Clark Wins Penn State QB Job

One of the biggest questions about one of the nation’s most hard-to-figure-out teams was answered Tuesday, when Penn State coach Joe Paterno announced Daryll Clark would be the team’s starting quarterback.

The announcement came as somewhat of a surprise to Penn State followers. Not because the athletic and physically imposing Clark won the job—many had assumed it was his anyway—but rather that the ever-evasive Paterno even bothered to announce his choice. For months now, Paterno insisted that Clark was in a pitched battle with sophomore Pat Devlin and fifth-year senior Paul Ciancolo for the job, and never really seemed interested in making a final decision.

In fact, it was widely presumed that Clark and Devlin—who is not as mobile as Clark, but said to be a better passer—would split time, at least until the start of the Big Ten schedule Sept. 27 against Illinois.

With the announcement that Clark had won the job, though, it seems Penn State's coaches are dead-set on opening up their offense with a "spread" look—they're calling it the "Spread HD"—much in the way they did back in 2005, when Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Michael Robinson led the Nittany Lions to an 11-1 record and an Orange Bowl win.

The obvious question: Is Clark really on Robinson’s level?

No, probably not. But with a great group of receivers around him and a solid offensive line in front of him, Clark has an opportunity to succeed—without Devlin looking over his shoulder.

"Clark's had a little bit more experience," Paterno explained. "He had a really good spring practice and really good preseason ... I think Clark ought to go in and have a little fun playing."

Photo: Daryll Clark has won the starting quarterback job at Penn State. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)