The Penn State football captains played Meet the Press last night, sharing their triumvirate of opinions of the state of the 2005 Nittany Lions.
"We're going to get the job done," senior cornerback Alan Zemaitis said, easing the woes of a worried fan base that's still enduring the blows of back-to-back losing seasons.
Zemaitis, senior quarterback Michael Robinson and junior linebacker Paul Posluszny were announced team captains in a May 11 press release, voted to lead by their teammates.
The captains held court at the Lash Building last night in a pre-season press conference.
The biggest surprise was the choice of Posluszny, and that's no slam about his performance on the field. There hasn't been a junior as a team captain for 37 years. And if you're not old enough to remember 1968, that was a year with a little something called Joe Paterno's first undefeated season as head coach.
"It means a ton to me," Posluszny said, but he was quick to caution that his head won't get too big with such a rare honor.
"I don't think the title changes much. I think I'm going to keep doing what I do. I'm not a very vocal leader. When I need to speak, I speak."
Posluszny's quiet demeanor was amplified by the two captains sitting next to him -- Robinson, who drew the most attention from the media (like any quarterback does), and Zemaitis, who soaks up the spotlight like a pulpit-thumper speaking to a rapt congregation.
Zemaitis went to great lengths cataloging the reasons why this summer has been so different for the team.
"We got a lot of guys who are willing to go an extra mile than other summers," Zemaitis said. "I feel very, very confident in what we aspire to do this year; I'm not going to lay down until I get that."
One of the primary responsibilities of the captains in the period prior to preseason practice is getting players out of their respective dorms and apartments and working on ways to be ready for the fall.
Zemaitis is motivating his troops like Gen. George Patton.
"I'm not here to go through the motions," Zemaitis said. "I'm not here for that. I'm here to do what you're supposed to do as a captain. I know my way. And that's to get everybody together, man, let's feel like a family. We brothers out here, and we're gonna do whatever it takes."
"Every time we go out to practice I'm gonna go at it like it's a game. I'm not gonna go out there like its, 'Oh, because there ain't no coaches around, I'm not gonna do nuthin' or I'm not gonna go as hard as I want."
"That's what we want. And that's what they're starting to believe, man, and I'm excited about it."
Robinson was loving Zemaitis' fire.
"I can't top that," Robinson said.
Robinson and Zemaitis both agreed, too, that they had been voting for Posluszny for team captain from the very beginning. They love his toughness and his constant desire to be everywhere on the field.
Zemaitis cited Posluszny interception against Indiana in 2003 as the moment he "arrived" for the Lions. Posluszny, then a freshman, took the field for an injured Gino Capone and ran an interception back for a touchdown in the 52-7 rout.
"His very first 7-on-7 practice drill, he was a freshman," Robinson said. "The very first play he was in there: I was standing behind [former Penn State quarterback] Zack [Mills] in there, Zack dropped back and I really didn't know where Zack was going to throw the ball, but I had an idea. And Zack didn't stare at it, and he through it. And Puz broke on the ball like AZ would, like a DB. And I'm like, man who is that?"
Notes
Yesterday's press conference was also used to announce the first-ever Penn State Football Fantasy Camp, taking place next June.
The camp will be an opportunity for adults 22 years and older to go through the motions of a close-to-real college football training camp experience, sans bone-crunching contact and tackling, with Nittany Lions coaches and staff.
The camp is the brainchild of sports event marketing firm Global Football and Patrick Steenberge, a former Notre Dame quarterback who was integral in the founding of the Notre Dame Football Fantasy Camp.
