12 I WEDNESDAY, OCT. 6, 2010
JoePa
From Page 8.
if the Nittany Lions (3-2, 0-1 Big
Ten) have learned from past mis
takes.
"As a group we're disappoint
ed," Paterno said. "But we've lost
to two good football teams, playing
them on the road, and I think that
they hopefully have learned some
thing."
Injury updates
Within the next couple of weeks,
Curtis Drake (foot), Jordan Hill
(ankle) and Gerald Hodges (knee)
could all be dressing and playing,
Paterno said. It would mark the
closest the Lions have been to
being completely healthy all sea
son.
Haplea
From Page 8.
"He's got a lot to learn," Joe
Paterno said. "It's unfortunate
that we've got to stick him in there
right away, but I think he'll do OK
He's a bright kid, he works hard."
The experience of being the
starter and being looked upon to
help block as well as catch passes
for an offense that's struggled
with productivity from the position
is something that will only help
Men's soccer
From Page 8
easy opportunities we should just be putting them in.
Against St. Francis, it should have been four or five
to nothing in the first 10 minutes."
After the Bucknell and Binghamton games, the
Lions traveled to Colorado, where they posted
shutouts over Air Force and Denver arid conceded
fewer set pieces.
While winning on the road is the mark of a con
tender, teams still need to protect their home turf,
Cost said.
"We're obviously looking to get the result on the
road and when we come home we're not as focused as
we should be," Cost said. "But, that's not an excuse.
We've got to be more focused."
The Lions' next opponent at home, Villanova, has
proven it can win on the road. The Wildcats rallied
from a halftime deficit to defeat DePaul, 3-1, Saturday
afternoon. In addition to Villanova, the Lions' next
three games, all at home, include No. 18 Michigan
State and No. 1 Akron.
Lions coach Bob Warming knows his team has to
defend its turf, especially in the next two weeks.
"[Villanova's] got a lot of belief right now," Warming
said. "It's certainly no time to hang our heads, we've
got to get ourselves refocused."
"They're all coming along and
there's a probability that all three
might be ready to go in a week or
two," Paterno said.
Hodges was jogging in practice
Monday, and Paterno hopes to get
Hill back Wednesday, while Drake,
who hasn't played yet this season,
could return next week
Paterno also confirmed tight
end Garry Gilliam will miss the
remainder of the season with an
ACL tear and said Andrew
Szczerba, who was out with a back
injury, jogged with the team dur
ing Monday's practice. Szczerba,
who hasn't participated in any
contact drills this season, will like
ly need time to return to game
speed.
To go along with those injuries,
Paterno said his linebacking corps
is going through some "bumps
Haplea in the long run, wide
receiver Justin Brown said.
Once Kevin decided to give up
his final high school baseball sea
son, he and his twin sister,
Gretchen, enrolled early.
Fbr Kevin, enrolling early was
about learning as much as he
could in hopes of either taking on a
redshirt or being a contributor on
special teams, his father said.
With Kevins blocking being one of
the main reasons he received so
much attention from schools like
West Virginia, North Carolina and
To e-mail reporter: adrso79@psu.edu
SPORTS
and bruises." Chris Colasanti has
a shoulder injury and Bani
Gbadyu has an ankle injury, but
both are practicing.
Using Newsome?
The prospect of using Kevin
Newsome in red zone running sit
uations has been discussed,
Paterno said, but he isn't sure
Newsome is ready for such a
prominent role.
He added he didn't want Bolden,
also a fairly mobile quarterback, to
start dealing with unnecessary
rumors of a quarterback duel.
"We start putting Newsome in
there, and the other kid starts
looking over his shoulder,"
Paterno said. "It's something
we've talked about, and we've
decided we'll just play that by ear
for a while."
Florida State, the spring gave him
an opportunity to show the coach
ing staff what he could do.
"Coach Kenney just flat out
said, 'Right now it doesn't look like
I can afford to redshirt him,' "
Gene said of a conversation that
occurred once Szczerba's season
was in doubt.
"We were basically thing that
might be what's in store for him
and lo and behold, he's not just
getting a little bit of time on spe
cial teams and occasional time in
the game, but now all of a sudden,
Wrestling
From Page 8
to go out and wrestle every day. The only ranking that counts
is at the NCAA tournament."
