Somebody check to see if the son of Woody Hayes ever wanted to coach at Penn State
I did not get much of a chance to update the site yesterday since I was on the College Football Talk desk for the majority of the day, and SEC Media Days tend to make for a busy shift. But I did not let the news of Jay Paterno attempting to land a job at Ohio State pass me by. Paterno, former Penn State quarterback coach and inventor of the Spread HD offense, has an itch to coach again it would seem, and he pitched his services to Ohio State, West Virginia and Georgia. We know this now because court documents turned over in the Paterno family lawsuit against the NCAA revealed a handwritten note to Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer, both congratulating him for a successful season (before the bowl season got underway) and to offer his help as an assistant coach or staff member on the Ohio State staff. Apparently there were similar letters to West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen and Georgia head coach Mark Richt. Just imagine the Spread HD mixed with Holgorsen’s offense in Morgantown, or the desire to keep the ball out of the hands of Nick Chubb in Athens.
It is not a shock to see Paterno test the coaching waters. He had done it for a while and saw his coaching career come to an abrupt halt at the end of the 2011 season. He was not alone of course, and a few leftovers from the Joe Paterno regime have since landed on their feet. Larry Johnson Sr. joined Meyer at Ohio State as a defensive line coach, and immediately won a national championship. Tom BRaldey got back in the game at West Virginia before being named the new defensive coordinator at UCLA this offseason. Will we see Jay Paterno back in college football coaching again? I once asked him that very same thing on the No 2-Minute Warning Podcast, and he told me he would never say never. At the time he had other plans and events going on, like the release of his book, Paterno Legacy: Enduring Lessons from the Life and Death of My Father
(Amazon affiliate link). Now he has his own beer to keep him busy if coaching doesn’t pan out.
Yes, that’s right. The Paterno brew is coming, and yesterday we got a glimpse of the can. I look forward to taste-testing this beer when the time comes.
Recruiting Update
I did not have the chance to touch on this one yesterday, but it should not be overlooked. Penn State landed the commitment of Class of 2017 quarterback Sean Clifford. This is notable for a few reasons, which I will attempt to dig a little deeper into later today (or tomorrow). First, and most obvious, is Clifford is a talented prospect. Clifford is a four-star composite player according to 247 Sports. He is also from Ohio. How often does Penn State get that kind of quality player out of the state of Ohio? Third, Clifford its the first on the board for Penn State’s Class of 2017, which goes to show James Franklin and his staff are attempting to get a head start on momentum for the next recruiting cycle.
Blessed and excited that I will be furthering my academic and athletic career at Penn State University! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/wz0poQEl4t
— Sean Clifford (@seancliff14) July 13, 2015
Around the Big Ten
Things are relatively quiet on the Big Ten front, but nothing is stopping the SEC from taking aim when possible at the conference up north. Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, who previously said the satellite camp rules in the SEC should be the national standard, said no team up north will come into Alabama and take a recruit wanted by Auburn or Alabama. Maize N Brew had a quick reaction… Also, Malzahn said there are no off weeks in the SEC.
"In the #sec, there are no off weeks"
-Guz Malzahn
Aight, man. pic.twitter.com/PqDWUyBiih
— Just A Boring Dude (@NormalGuyIAm) July 13, 2015
Maryland is moving some players to new positions. Still no updates on if the Terps have worked on pregame handshakes this offseason.
Around the Nation
Florida State president meets with Seminoles players… Miami and Adidas will unveil what will surely be awful uniforms on Saturday night… No NFL plans for Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly… Old Dominion players are allowed to use Twitter for the first time since 2011, and will likely hate the new layout (a lot has changed since 2011).
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