2007 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS FOOTBALL TEAM

The '2007 Penn State Nittany Lions football team' represents the Pennsylvania State University in the 2007 college football season. The team will be coached by Joe Paterno and will play its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Contents

Previous season

Preseason

Spring practice

Criminal charges

Recruiting class

Award watchlists

Preseason awards

Schedule

Coaching staff

Game notes

September 1st: Florida International

September 8th: Notre Dame

Team statistics

Individual statistics

Offense

Rushing

Passing

Receiving

Defense

Special teams

Kicking

Returns

Awards

External links

References

Previous season

The 2006 season began with the Nittany Lions ranked #19 in the AP and coaches' preseason polls. The team dropped out of the rankings with losses to Notre Dame and Ohio State, but finished the season ranked #25 in the Coaches Poll and #24 in the AP poll with a final record of 9-4, including a victory over the University of Tennessee in the 2007 Outback Bowl.

Preseason

Shortly after the end of the 2006 season, junior linebacker and 2006 Bednarik Award finalist Dan Connor announced he would remain at Penn State for his senior year.^[1]
Redshirt junior offensive lineman Elijah Robinson was forced to give up football after being diagnosed with a tight spinal canal, a condition that could lead to paralysis if Robinson ever sustained a head impact that pinches the spinal cord.^[2] Redshirt junior safety Spencer Ridenhour chose to transfer from Penn State, after being unable to win a starting position with returning safety Anthony Scirrotto and converted cornerback Tony Davis ahead of him on the depth charts.^[3]
Seniors Dan Connor, Terrell Golden, and Anthony Morelli were elected tri-captains by their teammates prior to the season.^[4]

Spring practice

The public got their first look at the 2007 squad during the annual Blue-White Game at Beaver Stadium on April 21st, a 70-degree sun-splashed day. A record crowd of 71,000 turned out for the scrimmage, the third highest in the nation for a spring football game, and surpassing the previous record of 62,000 set in 1996.^[5]
Thousands of fans in the huge crowd wore maroon and orange shirts, in tribute to the victims of the previous week's events at Virginia Tech, including a section of 800 fans that formed a large "VT" block.
The White team defeated the Blue team 30-6, led by junior quarterback Paul Cianciolo who ran for one touchdown and passed for two more, finishing 8-of-9 for 126 yards passing, and sophomore receiver Chris Bell who led all receivers with 116 yards receiving and two touchdowns, including a 74-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Daryll Clark.^[6]

Criminal charges

On April 27, 2007, State College police announced that six members of the squad were charged with a range of criminal charges related to an altercation that occurred in an apartment in downtown State College earlier that month. The charges include burglary, criminal trespass, simple assault, and harassment, and players charged include junior safety Anthony Scirrotto, who led the Big Ten in 2006 with six interceptions and was named 2006 first-team All-Big Ten, and junior cornerback Justin King, named second-team All-Big Ten in 2006.^[7]
Charges against King were withdrawn before the preliminary hearing on May 4, 2007. After the hearing, charges against Jerome Hayes, Tyrell Sales and Lydell Sargeant were dismissed, citing weak evidence. However, Scirrotto and Chris Baker still face a possible trial in county court.^[8]
Coach Paterno announced that, because of the incident, the entire football team will be cleaning Beaver Stadium on Sundays after home games, a task usually handled by members of Penn State's club sports teams.
^[9] The team began serving this punishment following their 59-0 victory over Florida International. The players arrived at the stadium just prior to 8:00 am and cleaned eight sections of the stadium. They were joined by members of various sports clubs and teams. The football team and other organizations worked together to clean the entire stadium.

Recruiting class

The Nittany Lions received 21 letters of intent on National Signing Day, February 7, 2007.

Award watchlists

★ 'Deon Butler'
::Maxwell Award watchlist^[12]

★ 'Dan Connor'
::Chuck Bednarik Award watchlist^[13]
::Dick Butkus Award watchlist^[14]
::Bronko Nagurski Trophy watchlist^[15]
::Lott Trophy watchlist

★ 'Justin King'
::Jim Thorpe Award watchlist^[16]

★ 'Anthony Morelli'
::Davey O'Brien Award watchlist^[17]
::Manning Award watchlist

★ 'Andrew Quarless'
::John Mackey Award watchlist^[18]

★ 'A.Q. Shipley'
::Dave Rimington Trophy watchlist^[19]

Preseason awards

★ 'Jeremy Boone'
::Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Award^[20]

★ 'Deon Butler'
::Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten^[21]
::Second-team ''Sporting News'' pre-season All-Big Ten^[22]

★ 'Gerald Cadogan'
::Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Award

★ 'Dan Connor'
::First-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-American
::First-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten
::Second-team ''Sporting News'' pre-season All-American
::First-team ''Sporting News'' pre-season All-Big Ten

