The Nittany Turkey

Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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Ganja Three Suspended; Harriott Gone

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The Daily Collegian reports that Maurice Evans, Abe Koroma, and Andrew Quarless have been suspended for Saturday’s game against Oregon State. Meanwhile, Willie Harriott has been removed from the team for a violation of team rules. However, A J Wallace, who was apparently not an alleged participant in Tuesday’s small quantity of marijuana party, will play on Saturday.

So, you have two defensive starters and one key special teams player out of the mix for Saturday.

The Official Turkey Poop Prediction now must change to Oregon State 41, Penn State 31.

No charges have yet been filed against the participants in Tuesday’s party which had to be broken up with police intervention, but participation in it was enough of an offense to get the three suspended. This Turkey’s guess is that, unless they are cited for some offense, they will be reinstated before the Big Ten opener with Illinois.

The police have sent the evidence to a lab for analysis, which could take a week or more.

These guys are dumbasses. With all the adverse publicity the program suffered because of the Outside the Lines feature about Penn State’s discipline issues and off-field incidents, one would believe that the coaching staff would have impressed upon players the need to keep their snoots clean so as not to validate the contention that Joe Paterno is losing his grips on the program, among others. Apparently, they’re too stupid, undisciplined, and short-term self-interested to understand the significants to crap like this to the program. It doesn’t matter whether the knock on Joe is a potshot by the sports media, either.

Once again, we have to believe that there has been a leadership breakdown. Neither the coaches nor the two co-captains on defense, Sean Lee and Anthony Scirrotto, apparently have not been able to convince Evans and Koroma to behave. Draw your own conclusions there.

Harriott was involved in an underage drinking episode with Quarless last year. The current scuttlebutt is that he got nailed for DUI this time around.

Hunt Cracks Eagles Starting Lineup

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No, you’re not reading that wrong. A few weeks ago, former Penn State star running back Tony Hunt was improbable to make the Philadelphia Eagles roster at all, let alone as a starter. The Eagles had acquired Lorenzo Booker from Miami, which resulted in Hunt being moved to #4 on the depth chart—a certain trip to the gallows on cut-down day.

However, Hunt’s performance on special teams and as fullback saved him. ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? He will be the Eagles’ starting fullback, responsible for protecting Donovan McNabb and blocking for Brian Westbrook, two tall orders. ???????? ???????? What he won’t be doing is carrying the ball very much, as the fullback doesn’t figure into many plays in the Eagles’ version of the West Coast Offense.

Will Hunt remain the starting fullback as the season progresses? Two things govern that: his performance and which experienced blocking backs show up on the waiver wire. ?????? ??? ???? ????? This Turkey does not believe that Hunt’s position on the depth chart is set in concrete.

Read the story in the Centre Daily Times.

Battle of the Third-Stringers

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Morelli alert!

Former PSU quarterback Anthony Morelli is waging the fight of his life for the Arizona Cardinals #3 quarterback position.

Matt Leinart is listed as first on the depth chart, and Kurt Warner is second. Those two might switch places several times during the pre-season and into the regular season. Although they are battling for the starting slot, hey both have guaranteed jobs. Not so #3. That’s where the real battle is.

The two contenders for third-string quarterback are Brian St. ??? ???? ????? Pierre and Penn State’s own Anthony Morelli. St. Pierre, whom you Nittany Lions fans might remember as one of the fine quarterbacks produced by Boston College, has been a career third-stringer in his six year NFL career, mostly with the Steelers, but including a brief stint with the Ravens. ????? ??? ???? He has been played very little, unless you count scout team service. As a Steeler, he played for Ken Whisenhunt, former Steelers offensive coordinator and current Cardinals head coach. The Cardinals signed him to a one-year contract this year. Some would say that this gives him the inside track.

I don’t know about that. After all, St. Pierre can hardly be described as an experienced NFL quarterback, and Whisenhunt did not regard him highly enough to give him any reps in Pittsburgh. Indeed, he was cut twice, and relegated to the scout team on another occasion. To Whisenhunt, Morelli is something new and strange. ???? ????? Very strange.

From the Arizona Republic, August 15:

“That’s been one of our strongest competitions in camp, as far as guys stepping up and getting better,” the coach said. “I can sit up here and say all the time that I think competition makes us a better team, but in that area, I’ve really seen it. I’ve seen dramatic improvement in all of those guys in terms of what we’re trying to get done.”

Morelli stepping up and getting better? What the hell took him so long? I wonder if his dad is telling Whisenhunt how to coach his son. As I saw no quote by Morelli, I’ll assume that Dad is still not allowing him to talk to the media.

Will I ever stop bashing Morelli? Or will Morelli prove that it was not his lack of talent, brains or football acumen, but rather the crappy quarterback coaching at Dear Old State that was to blame for his failure at PSU.