All week, Michigan has been mum on its quarterback situation, and it's still unclear if Chad Henne or Ryan Mallett will be starting tomorrow.
Henne, who is day-to-day, suffered a lower leg "sprain" against Oregon but took snaps this week in practice, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said on a Sirius Satellite Radio broadcast.
If Henne doesn't play, true freshman Mallett will be making only his second career start. He led Michigan past Notre Dame last week, but tomorrow he might be facing a Penn State defense that ranks among the best nationally -- and one that's already played two first-year quarterbacks.
"There's no substitute for the experience [Henne] has," said Jim Cantafio, who coached Henne in high school "Playing at Beaver Stadium last year, you can't substitute for that. That's where, if Chad's not able to go Saturday, Michigan is going to hurt because the freshman kid not being able to make those plays because of lack of experience."
The Nittany Lions confused Florida International's Wayne Younger (12 of 25, 117 yards) and blitzed Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen (17 of 32, 144 yards, 1 INT). Both were making their first career starts in the hostile confines of Beaver Stadium.
No. 10 Penn State is eighth nationally in total defense. And against the run, the No. 10 Lions (3-0) rank first. If Penn State can shutdown Michigan's shifty running back Mike Hart, Michigan might need Mallett to step up.
How will that all affect him?
"He doesn't seem like he gets nervous, he really doesn't" Michigan tight end Mike Massey said earlier this week. "He's unique in that respect."
Michigan players have heaped praise on Mallett, one of the nation's most sought-after recruits last year. A 6-foot-7 native of Texarkana, Texas, Mallett was 7 of 15 for 90 yards and three touchdowns in his debut as a starter.
He was relied upon mainly as a game manager, allowing Hart to gain big on the ground. And the Wolverines (1-2) had to scale back offensively for Mallett.
"For all I know, they could put Hart as quarterback," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "Put him in an empty backfield, shotgun, like everybody else is in the country is doing these days. All of a sudden you have a whole different ballgame on your hands. You just have to prepare for most anything that the other guy might be able to do with the kind of personnel he has."
Working in Mallett's favor if he starts tomorrow is the fact that he'll surrounded by a deep pool of talent. The Wolverines (1-2) have an experienced offensive line, one of the nation's best running backs in Hart and an electric corps of wide receivers, which includes junior Mario Manningham and senior Adrian Arrington.
Plus, players said, Mallett has the right mindset.
"That's one thing I'm not worried about with Mallett is his confidence," Hart said.
"He's a confident guy, and he has a lot of confidence in himself and the throws he makes. I'm really not worried about that all with him."