★ 'Devin Fentress'
::Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Award

★ 'Kevin Kelly'
::Third-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten

★ 'Justin King'
::Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten
::Second-team ''Sporting News'' pre-season All-Big Ten

★ 'Sean Lee'
::Third-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten
::Second-team ''Sporting News'' pre-season All-Big Ten

★ 'Anthony Morelli'
::Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten

★ 'Rich Ohrnberger'
::Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten

★ 'Andrew Quarless'
::Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten

★ 'Anthony Scirrotto'
::First-team ''Sporting News'' pre-season All-Big Ten

★ 'A.J. Wallace'
::Third-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten

★ 'Derrick Williams'
::Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten
::Second-team ''Sporting News'' pre-season All-Big Ten

Schedule

Penn State does not play Big Ten teams and this year.

Coaching staff

★ Joe Paterno - Head Coach

★ Dick Anderson - Offensive Line (Guards and Centers)

★ Tom Bradley - Defensive Coordinator

★ Galen Hall - Offensive Coordinator and Running Backs

★ Larry Johnson, Sr. - Defensive Line

★ Bill Kenney - Offensive Tackles and Tight Ends

★ Mike McQueary - Wide Receivers

★ Brian Norwood - Defensive Backs

★ Jay Paterno - Quarterbacks

★ Ron Vanderlinden - Linebackers

★ John Thomas - Strength and Conditioning

Game notes

September 1st: Florida International

Penn State fullback Dan Lawlor hurdles a defender to score a touchdown in the 2007 season opener.

The Nittany Lions shut out the Golden Panthers in their first ever meeting. Quarterback Anthony Morelli was 23 of 38 for 295 yards, with touchdown passes to Terrell Golden, Mickey Shuler, Jr., and Matt Hahn. The running backs scored five touchdowns, including two by Austin Scott.
Led by linebackers Dan Connor and Sean Lee, the defensive unit forced five turnovers and held FIU to -3 yards rushing.^[23]
Lee was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.

September 8th: Notre Dame

Team statistics

Team Opp Scoring 59 0   Points per Game 59.0 0.0 First Downs 26 7   Rushing 11 2   Passing 15 4   Penalty 0 1 Total Offense 523 114   Avg per Play 5.9 2.0   Avg per Game 523.0 114.0 Fumbles-Lost 4-2 6-5 Penalties-Yards 5-50 7-53   Avg per Game 50.0 53.0

Team Opp Punts-Yards 5-237 12-456   Avg per Punt 47.4 38.0 Time of Possession/Game 35:22 24:38 3rd Down Conversions 9/17 1/15 4th Down Conversions 0/1 0/0 Touchdowns Scored 8 0 Red-Zone Scores 9-9 0-0 Field Goals-Attempts 1-2 0-1 PAT-Attempts 0-0 Attendance 107678 0   Games/Avg per Game 1/107678 0/0

Score by quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
'PSU'	14	10	28	7	0	'59'
'Opponent'	0	0	0	0	0	'0'

Individual statistics

Offense

Rushing

Name	#	GP	Att	Gain	Loss	Net	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Evan Royster	22	1	8	70	0	70	8.8	1	20	70.0
Rodney Kinlaw	20	1	8	67	1	66	8.2	1	28	66.0
Austin Scott	33	1	11	47	1	46	4.2	2	20	46.0
Dan Lawlor	38	1	5	27	0	27	5.4	1	16	27.0
Nick Pinchek	39	1	6	19	12	7	1.2	0	10	7.0
Jordan Norwood	24	1	1	4	0	4	4.0	0	4	4.0
Larry Federoff	44	1	2	2	0	2	1.0	0	1	2.0
Daryll Clark	17	1	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0
Derrick Williams	2	1	1	0	2	-2	-2.0	0	0	-2.0
Anthony Morelli	14	1	5	9	19	-10	-2.0	0	5	-10.0
'Team Total'		1	48	245	35	210	4.4	5	28	210.0

Passing

Name	#	GP	Effic	Cmp-Atm-Int	Pct	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg/G
Anthony Morelli	14	1	151.8	23-28-0	60.5	295	3	37	295.0
Daryll Clark	17	1	175.6	2-2-0	100.0	18	0	10	18.0
Pat Devlin	7	1	0.0	0-1-0	0.0	0	0	0	0
'Team Total'		1	149.2	25-41-0	61.0	313	3	37	313.3

Receiving

Name	#	GP	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Jordan Norwood	24	1	5	92	18.4	0	29	92.0
Mickey Shuler	82	1	4	54	13.5	1	19	54.0
Derrick Williams	2	1	4	31	7.8	0	14	31.0
Deon Butler	3	1	3	66	22.0	0	37	66.0
Rodney Kinlaw	20	1	3	34	11.3	0	21	34.0
Terrell Golden	4	1	2	9	4.5	1	5	9.0
James McDonald	8	1	1	10	10.0	0	10	10.0
Graham Zug	28	1	1	8	8.0	0	8	8.0
Chris Bell	19	1	1	8	8.0	0	8	8.0
Matt Hahn	34	1	1	1	1.0	1	1	1.0
'Total'		1	25	313	12.5	3	37	313.3

