Running back Evan Royster and guard Stefen Wisniewski together have started 63 games for the Nittany Lions over the past four seasons. Only co-captain Ollie Ogbu has started more.
But for all their accolades –- Royster is 93 yards from becoming Penn State’s all-time leading rusher, while Wisniewski was a 2009 Academic All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection -– they weren’t voted as team captains for the 2010 season.
That honor went to Ogbu, a steady but not spectacular defensive tackle, and Brett Brackett, a fifth-year senior receiver who had only four career starts before this season.
After the Nittany Lions lost 24-3 to Iowa two weeks ago, Brackett and Ogbu held a players-only meeting the Monday before the Illinois game.
It didn’t work.
Penn State was roundly drubbed by the visiting Illini 33-13, the worst Homecoming loss of the Paterno era and a showing by the Lion offense that ranks among its worst ever.
Clearly, Penn State football is running a leadership deficit.
And Wisniewski and Royster seem to be, for all intents and purposes, in the middle of it — perhaps as the ultimate solution.
SENIORS BUT LEADERS?
Both were outspoken after the embarrassing loss to Illinois, a defeat after which Wisniewski said Joe Paterno “told us we played about as bad as we could.”
Wisniewski did not disagree with his coach, still three wins away from his historic 400th victory.
“We have to change our mindset. We’re a little bit complacent,” Wisniewski said. “We have to go at it with the attitude that we’re going to work our butts everyday. We need to stop pointing fingers.
“All of the older guys have to set the tone. The older guys who were around when we had the great (11-2) teams. They know what it takes.
“We have to set the attitude and set the pace in practice, and encourage the younger guys to follow us.”
Just who exactly is “us”? That’s part of the problem.
There is Ogbu. He seems like a good guy in post-game interviews, and as reliable as Cal Ripken, but not a real firebrand on the field.
And there’s Brackett, a fifth-year senior who is relentlessly more positive than Norman Vincent Peale and is as earnest as Wally Cleaver. He’s done great things leading the players’ “Lift For Lift” charity.
Brackett, of course, has been an integral part of Penn State’s passing game in 2010, ranking second in catches (21) behind Derek Moye (22).
Ogbu has been solid as defensive coordinator Tom Bradley’s Rome has burned, ranking seventh on the team in tackles. But that’s not quite what you would expect from a veteran leader on a unit decimated by injuries and forced to play three-deep at this point.
Their meeting last Monday had little impact.
POLLING PENN STATERS
Why weren’t Wisniewski and Royster running that meeting as captains?
Heading into the 2010 season they were clearly the two most talented players on the team. They were two of only three returning Lions to have two full years as starters under their belt.
Yet neither was confirmed as a leader in a secret ballot by their teammates.
Educated opinion has it that Royster was too quiet, withdrawn. Perhaps a tad too analytical about both the good and bad. Maybe there were residual feelings on the part of Royster and/or his teammates about him pondering the NFL Draft.
Wisniewski is a bit harder to fathom, an All-American in almost every sense of the word, earning accolades for his play on the field and praise for his good works off it. Ironically, his Mr. Clean image – and by all accounts, it is genuine – may have made his teammates uneasy in that Wiz’s myriad Good Samaritan efforts had religious overtones.
So, for the moment discounting Wisniewski and Royster – as their teammates did during the captain elections – who else is a Lion leader?
Safety Drew Astorino has the fourth-most starts (20) on the team, but he’s been battling shoulder problems, missed spring drills and has not been at 100 percent. He’s just trying to get on the field, not direct it.
Next is Jack Crawford (17), but he’s disappeared in 2010 and spent the Illinois game on crutches. Offensive tackle Lou Eliades (17) is gone for the year, with an ACL.
That leaves D’Anton Lynn (19), Nick Sukay (19), Moye (18) and Zug (13) as the most experienced players. They may be getting it done in the locker room or more quietly on the field.
Linebacker Chris Colasanti is far and away the Lions’ leading tackler, and Nate Stupar ranks third in tackles, but…
But anyone who has watched the Nittany Lions play in 2010 has to be much more impressed by the fire and spirit of linebacker Michael Mauti and running back Michael Zordich. Hell, they get me pumped up.
Wisniewski said he thinks every player on the Penn State roster needs to take the lead of some sort.
“We have to take a good hard look at ourselves this week and find out who wants it and who doesn’t,” he said. “We’re not playing well at all and we have to find out who wants to step up and who wants to shrink back.”
Paterno laid down the gauntlet with his team after the game.
“Joe wasn’t very happy. He didn’t say a whole lot,” said center Doug Klopacz, a senior starting for the first time this season. “He said that we need to go back to work. He said we need fighters on this team.”
Like Chet Parlavecchio. Or Mark D’Onofrio, Trey Bauer or the original Michael Zordich.
BOLDEN NOT BOLD
Don’t look for freshman quarterback Rob Bolden to take the reins and lead the Lions in any verbal manner. And that’s part of the leadership gap. Bolden is not being asked to be a leader and in all probability he can’t.
That places a greater onus on other players, especially on offense. It’s hard to look to a wide receiver who spends half the time shuttling in the plays for inspiration – or a kick in the pants.
The whole thing ain’t easy for Bolden, either.
“It’s got to be rough,” said Klopacz. “I’m always with Rob. I think he’s doing what he has to do. For being a kid, you can’t fault him on some things — he’s doing all he can, all that he needs to be. I think he’s doing his job.
“Rob’s a little quiet, but if he needs to speak, he’ll speak. It’s not like we have to force stuff out of him. When he communicates what needs to be done, it is.”
FINAL RUN
Royster, who is midway through a senior year that was to be a victory lap of sorts, is clearly perplexed by it all.
“It hurts you. It hurts inside,” said Royster. “I can’t even tell you. I wish I could go out there and play every position, and have a desire that some people don’t have.”
Royster, like others, is looking for some leadership to emerge.
This is a senior who ranks third all-time on the Penn State rushing chart, has started 31 games for the Lions and already has his degree in management information systems. And he’s waiting.
“We definitely need some of the guys on offense to step up and get our offense going,” Royster said. “We need some people to stand up there and kind of take control. I plan to do my best to counter that and get our offense going, especially in the red zone.”
But, I asked him, is that something you can even do, given your nature?
“I’m not as vocal as some,” Royster admitted. “I’ll take a guy aside and say, ‘This is something you might want to look for.’
“But I’m by no means the hollering guy yelling at people — but that might have to change. I might have to become more like that to help the team.”
Better late, I guess, than never.
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