Anthony Morelli (Hype: 9, Reality: 3)
When Penn State's offense struggled in 2004, the student section let the coaches know exactly what it wanted.
"We want Morelli!" many of them would chant, hoping that Anthony Morelli, then a true freshman quarterback, one year out of Penn Hills High School near Pittsburgh, would leapfrog over quarterbacks Zack Mills and Michael Robinson to lead the Lions' offense.
Now, three years later, the student section has seen Morelli change from one of the most highly touted and hyped recruits in the country -- who played sparingly in the shadows of Mills and Robinson -- into a quarterback who, as a starter, has faced struggles leading his team in big games.
In the summer before his senior year in high school, Morelli committed to Pittsburgh. But he became concerned about his choice, saying that the Big East conference was "breaking up" and that several of the team's coaches might be on their way out.
So, in February of 2004, Morelli chose Penn State. At the time, he was Rivals.com's No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the nation. Scouts sung Morelli's praises, saying he had one of the
strongest arms in the country.
But since Morelli became Penn State's starting quarterback in 2006, it's been easier to criticize the now-senior quarterback than sing his praises.
There was Morelli's second game as a starter -- a 41-17 defeat at Notre Dame -- in 2006, when his two turnovers to open the second half also opened the doors for the Fighting Irish. He promised to spend more time studying film and on the practice field.
Two weeks later, against Ohio State, it was more of the same. Morelli threw three interceptions. Two of them were thrown late in the game and run back for touchdowns in the
Lions' 28-6 loss.
"He's down," Joe Paterno said after that game, "but he'll be all right."
But the pattern continued throughout Morelli's junior season. Penn State beat the lackluster opponents that it was supposed to beat and fell to the Big Ten's powerhouses, Michigan and Wisconsin.
There was one game that year that Morelli thought was a "momentum booster" -- the Lions' 20-10 win over Tennessee in the Outback Bowl. His 197 yards passing and one touchdown in the victory gave Morelli the feeling that the 2007 squad would have "a legit chance to go in there and get that run for the national championship," he said after the game.
But it hasn't worked out that way.
The preseason talk of a national championship for the 2007 team has been forgotten after two close losses to Michigan and Illinois. Mistakes and ineffectiveness have plagued Morelli and the rest of the Lions in those two games.
But Morelli's job is safe for today. Paterno said that this afternoon, he'd be sticking with his senior quarterback.
Dan Connor (Hype: 9, Reality: 9)
Dan Connor likes to avoid looking at college football articles in magazines and newspapers. If he reads them, he said, he might feel too good about himself -- or too bad.
"I just stay out of it," the senior linebacker said.
If Connor had been paying attention to any articles in 2003, he would have seen himself ranked as the No. 2 linebacker in the nation by Rivals.com and given a five-star rating by
Theinsiders.com.
Scouts didn't hesitate to proclaim his ability.
"He'll be playing in the NFL in five years," said Max Emfinger, a college football recruiting expert, on Aug. 5, 2003, the day Connor committed to play for the Lions.
When Connor came to Penn State, he was immediately asked to step in at linebacker. He recorded 85 tackles while playing in every game as a freshman. On the field, that pace hasn't slowed. Connor has done everything he needed to live up to the expectations that revolved around him from the outset.
But before he could come back for his sophomore season, he ran into trouble off the field. Less than a month before the 2005 season began, Connor was placed on indefinite suspension for his alleged involvement in harassing prank phone calls placed over a period of several months.
Though he missed the first three games of the season, Connor's 2005 campaign was not ruined. He got back onto the field for the Lions' win over Northwestern and stayed there. Connor hasn't missed a start since then.
Having to sit on the sidelines, Connor said, motivated him to come back even stronger.
"It was tough not being able to play, having to watch the games on TV and stuff like that,"
Connor said in 2005. "But it was really a learning experience for me and it made me stronger. I think it made me a better player."
And he turned out to be right. In 2006, he finished second on the team in tackles, with 113. Connor has now recorded 304 career tackles, leaving him only 68 away from Paul Posluszny's career record of 372.
"I think Dan Connor is a tremendous football player," said Gil Brandt, an NFL.com draft analyst who was vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 through 1989. "He's everything you want. He's competitive, he's got a great sense of knowing where the ball is. If he's got any weaknesses, I don't know what they are."
Austin Scott (Hype: 10, Reality: 5)
Joe Paterno wasn't expecting any of his running backs in 2003 to be able to fill the shoes of Larry Johnson, who had rushed for more than 2,000 yards in his senior season.
But many people disagreed with Paterno.
They thought that Austin Scott would come right out of Parkland High School in Allentown, pull on a Lions uniform and pick up right where Johnson left off.
Those fans were looking at his past, hoping that it would be an indicator of his future. In his senior season at Parkland, Scott was a Larry Johnson of sorts. He finished with 3,853 yards on the ground and 53 touchdowns.
In the state championship game that year, Scott ran for 251 yards and five touchdowns.
So, even if he wasn't going to step into Johnson's shoes right away, Scott would gradually develop into a Johnson-type running back at Penn State ... right? That's what Penn State fans were hoping for at the start of this season, but Scott's time to put up those numbers is quickly winding down.
Optimistic fans have waited patiently, but to little avail, watching this season as Scott has fumbled early and often when he's backed up against Penn State's end zone and when he's deep in enemy territory.
They've heard reporters questioning who should be the 2007 team's starting running back -- Scott or Rodney Kinlaw, another senior.
But his fans should be used to waiting for Scott to succeed; they waited through a case of mononucleosis that kept him out of practice for weeks during his freshman year.
Through him oversleeping and missing a team meeting before Penn State's game against Boston College in 2004.
Through a sophomore season that saw Scott take a backseat to Tony Hunt, rushing for only 312 yards while Hunt racked up 777.
Penn State fans would have to wait for the Orange Bowl, at the conclusion of the 2005 season, to get a glimpse of the Austin Scott they'd been hoping to see all along. He lit up Florida State's defense for 110 yards and two touchdowns after stepping in for Hunt, who had injured his ankle.
That game was a blip on what should have been a lengthy highlight reel for one of the best running backs in the history of Pennsylvania high school football. After that game, Scott left his supporters wanting more success.
And they're still waiting.