Defense

Name	#	GP	Tackles				Sacks	Pass Defense					Fumbles
			Solo	Ast	Total	TFL-Yds	No-Yds	BrUp	QBH	Int.-Yds	TD	Long	Rcv-Yds	FF	Safety
Sean Lee	45	1	7	0	7	2.0-6	1.0-5	1	1	0-0	0	0	0-0	1	0
Dan Connor	40	1	3	2	5	1.0-14	1.0-14	1	1	0-0	0	0	1-0	0	0
Lydell Sargeant	10	1	5	0	5	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Josh Hull	43	1	2	1	3	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Tyrell Sales	46	1	1	2	3	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	1	0
Tony Davis	11	1	2	1	3	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Jared Odrick	91	1	3	0	3	1.0-4	1.0-4	1	1	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Cedric Jeffries	29	1	1	1	2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Maurice Evans	48	1	1	1	2	1.0-6	1.0-6	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Jason Ganter	42	1	2	0	2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Aaron Maybin	59	1	2	0	2	1.0-10	1.0-10	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Josh Gaines	47	1	1		2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Knowledge Timmons	21	1	2	0	2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Navarro Bowman	18	1	2	0	2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	1-0	1	0
Chris Baker	93	1	2	0	2	2.0-11	1.0-7	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Anthony Scirrotto	7	1	2	0	2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Dontey Brown	52	1	2	0	2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Ollie Ogbu	85	1	1	1	2	1.0-6	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	1	0
Phillip Taylor	90	1	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Larry Federoff	44	1	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	1-4	0	4	0-0	1	0
Devin Fentress	20	1	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Jerome Hayes	5	1	1	0	1	1.0-4	1.0-4	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
A.J. Wallace	12	1	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Justin King	1	1	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	2	2	0-0	0	0	1-0	0	0
Brett Brackett	83	1	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0
Brent Carter	32	1	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0-0	0	0	1-0	0	0
'Total'		1	48	10	528	10-61	7-50	6	6	0-0	0		5-0	5	0

Special teams

Kicking

Name	#	Punting									Kicking
		No.	Yds	Avg	Long	TB	FC	I20	50+	Blkd	No.	Yds	Avg	TB	OB	FG	XP
Jeremy Boone	41	5	237	47.4	54	1	1	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kevin Kelly	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	627	62.7	0	0	1-2	6-6
Collin Wagner	36	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2-2
'Total'		5	237	47.4	54	1	1	1	1	0	10	627	62.7	0	0	1-2	8-8

Returns

Name	#	Punt Returns					Kick Returns
		No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Derrick Williams	2	4	53	13.2	0	26	0	0	0	0	0
Brendan Perretta	25	1	2	2.0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
'Total'		5	55	11.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Awards

★ 'Sean Lee'
::Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week (Sep. 1)^[24]

External links

★ Official Penn State Athletics website

★ Official Penn State Athletics football subsite

★ Penn State Football website

★ Football roster

★ Season statistics

References

1. All-American Connor Returning To Penn State For Senior Season
2. Spinal Condition Ends Guard Robinson's Career
3. End of the Ride
4. Trio of Nittany Lions to Serve as Captains for 2007 Seaso
5. Blue-White Game Record Crowd One of Only Three Above 55,000 For Spring Football Contest
6. Record Crowd Of 71,000 Turns Out For Penn State Blue-White Game
7. Six Nittany Lions face felony charges
8. Scirrotto, Baker face possible trial; charges against 3 players thrown out, charges withdrawn against King
9. Taking out the trash
10. Players accept sanctions
11. Scirrotto down to just two charges
12. 2007 Maxwell Award Watch List
13. Connor Among Candidates for Bednarik Award & Lott Trophy
14. Connor Among Candidates for 2007 Butkus Award
15. Connor Among Candidates For Bronko Nagurski Trophy
16. "> The Jim Thorpe Award 2007 Watch List
17. Morelli Named To Davey O'Brien and Manning Award Watch Lists
18. Quarless Named to Mackey Award Watch List
19. Rimington Trophy Releases 2007 Spring Watch List
20. Eight Nittany Lions selected Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars
21. Connor Named To Athlon Pre-Season All-America Team
22. Six Nittany Lions Named To The Sporting News’ All-Big Ten Team
23. Morelli's Career Day Paces Nittany Lions to 59-0 Win Over FIU
24. IMSU's Caulcrick, UW's Donovan, PSU's Lee and PU's Bryant Earn First Weekly Honors of 2007 Football Season