Matt McGloin believes the best candidate will win the starting quarterback job. Photo: Kevin McGuire
It is the debate that has been continuing since before Daryll Clark took his final snaps with the Penn State program; who will be the starting quarterback for the Nittany Lions in 2010? At Thursday's Penn State football media day the question was, as expected, a popular one to bring up to coaches and the quarterback candidates and it still appears that the job is up for grabs with the new season now just three weeks away.
Matt McGloin (Jr./So.) from Scranton has emerged in the pre-season articles and columns of writers as a trendy pick to beat out sophomore Kevin Newsome, who appears to have let the job slip from his hands in to an open competition where freshmen candidates could realistically be considered for opening day.
Earlier in the week McGloin had some of the most confident statements out of any of the candidates for the job, which includes freshmen Paul Jones and Robert Bolden, in an article by Ron Musselman of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Because I am a former walk-on, people assume I can't get the job done," McGloin said. "It just makes me work harder and use that as motivation. That's where I am right now. ... I wouldn't consider [Newsome] having the lead over me."
On Thursday McGloin shined with the media attention. If you compared the two quarterbacks, Newsome and McGloin (freshmen were not made available for the media) and determined who had the upper hand based on their interviews with reporters you may have thought McGloin has the better grip on the starting job. Both quarterbacks admitted to wishing the decision was already made but each felt confident that the coaches will make the best decision for the team and each said that it is a friendly competition.
McGloin was a walk-on with the Penn State team and he did so to fulfill a personal dream to play football for Penn State. Should being a walk-on be held against him? Not if you ask McGloin.
"The way I look at it, Kevin [Newsome], Paul [Jones] and Robert [Bolden] and I are all on the same team. I feel I have the capability of playing quarterback at this level, and coach [Joe] Paterno obviously thinks I'm doing something right if I'm contending for the No. 1 role," said McGloin. "So, really, I don't pay too much attention to what anyone outside of the team says. I just try to go out to practice every day and work hard. If anything, I use [the criticism] as a motivation to get better."
Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin shares his thoughts on the starting quarterback job.
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