meetings will take place at the Collegian Office: 123 S. Burrowes St. pf ItlT: & Ms- n* g p i tt- % -V: ■V- •*•? -v v. S'' ./ • • x The Daily Collegian Halley Yankanich & Alana Ringler Advertsing Majors French and Psycholgy Minors Creative Dep't Reps '-ST“w» . t.'r y. in , v *. ■ , »■' “
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