Paterno to explore changes in attempt to right Lion ship

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The morning after Penn State's 21-6 loss to Florida in the Citrus Bowl, Penn State coach Joe Paterno let everyone in on his little secret.

"We got licked by a good football team and we lost three games," Paterno said. "We may not have been that good."

May not have been that good?

Before the season, the Nittany Lions were the toast of college football. They were No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25. They were No. 2 in the Coaches' Poll. Life was good. Following a scintillating 31-27 win against Ohio State on Oct. 11, Paterno said, "I think it's obvious we're a pretty good team."

It was the high point of the season.

The following week, Penn State barely squeaked past lowly Minnesota 16-15. Golden Gopher running back Thomas Hamner ran for 162 yards on 32 carries. It began a string of six consecutive games, including the Citrus Bowl, in which the Penn State defense allowed an opposing running back to rush for more than 100 yards. The Lions lost three of those games.

As the weeks passed, others began to realize, just as Paterno did, that Penn State was not a No. 1 team -- or even a No. 10 team. For Paterno, that is not good enough.

"This is not a push the panic button," Paterno said, "but I'm never going to be satisfied with 9-3. That's not my nature. We want to be right at the top and that's not to mean this team could've been at the top or should've been at the top.

"I just want to make sure there's nothing that we could've done that would've made us win another game."

The coach is aware that nothing he can do know now will change 1997. He's already focused on 1998, and there is a lot on which to focus.

One of the most pressing concerns as the Lions head into next season is the quarterback situation.

Before the Citrus Bowl, quarterback Mike McQueary said redshirt sophomore Kevin Thompson is the front-runner for the starting role, but Paterno was non-committal when asked about it. Thompson, who completed 13 of 20 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown during last season's Blue-White game, was third on the depth chart in 1997. He will be pressed by redshirt freshman Rashard Casey, a former New Jersey player of the year.

Paterno's second concern will be to determine who the unknown quarterback will hand the ball to in running situations next season. During the Citrus Bowl, Curtis Enis was replaced by redshirt junior Chris Eberly who ran for 65 yards on 14 carries. Eberly will likely compete with redshirt sophomore Cordell Mitchell in the spring for the starting slot. If Aaron Harris returns from injury, though, he too is likely compete for the role as Penn State's feature back.

Defensively, 1997 was a virtual bust for Penn State. The Lions finished the regular season as the fourth-worst defensive team in the Big Ten.

"Defensively, we have some young kids that we didn't play, which may have been a mistake," Paterno said.

Instead of going with the less experienced, but possibly more talented underclassmen, Paterno and the coaching staff often opted for older players such as Jason Collins, Shino Prater, Chris Snyder and Matt Fornadel. At times it worked and at times it didn't.

"We're going to have to take a good look at it," Paterno concluded.

That good look may mean more playing time next season for underclassmen like freshman cornerback Bhawoh Jue, freshman tackle Greg Ransom, sophomore hero Derek Fox and several of the true freshmen who are still in high school.

Finally, and possibly most important, Paterno said he is going to take a serious look at the off-the-field workings of the Penn State football team.

But he also said the academic difficulties that plagued wide receiver Joe Jurevicius may be unavoidable.

"Our institution right now is getting so tough academically that we're going to have academic problems," Paterno said. "They're here to get an education and that will always be a problem."

As for sports agent Jeff Nalley and others like him, Paterno said additional steps may have to be taken to shield Penn State players.

"We try to protect our kids," Paterno said. "We ask the agents to contact our advisory group and the whole bit."

Now, it may take more than that.