All of the players currently suspended are expected to be back by summer practice as all or almost all of the charges against them have either been thrown out of court by various judges are will be thrown out shortly. With the exception of Bell, who has been kicked off the team, they should field a full team. Defensively, Penn State is getting a lot of love for the D-line which will be one of the best, if not the best in the country. Maurice Evans is the best end in the Big Ten and Jared Odrich and Phillip Taylor are largely considered the top two tackles in the league. They also have depth at every position on the line including Chris Baker who is probably the league's number four tackle. The linebacking corps took a big hit with Lee's injury but should be fine. They have a ton of talented players and have been reloading for years. As a unit, with Lee's injury, it ranks just behind the Buckeyes. Despite the early departure of Justin King, the secondary is probably on par with Ohio State's. The safety positions are in good hands as are the two corner spots. They lack star power but are good as every position with depth. Overall, the defense is on par with the Buckeyes' this year. It is one of the fastest Big Ten defenses I have ever seen if not the fastest an it certainly is the fastest this year.
On offense, the line is a true asset for the second year in a row. It is not as good as Ohio State's line but is probably the second best in the league. They have the best one two punch at running back though neither guy is in Chris Wells or Javon Ringer's league, yet. The receiving corps is great and would be on par if not better than OSU's pair if they were ever used and they have the best tandem of TEs in the league. The QB position is a big question mark but Pat Devlin fits the traditional Penn State offense better than Morelli ever did and they have proven that they know how to use Clark's ability with devastating effect should they choose to. They apparently learned their lesson with vanilla game plans that resulted in three of the regular season losses against inferior Michigan, Michigan State and Illinois teams and have vowed to field more dynamic offenses at home and on the road that take advantage of the speed mismatch they have on every team in the Big Ten.
Overall, this is the fastest Big Ten team I have ever seen in 20+ years of football. They are flying under the radar and it remains to be seen if the offensive coaches talk will actually be translated to the field. Going into the season, they have to be considered the second best team in the league behind the Buckeyes and the only true threat to them. But then again, they play in Columbus and Madison. Nevertheless, the should be favored in eleven of twelve games and the game versus OSU will determine the Big Ten title and possibly a spot in the title game.
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