Such is the mentality of each member of the squad, who does
n't believe anything has been proven after two days of practice.
Wright is one of six Lion wrestlers who enter the season
ranked in WIN Magazine's preseason rankings. The redshirt
sophomore is ranked No. 7 at the 184-pound weight class one
weight class higher than his freshman year, when he finished
with a sixth-place finish and an All-American title.
Meanwhile, Ruth and Taylor will be wrestling for the Lions'
starting squad for the first time.
Taylor is ranked No. 7 at 157 pounds and will be counted on to
replace 2010 Big Ten champion Cyler Sanderson. The St. Paris,
Ohio native went 21-2 in open tournaments last season, and is
ready to step onto the Rec Hall mats and represent the Lions.
"I've been waiting a long time to wrestle in college." Taylor
said. "Not only that, but now I get to wrestle in front of Penn
State and all of our awesome fans.-
Like Taylor, Ruth enters the season knowing coach
Sanderson and the Lions may rely on him at the 174-pound
weight class where he's ranked No. 14.
Ruth knows it will take a lot of preparation for Penn State to
end the year where it ultimately wants to be at the top.
"Even No. 1 teams get beat every once in a while," Ruth said.
"Numbers don't make you No. 1."
Bolden was stopped inches
short on a 4th-and-goal run in the
third quarter against lowa that
swung the momentum of the
game. He has also struggled in the
red zone, where the Lions have
just six touchdowns in 18 opportu
nities this season.
This year, when Newsome has
played in mop-up duty he has
been used primarily in the spread
option, rushing for 46 yards on
eight carries.
"Kevin's gotta spend a little
more time doing his homework, -
Paterno said. "Right now he's got
ten by with his athletic ability, and
he's having a little tough time with
some other things as far as what's
expected of him in certain situa
tions. But I think there is a place
for him."
you know, that's just football."
Paterno said the tight end posi
tion had evolved so much over the
years that blocking is still a top
priority, but noted Haplea is going
to need to be an important part of
the offense.
This is uncharted territory for
Haplea, who his parents said was
never thrust into a starting role
because of an injury since he
began playing football in sth
grade.
Gene expects Kevin to put in
extra work and be ready for what
To e-mail reporter: rmlsl3B@psu.edu
Notes
Paterno wouldn't discuss the
status of defensive end Sean
Stanley and cornerback Derrick
Thomas for Saturday's game, cit
ing university policy. Stanley and
Thomas and defensive tackle
Brandon Ware missed the trip to
lowa last week because of aca
demic reasons. "We're breaking
the law if we talk about it,"
Paterno said when asked ...
Paterno on the play clock running
out at the end of the first half
against Iowa: "I won't get into
whose fault that was. It certainly
wasn't one of the coaches' fault
or our players. I hate to point the
finger at anybody so we'll leave
that go."
To e-mail reporter: ajcs23B@psu.edu
he dubbed "an unexpected turn of
eents.-
'At this stage of his career, this
is obviously a big surprise and
something that I don't think any
body is actually ever ready for,"
Gene said. "Those kids out there
that are two and three years older
than him, getting ready to go into
the NFL in a few months, are top
notch players and it takes a heck
of a lot to deal with that, so he's got
his work cut out for him."
To e-mail reporter: aass22o@psu.edu
Colorado
From Page 8
Rose and his staff because they're already a leg up
in that aspect. They were always very close."
In fact. Moydell played a factor in Denney's deci
sion to come to Penn State.
Moydell verbally committed to the Lions her
sophomore year of high school. Denney meanwhile,
was still undecided.
"I knew she would love Penn State, - Moydell said
So I just kept pushing it."
Moydell would make Dennev watch Penn State
volleyball games on TV with her, especially in
December come NCAA tournament time.
"She would always be like, 'Do you see this? Don't
you want to be a part of this'?' " Denney recalled.
'And finally I was like, 'OK, I get it.' " So Denney
took an official visit to Happy Valley That's where
she met Longo. Denney joked that it probably was
n't a coincidence the coaching staff scheduled both
girls' recruiting trips on the same weekend.
"We knew of each other because we played for
rival clubs, but we didn't really know each other,"
Longo said. "But when I found out there was going
to be two players from my hometown also coming to
school with me. I was pretty excited. It's like they
know me and know where I'm coming from."
To e reporter: exkso49@psu.edu
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN