Penn State coach Joe Paterno is 84 years old, but his heart and his mind are clearly much, much younger.
It’s been just over a week since JoePa was blindsided by a receiver during practice -- an incident which induced injuries to his pelvic and shoulder areas. After a brief stint in the hospital, JoePa was back on the sidelines in a golf cart, clearly not the way he wanted to be coaching his team.
And, speaking to the media today, Paterno said he hoped to be strolling the sidelines some time next week.
“I feel great, except I’m in a little pain,” Paterno said. “If I told you I could get up and around here ... I can’t, but in about eight or nine days I should be able to do everything without having some guy (driving) me around, telling me what to look at.”
Ah, there’s the spirit we know and love.
As JoePa watches from the dreaded golf cart, chances are he’s keeping a close eye on the quarterback battle between Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden. Like the quarterback battle at Notre Dame, the Nittany Lions may not be able to name a starter until right before the season. Most accounts say the two are dead even in the race to pick up where they left off last season.
It makes sense; both saw significant playing time. But to give this battle some context, the decision to name a starter may not come until after JoePa is out of the cart and back on the sidelines.
Yeah, that close.
