Joe Paterno named Daryll Clark as the starting quarterback for Penn State's season opener Saturday against Coastal Carolina but said Pat Devlin should see some snaps, too.

"Clark's had a little more experience," Paterno said. "He's had a good spring practice and a really good preseason, so we're going to go with Clark, start him."

Joe Paterno met with quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno Monday, then sat down with Paul Cianciolo, Devlin and Clark to inform the three vying for the job that Clark had won out.

"I told them what was going to be obvious," Paterno said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. "He smiled. I said to the other two kids, 'You guys OK with that?' 'Yeah, let's go win.' "

Devlin, who set the Pennsylvania state passing record for career yardage at Downingtown East High School, will still play Saturday. Paterno also hopes Cianciolo will receive snaps against Coastal Carolina but added he doesn't want to employ a true two- or three-quarterback system.

The competition between Clark, Devlin and Cianciolo was "very close," Paterno said.

"Right now, I think Clark is a guy that should take precedence," Paterno said. "I think he'll do very well."

An example of the leadership Penn State can expect to receive is burned into the memory of Clark's prep coach.

Kiski Prep was playing in Maryland when an injury took Clark out of the game and put him on crutches. Clark's replacement, Chris Knee, had one last opportunity to put together a drive that would win the game.

Knee threw an interception with Kiski 25 yards out on the last play of regulation, leaving only the final score in doubt. While the interception was being returned, the horn on the opponent's scoreboard sounded when the clock hit 0:00.

Most of Clark's teammates had given up on the play, resigning themselves to a loss.

"I literally thought Clark was going to come running onto the field on crutches," Kiski coach Marcus Muster said. "He literally starts screaming. ... He went into a tirade in the locker room afterwards.

"I can still see him running up and down the sidelines, running on his crutches, saying, 'You've got to keep playing,' " Muster said.

Now, Clark will be the leader at Penn State.

Clark, thought by some to be cut from the same cloth as 2005 quarterback Michael Robinson, flashed his running abilities during the Alamo Bowl in December.

His elusiveness resulted in 50 rushing yards off six carries, mostly on sweeps and other designed runs.

Jay Paterno lobbied to play Clark earlier in the season, but the head coach didn't want to add to the flak Morelli received.

"I always felt Morelli got more criticism than he deserved," Joe Paterno said. "And I wasn't going to pile it on by sticking Clark in there and [have people] saying, 'Even the coach doesn't like him,' something like that."

Clark began to shed his label as a run-first quarterback during the Blue-White game when he looked poised in the pocket and showed precision with several of his passes.

"I don't think he's really getting credit for being a pocket passer," safety Mark Rubin said. "He makes great reads, he has great arm strength, good field vision and definitely a command of the huddle. While he's definitely capable of making plays with his feet, he's definitely just as capable to stand in the pocket and pick apart the defense with his arm."