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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Home Archives for Rob Bolden

Astorino Tells All

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Funny thing — while I was writing the previous post about the Brick Dick game, I was looking at stats from the 2011 encounter with the Emus when Drew Astorino’s name popped up. He was one of the team captains, but I remembered his off-field incidents, too. So, this morning, out of the blue, Sanguinarian and fellow Scorpio Joe sent me a BSD story about guess who? Yeah, that same Drew Astorino — gone but not forgotten — extensively quoted about some controversial team dynamics a couple of years ago.

The primary bad boy in the “tell-all” interview by Nikki Bowser: Jay Paterno.

The primary incident: Astorino yelling at Jay through the headset, “Get that motherfucker out of this game right now!”

The MF in question: Rob Bolden.

Bolden had been a special project of Joe and Jay, starting as a freshman and being bolstered at every step of the way in his battle for the starting position with Matt McGloin, now an NFL backup. The team felt it could win with McGloin and they were continually pissed off by the coaching decision to start Bolden. This incident was the culmination of that erupting frustration.

It almost provoked a physical fight, according to Astorino.

Read the story in Black Shoes Diary.

Redd Sails into the Sunset (Updated)

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Penn State tailback Silas Redd will transfer from Linebacker U. ??? ???? ???? ????? to Running Back U. Redd is heading to USC after spending much time with coach Lane Kiffin and quarterback Matt Barkley over the weekend.

I’d say “details forthcoming”, but I’ll leave that to ESPN and the sports news wonks. There’s really not much more to be said, other than we here at the Turkey wish Silas the best of everything for a successful future at Southern Cal and beyond. We knew he was going to be a great one when he first set foot on the field. ???? ???? ????? ??? ????

Back in his Connecticut home area, The Stamford Advocate had the best coverage.

Bill Belton will probably be sucked up the depth chart into the vacuum at the first-string slot left by Redd’s whirlwind courtship and elopement with USC. Belton is not the pure runner that Redd is, but he adds a weapon as a pass receiver.

This evening, tight end Kevin Haplea, who has two remaining years of eligibility, has left the program and he might transfer to Florida State, putting a crimp in Bill O’Brien’s tight end oriented offense. He was listed as second string in the depth chart at the “F” tight end position. ???? ?????

So, add Redd and Haplea to the list of NCAA sanction casualties. We also learned today that Khairi Fortt was considering a transfer to Cal. We’ll know whether he, too, will be sailing into the sunset along with his old pal Silas by the end of this week.

Then, of course, there’s all-around kicker Anthony Fera, who previously put the team on notice that he might consider a transfer to his home state of Texas, if UT needs him.

Previously, quarterback Rob Bolden was released from his scholarship in order to pursue a transfer to LSU and safety Tim Buckley transferred to North Carolina State.

Bolden Saga Ends with First Defection

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Rob Bolden is off the roster and has been released from his scholarship at Penn State, after a less than smashing career at quarterback. Bolden made history by being the first freshman ever to start the opening game of a season under Joe Paterno and the first overall to do so at State for 100 years; now, he makes history being the first player to bolt under the relaxed transfer rules of the NCAA’s sanctions against the Nittany Lions.

Recall that Bolden had pouted after being replaced by Matt McGloin as the sort of, maybe, possible starter under Paterno. His performance never lived up to his hype. He wanted to transfer after that first season, but Paterno would not let him out of his commitment, stating that he would have as good a chance as anyone to earn the starting job back. ????? ??? ???? He just didn’t have the mojo to do it.

Coach Bill O’Brien tabbed him as third-stringer behind McGloin and Paul Jones, who both committed to staying at Penn State, at least for this first season of sanctions.

So, now, Bolden has been spotted sniffing around at LSU. The Times-Picayune reports that he is making an official visit this weekend.

LSU, huh? You would think that a top SEC school would be a little bit out of Bolden’s league. However, LSU is hurting for a backup quarterback behind Zach Mettenberger, as his two present backups are two redshirt freshmen who have never taken a college snap. ??? ????? ????? Bolden could be valuable for his real game experience. ????? ???? ??? ????

To this Turkey, Bolden never ever looked comfortable in the pocket. He couldn’t pass very well, and he couldn’t run very well. So, the Nittany Lions shouldn’t miss him very much.