Two Penn State football players, including starting tight end Andrew Quarless, may miss the first three or four games of the season after being cited for underage drinking earlier this month, Joe Paterno said yesterday.
Speaking at his first weekly press conference of the 2007 season, Paterno told reporters that Quarless, a sophomore, and Willie Harriott, a sophomore cornerback, would not play in the season opener and may miss additional games.
"Quarless and Harriott did something that really bothered me, in the sense that they were out after hours when we're in camp," Paterno said.
The two players were cited shortly before 3 a.m. on Aug. 17 in the area around Nittany Apartments building 12. Penn State University Police said they were responding to an unrelated call about suspicious activity in the area when they found the two players and determined they had been drinking.
A female student was with the two players and was also cited for underage drinking.
The players are still practicing with the team, Paterno said, but "they're not gonna play for awhile."
Paterno said the team's three captains -- linebacker Dan Connor, wide receiver Terrell Golden and quarterback Anthony Morelli -- talked with Quarless and Harriott after they were cited. The captains advised Paterno to let them remain with the team, the coach said.
Quarless approached the captains shortly after the incident to apologize, Connor said.
"We rallied behind him," Connor said. "The team forgave him, and we're going to move on from there."
The captains also addressed the entire team, telling them that more infractions would not be tolerated, Connor said.
"Things like this add up, and it hurts the team," Connor said. "It makes us look like we aren't disciplined, but in reality, we're one of the most disciplined teams in the country."
Meanwhile, two players still facing charges in connection with an off-campus fight in April appear to be slated to start Saturday's opener against Florida International.
Anthony Scirrotto, a junior safety, faces charges of felony criminal trespass and a summary harassment offense. Chris Baker, a redshirt sophomore defensive tackle, faces charges of criminal trespass, harassment, simple assault, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
A depth chart issued by the athletic communications office Monday night lists Scirrotto as Saturday's starter at the hero position and Baker as a starting defensive tackle.
Since the charges were first filed in April, Paterno has said he would wait until "due process has transpired" before an individual player's status changes. Baker and Scirrotto are scheduled to go to trial in October.
According to court documents, police said a number of football players had some degree of involvement in the fight: 13 players were called to testify at a preliminary hearing for the six players who were initially charged. Justin King, Tyrell Sales, Lydell Sargeant and Jerome Hayes were charged along with Scirrotto and Baker, but later exonerated.
In May, Paterno announced that the entire team would spend Sundays following home games cleaning Beaver Stadium as punishment for the fight.
"We made a mistake, I thought, as a team," Paterno said yesterday of the fight. "Too many people on the team knew what was going on. I thought that we should all say, 'hey, look, somebody could have stopped it,' and we go from there. It was a team responsibility."
Quarless' and Harriott's citations are a different situation, said Paterno, who does not impose a strict curfew on players during preseason practice but tells them to be home early.
"What happened in April is a lot different than what happened to Quarless and Harriott," Paterno said. "Hopefully, I'm sensitive enough to treat them differently."
