Sharp debut for Bolden in Penn State victory

FROM THE MORNING CALL

STATE COLLEGE – — Nothing went right for Rob Bolden. Nothing. Missed passes, a couple interceptions, a lineman stepping on his foot. As a result, Joe Paterno left last Friday's scrimmage baffled.

"Some days I walk off the field feeling great about this kid," the Penn State coach said last week, "and the next day I'm all set to send him to Siberia."

Paterno was talking about all three of his quarterbacks, but Bolden clearly was on the tip of his tongue. Anyway, the day after that awful scrimmage, the coaches made sure to study Bolden's moves and mood. That's where he made the biggest impression.


"He came out the next day great guns, and it was obvious it hadn't affected him," said Jay Paterno, Penn State's quarterbacks coach and a former quarterback himself. "If I had thrown two interceptions in the previous scrimmage, I would have been nervous throwing. He wasn't. He had a lot of confidence."

Bolden carried that confidence into Saturday, when he made history at Beaver Stadium. The true freshman completed 20 of 29 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Lions to an easy 44-14 win over Youngstown State.

The first true freshman quarterback to start a Penn State opener in a century certainly had his true-freshman moments. He wasn't sure where to go during warm-ups and, according to receiver Devon Smith, had shaky hands and a topsy-turvy stomach before the game.

But after his first pass, a 12-yard completion to Brett Brackett, and his first interception, Bolden settled his nerves and relied on the skills that won him the job: natural footwork, strong arm and an exceptionally quick release.

"I couldn't imagine being in his shoes," receiver Derek Moye said. "I thought he did awesome."

Bolden's 239 yards were the most ever for a Penn State freshman quarterback and surpassed the outing Anthony Morelli had four years ago against the Penguins (11-for-27, 154 yards). Bolden's two touchdowns passes, both to Brackett, came on varied routes and showed a command of both.

In the second quarter, with Penn State trailing 7-6, Bolden locked on Brackett's post route to the goal line. He read a Youngstown State safety's forward cheat and hit Brackett with a laser shot for the 20-yard score.

In the third quarter, Bolden, who leaned heavily on his first reads early in the game, went to Brackett as a second option. With his initial receiver, fullback Mike Zordich, covered on second-and-1, Bolden looked wide right to find a wide-open Brackett. The senior receiver, who caught a career-high eight passes for 98 yards, toed the goal line for the 22-yard score, giving Penn State a 30-7 lead.

Further, as he did after that scrimmage, Bolden shook off adversity well. After throwing a second-quarter interception (Penn State coaches thought intended receiver Derek Moye was knocked down), Bolden closed the half with back-to-back scoring drives. On the second, which produced a 48-yard field goal by Collin Wagner, Bolden was knocked down three times but still completed three passes for 24 yards.

"I've been around a few kids in 60 years, and [Bolden] just seemed to be the right guy at the right time," Joe Paterno said. "But we'll see. It's still a long year."

The head coach naturally tempered his praise of Bolden and still maintained that the starting spot remains open, which likely isn't the case. Teammates said Bolden showed all the attributes of a starting quarterback, save for his soft voice. They asked him to repeat calls in the huddle a few times, which means Bolden will be working on speaking up in preparation for Alabama.

"He's calm, he's not the rah-rah guy, he's quiet," running back Evan Royster said. "Sometimes it's even hard to hear him in the huddle, but he gets his point across and gets the play out to us."

Royster (11 carries, 40 yards) didn't have quite the opener Bolden did, partly because his work-in-progress offensive line cleared few holes. In fact, the awkward running game, which produced just 132 yards and no carry longer than 13, prompted Penn State to allow Bolden throw 29 times.

The lack of a run game against an FCS defense gave Joe Paterno pause. Royster's rushing total was the third-lowest over his career as a starter. The other two defenses to hold him to 40 or fewer yards were Ohio State (36) year and USC (34) in the 2009 Rose Bowl.

"I didn't think we did a great job up front," Joe Paterno said. "We got better as the game went on. We need to be just a little more aggressive. …Youngstown State made us throw the football. Thank goodness [Bolden] did a pretty good job."

Things change exponentially from here. Next up for Penn State is a trip to Alabama, where the defending national champion awaits the freshman quarterback. Jay Paterno equated Bolden's preseason as an exercise in accelerated language study.

"He learned Spanish pretty well," the quarterbacks coach said. "Next week, he's going to have to know Mandarin Chinese."

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