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Joe Paterno was in the No. 1 golf cart with his No. 2 pencil on Wednesday, but the Penn State head coach wasn’t playing around.
He was all business, continuing to lead the Penn State football team at an intensity that is much greater this preseason than the summer of 2010, when the coach was fighting intestinal problems.
“Great practice today,” JoePa progeny and quarterback coach Jay Paterno tweeted afterwards. “Joe elevated the intensity today with a tough practice schedule. Off for finals then back at it Friday.”
According to someone who was at summer drills the past two years, the pace and length of Penn State’s preseason practices -- with and without the elder Paterno, who missed Monday and Tuesday's workouts -- have been much more challenging in 2011.
The source, who is not on the coaching staff, said practices have extended more than two-and-half hours several times this year, as was the case on Wednesday. In 2010, some drills were cut short as Paterno was noticeably affected by the heat.
Not in 2011 – JoePa’s most recent injuries be damned.
“Joe’s trying to take us back to the old days and make us tough again,” said junior running back Brandon Beachum, who is bouncing back from his own injuries after he missed the 2010 season following ACL surgery.
Just three days after Paterno was blindsided and knocked to the ground by receiver Devon Smith during drills inside Holuba Hall on Sunday -- sustaining injuries to the coach's hip and arm -- he returned to the outdoor practice fields for late afternoon drills under nearly-perfect mostly sunny skies and 78-degree temperatures.
“Good to see Coach Paterno back in practice (and) right in the thick of things as usual, just with 4 wheels for a bit,” tweeted Brian Siegrist, Penn State’s assistant director of athletic communications.
The 84-year-old coach oversaw Wednesday’s summer practice session from a golf cart driven by Tom Venturino, Penn State’s long-time director of football operations who plays Radar O’Reilly to Paterno’s Col. Potter.
The two were last seen in the "No. 1" blue-and-white cart in 2008, when Venturino played caddy after Paterno was debilitated with an injury that led to hip-replacement surgery.
Paterno’s latest injuries -- sustained during a lengthy practice Sunday afternoon after he was accidently hit by the 5-foot-7, 157-pound Smith -- sent him to the Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College (a facility he and his wife, Sue, donated $1 million to in 2009) until Tuesday. No surgery was required.
The veteran coach, a left-hander, had his right arm in a blue sling during practice, leaving his good arm free for taking notes with his ever-present lead pencil. Chauffeured by Venturino, Paterno spent his time shuffling between the Lions’ practice fields, located between Lasch Building (home of the football offices) and Holuba Hall, to the west of University Drive.
Paterno is entering his 46th season as head coach and 62nd overall at Penn State. On Wednesday, he talked to the squad for several minutes about 90 minutes into the practice session, which commenced with work on both the kickoff return and punt return games.
Official summer drills began last Thursday, with four days of workouts with helmets but no shoulder, leg or hip pads. The team started practicing in pads on Monday. They will take Thursday off, to allow for summer semester final exams, before beginning drills again on Friday. Summer session classes finished on Wednesday.
Concentrating on academics and football hasn’t been easy for some players, said senior offensive tackle Quinn Barham: “For a lot of guys it’s been physically and mentally demanding. A lot of guys have summer classes that hadn’t finished yet. Coaches expect nothing less than perfection.”
Catch video interviews from Wednesday with safety Nick Sukay, Beachum and Barham on GoPSUSports.com, conducted by Penn State athletic communications’ Tony Mancuso.
Penn State opens its 2011 season at home against Indiana State in a non-conference game. Kickoff in Beaver Stadium is at noon. The next week, Sept. 10, Penn State hosts No. 2 Alabama at 3:30 p.m. in a nationally televised contest.
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Mike Poorman
Mike Poorman has covered Penn State football since 1979. He is a senior lecturer in Penn State's College of Communications and teaches a pair of classes in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism: sportswriting and "Joe Paterno, Communications & The Media." Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/PSUPoorman. His views and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Penn State University.
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