FOGELSVILLE -- With football on the backburner, Joe Paterno kept things light and casual Wednesday, discussing a wide range of issues from Big Ten expansion to player personnel.
Paterno addressed a small contingent of media while in town to speak to a crowd of more than 800 at the Holiday Inn in Fogelsville as part of the "An Evening with Joe Paterno" tour.
Topic No. 1: who to add to the conference.
"I'd like to see an eastern team," Paterno said, listing Pitt, Rutgers and Syracuse. "If I had my choice, the one that could give us the biggest TV exposure in the east and somebody that could control the New York market."
Just forget about Notre Dame.
"That's something I would not be happy with," the 82-year-old coach added. "They've had their chance."
Expansion wasn't the only gripe Penn State's football coach had with the conference. Paterno said one disadvantage the Big Ten faces during bowl season is sitting out for as many as six weeks while other conferences wrap up play with a championship game.
"I hate to be sitting at home watching the SEC, the Big 12, and there's no mention of the Big Ten," Paterno said. "The world today, there's so much interest in college football. The SEC and the Big 12 are promoting their quarterbacks, and we're sitting back there and nobody's paying any attention to us. It affects your recruiting, and I know it affects your playing."
Conference shortcomings weren't the only issues that irked Paterno.
The coach again voiced his displeasure with the NCAA possibly vacating 14 of Florida State coach Bobby Bowden's wins, which would give Paterno a significant boost in the two's race for the FBS all-time coaching wins record.
Bowden's coaching future is cloudy. Complicating matters is Seminoles' offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher being owed a $5 million payout if he isn't named head coach by Jan. 11, 2011.
When on-field issues were brought up, Paterno wasn't shy about letting people know where he stood in regard to his team's talent.
Not much has changed since April's Blue-White game. Paterno still says the Nittany Lions are a couple players short on the offensive line and secondary when "talking about making another shot at the whole works."
When summer practice kicks off in August, the freshman class will look to help plug some position holes, but Paterno will be reluctant to tab a first-year player a first-teamer.
"You know what I tell high school kids," Paterno said. "Get ready to get knocked on your ass. This ain't high school."
NOTES:
- Linebacker isn't a unit that needs help, as it returns three players with starting experience.
Junior Navorro Bowman will not miss any time on the condition he keeps up with his academics and the requirements of his probation.
"He had a tough year, but I can't baby him," Paterno said. "You start feeling sorry for him, and you can't. You can't do anything about that. He's got to get on with his life."
The coach also weighed in on his two captains, quarterback Daryll Clark and linebacker Sean Lee, who were selected about a month ago even though it was not announced until May 19.
"I figured that's what they would do," Paterno said. "Both those kids are natural leaders. There were four or five kids that got some votes, but nobody was close to those two guys."
