Justin King had never heard a quarterback "talk trash" on the field, although he's played in every game for Penn State the past two seasons.

But in practice this spring, the Nittany Lions' cornerback has heard a few "take thats" and a couple "that's what I'm talking abouts" directed at the defense, coming from rising senior quarterback Anthony Morelli. But he doesn't mind.

"I think that's a good sign," King said of Morelli's chattiness on the field. "After he makes plays, he's screaming something to [the] defense."

The enthusiasm Morelli shows after making plays this spring is a sign of a quarterback who says he is coming back with more confidence for his second season as a starter, spurred by a solid performance in an Outback Bowl win. Morelli completed 14-of-25 passes, throwing for a total of 197 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions in the Lions' 20-10 win against Tennessee.

Aside from the trash talking, defenders have noticed a quarterback who's become more comfortable with his receiving corps. Rising junior wide receiver Jordan Norwood expressed confidence in the unit's members, young and old, saying that rising sophomore Chris Bell was making progress and that rising junior Derrick Williams was holding himself to a high standard. To Norwood, the chemistry between Morelli and the receivers is miles ahead of last year's.

King said he felt encouraged by seeing the offense's progress. Nevertheless, the defense doesn't want to take Morelli's trash talking sitting down.

"We're talking trash right back," rising junior linebacker Sean Lee said. "Our practice can get heated. We might be friends with [the] offense off the field, but when it comes to practice, we hate them. I think it's good, because we get that competitive sense."

In a teleconference this week, Morelli was happy to discuss the Outback Bowl win. He eagerly fielded questions about how he was going to use that experience to benefit the team. But when he was asked how well he's been reading defenses this spring, Morelli wasn't happy.

"Next question," he said.

Last year, the quarterback dealt with criticism that he was having problems reading defenses. So far this spring, though, defenders said that he's been able to read and react just fine -- faking out the secondary and linebackers, then hitting his receivers.

Negative comments, though, can be motivational for the quarterback.

"Every day, I think about everyone who says I can't do this, I can't do that," Morelli said. "I just want to prove them wrong."

In fact, when talking about the season ahead, Morelli sounded as if he was ready for any challenges that could come up. He said having Austin Scott -- who missed all of last year -- as his running back wouldn't be as big of a transition as everyone thinks it might be. This year's Lions are deep enough at several positions, he said, that a comparison to Texas and Florida -- the last two national championship teams -- isn't too much of a stretch.

"I got a lot of confidence now," Morelli said. "I know I can play in the big game and win it."