Left tackle Quinn Barham always knew Joe Paterno was a hard guy to please.
The 83-year-old coach demands many things out of his players, one of them being toughness.
Paterno wants his players tough enough to withstand the grind of the season and in Barham’s case, tough enough to protect the quarterback’s blindside.
But, there is one other thing near and dear to Paterno that Barham said the entire offensive line hasn’t mastered yet: consistency.
Though none of the offensive linemen changed positions since the spring, making sure they can perform at a high level on a
consistent basis remains the focus.
“We’re not very good right now, our offensive line,” Paterno said. “We’ve got two or three guys, three anyway that I think can play right now. The others, we’re gonna have to work hard and they’re gonna have to work hard in order to be good enough to handle some of he people we have to play.”
With Stefen Wisniewski and Lou Eliades occupying the right side, Doug Klopacz at center and De’Ontae Pannell and Barham on the left side, the Nittany Lions worked through the summer in hopes of fielding a strong line.
But, the one spot the Lions have yet to find consistency at is left guard.
Pannell’s spot is anything but secure as senior Johnnie Troutman continues to challenge for the position.
Throw in Matt Stankiewitch, who said he’s taken first-team repetitions at left guard throughout the summer, and the Lions have a decision to make in the coming weeks.
“There’s nothing really set,” Stankiewitch said of his time spent at guard.
“I didn’t even know I was going to be at left guard, but if that’s the position they feel I’m best at they’re going to put you there.”
With Barham fielding questions about how his 6-foot-3, 298 pound frame doesn’t make him a stereotypical left tackle and Wisniewski moving back to a position he played in 2008, the Lions understand they have their fair share of question marks.
Watching film all the time and relying on their position mates to share their experience has been helpful to the entire line, Barham said.
But the finer details that come with being an offensive lineman are what the players believe will help them become a top-notch group.
“Offensive line is not easy,” Barham said. “People think we just push people around. It’s calculating, taking right angles, stuff like that. I think it’s just overall working on everything because it all counts.”
Making sure the line will be strong enough in pass protection and good enough to open holes for running back Evan Royster is why Paterno and his staff continue to stay hard on their offensive linemen.
“That’s why we gotta coach,” Paterno said.
“We’ve gotta go to work. We’ve gotta get a bunch of guys and get them to come together and feel good about themselves and look forward to being a tough bunch of kids.”