Penn State football’s media day was as informative at some moments as it was a collection of predictable results.
Every coach is excited. Every player is looking forward to the season. The program as a whole has a chip on its shoulder to perform better in a year where the schedule and the talent should align for a positive outcome.
But because it should happen does not mean it will, and so for all of the positive energy running through Beaver Stadium on a sunny Thursday afternoon, there is also an understanding that talk is cheap.
The personification of this, Penn State offensive coordinator John Donovan, whose time behind the microphone lasted just under 10 minutes. A span filled with as many tempered expectations as quiet hopes that things will be better.
It makes sense though, the offense faces the biggest question marks of the year. The state of the offensive line, the ability for young players to age and improve. In many ways Penn State’s season features one of the biggest questions in college football: Will Christian Hackenberg look like the prospective No. 1 overall pick that he might just be.
All of this falls on Donovan’s shoulders at the end of the day. Herb Hand might coach the offensive line, Ricky Rahne might coach Hackenberg, but it’s Donovan who takes all of the parts and puts them together. A master alchemist playing his own football version of Chopped. He can’t control the pantry, he only can cook with what’s in there.
And so he waits to see what’s in the box of ingredients.
“We’ve had some success. I think that, like every other year, it’s a new year.,” Donovan said. “We’ll find out what happens as we go forward here. But I believe deep down in my heart and soul that we’ve got a chance to be really good, and that’s what I know right now, and that’s the way I’m going to approach it, and that’s the way our guys should approach it, and that’s the way we’ve got to approach it each day.”
Like nearly everything related to Penn State football, it’s a process. If anyone has learned the value of waiting and patience it’s Donovan. Fairly criticized or not, he plugs along, and to his credit, the Nittany Lions’ best performance came in the final game of the season. A fitting way to go out, but still only one point in a long string of data.
“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Donovan added. “But if we take that approach each day and attack each day with that mentality, we’ll like where we’ll get to. But it just won’t happen by thinking about it. You’ve got to get up and wore by that day and attack that day and do the best you can that day, you go to bed, you learn from it and you do the same thing the next day, and I think it’ll work out.”
“We looked at the tape, and across the board, guys played good and bad, okay. We got better at the end of the year. We had time going into the bowl game to maybe look at some things that we did well throughout the year. We were playing with a lot of new guys. What we do this year will determine how good we’ll be this year, and I think with the attitude we have coming in, the excitement we have as a unit, if we attack each day like I said with that mindset, we’ll like where we’re at this year.”
Ultimately some of the responsibility comes down to the work that players put in. For all that Donovan can talk and speculate, he too is waiting to see what he has to work with. The summer is long and the season has only just begun. Donovan may not learn everything he needs to know about his team in one practice, but the process over the next few weeks will be the same. Work hard, practice well, and if you can play, you will play.
To a certain extent that’s how it has always been, but this year the change is not an insignificant one. Players returning and for the first time in a long time depth across the roster. Everyone has to earn their time more than ever before. The best example of this is tight end Adam Breneman. It’s not a matter of getting on the field because Penn State needs a healthy tight end, it’s matter of him being ready to play and being the best option to play. Competition has returned to both sides of the ball, and that can only yield good results.
“It’s about what you do right now. If we can trust you, that you’re going to be doing the right things and not only doing the right things but make the plays or make the blocks or whatever, then you’re going to play.,” Donovan said. “If he can instill that in us and get our trust that he’s going to do the right thing and do it well, then he’ll play. If not, we’ll look to somebody else. It’s no different than any other position, and he knows that, and that’s been told to him and everybody else.”
“If you can do your job and do it well, you’ll play,” Donovan said. “If you can’t, we’ll find somebody else. So I think that he’s got the ability. We’ll see what happens. He’s a great kid. He works hard. I’m excited to have him back, and we’ll go from there.”
Donovan may have seemed less than enthusiastic on Thursday, but in reality he was the dose of sobering truth to everyone waiting to crown Penn State with a 10-win season.
That there is a lot of work left to do. Get the job done, and maybe the preseason hype won’t be too far off.
