Michael Robinson is going to impress you tomorrow. That much, you can be assured of.

Joe Paterno has already said that there are things the freshman quarterback does better than Zack Mills.

Presumably, he is faster and stronger. People began saying he should play last year.

The Penn State die-hards have had him on their radar since he signed that letter of intent.

Therein lies the integral difference between him and Mills.

At this time last year, Mills was entangled in what looked to be a five-year quarterback controversy with fellow redshirt freshman Zac Wasserman.

It's not as though Mills ever really distinguished himself either.

Though he was the more impressive of the two in last year's Blue-White game, throwing for 97 yards and one touchdown, Wasserman was generally considered to be the guy with more upside.

Some publications ranked Robinson as high as third in his class of play-callers, while Mills lingered in the twenties.

When Wasserman transferred due to a sickness in the family, it left Mills the de facto backup to then-assured starter Matt Senneca.

The overwhelming swell of optimism that accompanies a new season prevents even the notion of a fizzle-out by the quarterback, especially after he looked so promising when he did emerge from the shadow in previous years.

So Senneca it was.

All Mills did, though, was shatter the record for most yards by a Penn State freshman quarterback and lead the Lions to the most thrilling victory in recent memory when he single-handedly tilted the momentum against Ohio State with a 69-yard touchdown run.

As much as that game will be remembered for Paterno's milestone 324th victory, it will be known as the arrival of Zack Mills, big-time quarterback.

The romanticism surrounding the current Golden Boy stems from his swooshing arrival.

The kid swash-buckled his way into the quarterback position. Don't you just see Mills swooping down into the middle of the fight, ready to save the day?

Robinson is an entirely different case. He is, by all accounts, superhuman.

People have expected him to carry whatever team he's played for since high school.

Those preconceptions accompanied him when he chose Penn State over Virginia Tech.

Tales out of camp suggest that he, like Mills, has an uncanny knack for leadership -- a real presence in the huddle -- the likes of which have not been seen in these parts since Kerry Collins.

But all of it, for you thus far, has been apropos of nothing.

So tomorrow is the big day.

They'll release the beast for you to ogle at.

It's entirely likely that Robinson will be the story of the day.

They've talked about moving him to get him more playing time. Among the positions he played in high school: running back, wide receiver, safety and linebacker.

One human being who can possibly play all those positions? Tomorrow, in a scrimmage like the Blue-White, a guy with superior physical ability will shine.

Expect him to make some dazzling runs and zip a few passes in there. Robinson traveled over 5,000 yards with the ball in his hands during high school, where they referred to him as the next Michael Vick. He can make plays.

If there is anything to learn from what Mills did last season, though, it is that physical ability is just one ingredient in a quarterback, and it may not even be the most important one.

Mills prepared himself to step into difficult situations (see the Northwestern game.)

He earned the respect of older teammates with hard work and poise beyond his years.

He got the job done.

Granted, Robinson hasn't had that chance.

But doing it in the Blue-White game doesn't mean a thing.

The question of when to let Robinson touch the field will plague this Nittany Lion team all year, even if Mills has an All-Big Ten-type season.

You don't leave your shiny new convertible in the garage, even if you're satisfied with the Lexus.