Like Tom Sawyer whitewashing Aunt Polly's fence, starting the Big Ten season seemed like such a good idea for the Penn State football team.
However, just like Sawyer tired of toiling with the paintbrush, the Nittany Lions are starting to feel the grind of playing in the physical conference. But unlike Sawyer, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno can't get neighborhood kids to fill in for his squad (at least not with desirable results).
Already, the bumps and bruises are starting to take their toll, as quarterback Zack Mills and tailback Larry Johnson were injured during Saturday's game at Wisconsin, adding to the previous list of wounded Lions which already included linebackers Sam Ruhe and Deryck Toles, who is still questionable for the Michigan game.
Paterno said that both Mills, who sprained his acromioclavicular joint, and Johnson, who pulled a hamstring, should be ready to play Saturday at Michigan. Still, Paterno said he is giving both key members of his offense light treatment this week in practice.
"Zack practiced a little bit [Monday], we told Larry to take it easy," Paterno said. "I think they'll both be fine, we'll know a little bit more after today."
Figuring how hard to push players in practice is also a concern for Paterno. He said the team went through a light workout Monday but would do hitting drills yesterday, explaining that some things must be done at close to full speed to be effective.
Nevertheless, Paterno is always weary of pushing players that see a lot of game action too hard.
"I've got to be careful with a lot of guys like Joe Iorio and all those kind of guys that play a lot of plays in tough football games," Paterno said. "I've got to make sure we don't run out of gas coming down the stretch."
He's no LJ
Besides stopping what was potentially a career day early in the third quarter, Johnson's hamstring injury served to highlight the gap between him and his backups.
Second string tailback Mike Gasparato played well, picking up 15 yards on the ground, and snagging a clutch pass for 25 yards.
While Paterno was pleased with Gasparato's performance, he made it clear that the sophomore requires a little more seasoning before he can reach LJ's level.
After Gasparato, however, Paterno concedes that the tailbacks thin out.
Sophomore Pete Gilmore, who was thought to be Johnson's logical backup last spring, didn't make the trip to Madison due to the Big Ten's 64-man limit on the number of players that can travel to road games, a policy Paterno dislikes.
"In all fairness, Pete's really made a lot of progress, but he did not come back in good shape," Paterno said. "He started off a bit behind but he's really worked hard and it's really close between him and Gasparato."
The forgotten man
With defensive end Michael Haynes on pace to break the NCAA single-season sack record and defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy named this week's Big Ten defensive player of the week, things would appear to be going well on the defensive line.
However, Paterno said he wasn't entirely pleased with the play of defensive end John Bronson, saying he got pushed around more than necessary against the Badgers.
"John Bronson can be a good football player one of these days but he got knocked around Saturday," Paterno said. "He's got to get a little bit stronger at the point of attack, but he's going to have to fight for his life this week to keep his job."
