Even though Michael Robinson and his happy feet have moved on, Penn State’s offense is in very good hands.
After putting on his best smiley face and waiting his turn the last two years — including a surprising non-redshirt year prior to his freshman season — Anthony Morelli has been handed the keys to Penn State’s offense.
That’s the same offense that last year went from Pinto to Porsche, so you can imagine how elated the Pittsburgh native is these days.
In his first start directing the Lions’ attack, the 6-4, 220-pound junior was nearly perfect.
Morelli completed 13 of 16 passes for 191 yards Saturday in the annual Blue/White Game in Beaver Stadium, leading the Blue team to a 17-0 whitewash over the White team.
He didn’t throw any touchdown passes, but he engineered three scoring drives — including a seven-play, 80-yard march just before halftime, when he called all of the plays — and he wasn’t intercepted.
It wasn’t a performance that will leave Penn State fans asking, Michael who?
But it was good, considering Morelli was playing behind an entirely new offensive line, which will return just one starter — left tackle Levi Brown, who didn’t play Saturday.
“Anthony put the ball right on the money,” said linebacker Paul Posluszny, who missed the game while he continues to rehab a knee injury.
“It was great to see him go out there in a game atmosphere and succeed like that. He was exceptional … his poise his presence. Everything.”
Everything went right for Morelli on Saturday.
It was exactly what the doctor ordered, considering he’s set to take over for Robinson, who led the Lions to the Big Ten championship, a victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl and an 11-1 record and a No. 3 BCS ranking last season.
“I have big shoes to fill,” Morelli said. “Michael had one of the best seasons anyone around here has ever had. I have to step up and see what I can do.”
Morelli won’t run Penn State’s offense the same way Robinson did.
He won’t run the option.
He won’t scramble around and try to make something out of nothing.
He won’t call his own number very much — if at all. In fact, the only time he did call his own number Saturday he fumbled when he tried to dive in from the 1.
“When the time comes, I expect to be in the pocket,” Morelli said. “I don’t think I’ll be running the option or many designed runs for the quarterback.”
But do expect some wrinkles, which Galen Hall’s offense has now become famous for.
Trick plays. Reverses. Halfback passes. Heck, wideout Derrick Williams lined up in the shotgun on back-to-back plays Saturday and completed 1 of 2 passes.
“Anthony is a decent runner,” Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. “He’s not a big, fat kid running around back there. He’s no newspaper reporter (subtle pause for reaction from the media room).
“He’s got some speed, but he’s not exactly like Michael. Michael was a very unusual guy — not only because of what he could do physically, but because he was so loyal to the team. He did a fantastic job for us last year.
“In his own quiet way, Anthony does some of the little things Michael did. He’s not filled up with himself. The kids love him. He’s a team player.
“There are some similarities between them, but Anthony won’t run around all over the place like Michael did. He’ll have to be more disciplined and more aware of what’s going on in the secondary.”
To make sure Morelli is ready for the rigors of life in the pocket in the Big Ten, Paterno put his new starting quarterback through the paces during spring drills.
“He put a lot of pressure on me, and he was on my back about getting rid of the ball and not taking any sacks,” Morelli said. “He tried to put me in some big-time game situations.”
“We really put Anthony through a lot of tough situations, just to get him ready for what might happen in the fall,” Paterno noted.
Morelli, who came to Penn State with the reputation of having a cannon for an arm, certainly responded Saturday, stepping up in the pocket several times and delivering strikes.
Slants. Deep outs. Screens. Skinny posts. You name the routes, Morelli made the proper reads and found his intended targets.
“Anthony shouldn’t have to worry about being Michael,” Williams said. “He doesn’t have to be Michael. He has to be Anthony. And Anthony is going to do a great job.”
“Anthony is going to get us the ball,” said wideout Deon Butler, who will team with Williams and Jordan Norwood to form one of the best receiving trios in the country.
“His main thing is going to be getting us the ball, and letting us do our thing after the catch,” Butler continued. “He’s more than capable of making reads and getting the ball to us. I think you saw that (Saturday).”
If you really studied Morelli on Saturday, you saw a lot of great things.
But will he be great Sept. 2 when Akron is here for the season opener? Or a week later at Notre Dame?
That’s the big question.
After waiting his turn for two years, Morelli is hoping to answer that with a resounding yes.
———
Jeffrey Reinhart is a New Era sports writer. To reach him, e-mail jreinhart@lnpnews.com
Talkback on LancasterOnline
Welcome to the new TalkBack on LancasterOnline. Please use the comment box below to share your opinion on this
article. If you would prefer to use the previous TalkBack forums instead, please use this link.
