The names of this year's starting Penn State offensive linemen are all familiar. Upperclassmen Gerald Cadogan, Rich Orhnberger, A.Q. Shipley and Dennis Landolt started every game for Penn State last year. Sophomore Stefen Wisniewski played in eight games.
Scroll down the depth chart however, and the names of the other offensive linemen aren't as recognizable.
"Well, we do have a depth problem on the offensive line, no question about that." Paterno said yesterday.
Paterno has envisioned a few scenarios if he would have to shuffle linemen around. The coach gave the example if Cadogan would go down, Landolt would move to his spot to bolster protection on Daryll Clark's blindside. In turn, sophomore Lou Eliades would man the right tackle spot. Eliades played in six games last year, but broke his left foot midway through the year.
Paterno said he feels comfortable with the versatility of his offensive linemen -- Wisniewski can play guard or center and senior Mike Lucian can play at either tackle spot -- but said he was concerned that some haven't had much experience.
"We've got some good young players backing them up, but you're never quite sure how they're going to handle some things," Paterno said. "Particularly when we don't know as much about a team like Coastal Carolina, and it's an opening game. So you can't really pinpoint what you probably will get regardless of who you're playing in your first game."
Cadogan said he and his teammates don't pay attention to all the reports that are praising the offensive line. Instead, the linemen are focused on being the best unit in the nation.
"We don't pay a lot of attention to what the media is saying about us because they can love you one minute and hate you the next," Cadogan said, later adding, "At the end of the day we just want to score points and that's up to the offensive line. That's on our shoulders and that's the approach we've taken this offseason and we'll continue to take going into the season."
Defensive Line
With the dismissal of defensive tackles Chris Baker and Phil Taylor earlier this summer and the recent season-ending injury suffered by freshman Devon Still, Paterno has also found that his defensive line to be less deep.
Besides returning ends Maurice Evans and Josh Gaines, most of the defensive linemen currently listed on the depth chart have all missed time or have had relatively little playing experience.
"The game, the way it's played today, you can't have [just] two defensive lines," Paterno said. "You've got to have back-up guys. If you want to get after that quarterback, play after play. That is the toughest job."
Sophomore Abe Koroma and junior Jared Odrick both spent considerable time on the injury report last season.
Odrick broke his hand in two places against Wisconsin last season, then returned the next week against Indiana only to dislocate his right ankle. That injury ended his year. Koroma broke his foot in preseason last year, but was able to play in the final nine contests.
Paterno said sophomore Ollie Ogbu would get the starting nod alongside Koroma.
"[Odrick's] been hurt a lot," Paterno said. "He hadn't had a lot of practice until last week. And Koroma and Ogbu both have really gotten better and better and better. I think that they deserve to start."
