Three years ago, Anthony Morelli was the kid from Pittsburgh with the rocket arm, the supposed savior of a football program on the rocks.

Now, after waiting on the sidelines behind Zack Mills in 2004 and Michael Robinson in 2005, Morelli has finally gotten his turn to prove himself.

So far, the 21-year-old junior signal caller has hit some early bumps, throwing four interceptions in four games. Fans that once cheered for him to replace Mills and Robinson have now quickly turned on him, calling for reserve quarterback Daryll Clark to take his place.

"It's tough," Morelli said. "Being a quarterback, you have to be ready for this."

But through this week, Morelli has kept his head up, saying the way he was raised won't allow him to get down on himself.

When Morelli was just 4, his parents divorced. He's spent the last 17 years living with his father, Greg Morelli, who has turned into a best friend for his son and his best support system.

"Anthony thinks he's better than everybody," Greg Morelli said, "and he's eventually going to show people that."

Aside from his father, Anthony Morelli has had an uprising of support from Mills and his current team, including quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno.

After the Ohio State game, Jay Paterno told Morelli, "It's going to be a rough week, you're going to get e-mails and stuff like that. But we're going to find out what kind of guy you are."

Tomorrow's game against Northwestern will give Morelli a chance to shake off the early season struggles and, perhaps, the quickly dissenting fan base.

But though Morelli doesn't want fans to turn on him so quickly, he still understands the nature of his position; the quarterback often receives too much praise when games go well and often too much blame when they don't.

Now, he just wants fans to be as patient as he has the last three years.

"C'mon, let's be serious," he said. "I waited my turn. It's my turn to do it."