Observations: Penn State Blue-White Game

Well, at least it didn’t rain, right? The 2012 Blue-White game featured little in the way of excitement, but still gave us plenty to talk about afterwards. Here’s what I took away from the “peripheral” aspect of the game.

• I’ve heard mixed reviews on it, but after watching the replay on TV, I really liked the look of the Big Ten logos on the field. I’ve always wanted to see a midfield logo at Beaver Stadium too, as I think it would look sharp. I am a big proponent of tradition at Penn State, but I see no reason why putting the logos of the school and conference on the field would violate that. For fans used to the blank grass we’ve seen of late, don’t forget that Penn State did once have the Big Ten logo on the field.

• It’s no secret that Penn State has struggled with season ticket sales since the implementation of STEP, as evidenced by the holes in the crowd this past season. It looks like IMG decided to take a more aggressive approach at the Blue-White game by posting fliers on every few rows of bleachers in each section advertising season ticket availability. Great to see them being proactive about filling the seats, but very telling about the fan base right now in the post-STEP and post-scandal world.

• Is Paul Jones the favorite now? AP photo.

  Paul Jones, referred to by a friend of mine as the Penn State Sasquatch given how rarely we have seen him, entered the game to an impressive round of applause. He also provided the “wow” play of the game with a nifty shovel pass outside of the pocket. Jones appears to be the people’s champion for the starting QB position, which Matt McGloin apparently also noticed judging by his words after the game.

• Speaking of which, the quarterbacks finally had a chance to comment on the competition for the starting position, and they certainly didn’t hold back. My jaw dropped when I read Matt McGloin’s brutally honest comments about the former staff’s handling of the competition the past two years. Also, how can you not root for Paul Jones after reading his comments about growing up and putting in so much effort towards improving his grades?

• By now, you probably know that Chicago Bears All-Pro linebacker Brian Urlacher attended the Blue-White Game. He did so as a guest of new Penn State trainer Tim Bream, who served as the head trainer for the Bears for 15 years (thanks to Jeff Nelson for that tidbit). You don’t often see big-time visitors at Penn State games outside of the Penn State “family,” so Urlacher’s visit certainly came as a pleasant surprise. It will be interesting to see if more random NFL players, coaches, and alums find their way to Happy Valley in the coming years.

• BOB took a page out of Belichick’s book by showing “about 10%” of the offensive playbook and by choosing to use wristbands to call plays instead of signals. It makes sense, even if the (lack of) action on the field didn’t exactly have fans on their feet often.

That’s all I have from the 2012 Blue-White Game! What did you notice? Leave a comment below.

Follow Nittany Lion’s Den on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.