Joe Paterno to Robert Bolden: You'll Play For Me, Or You'll Play For No One

Robert Bolden, the former starting quarterback for the Nittany Lions (he started eight games before being benched in favor of Matt McGloin) has asked for his release—and been denied.

Apparently, Bolden isn't interested in the prospect of being in competition with a walk-on (Matt McGloin) and a wild card (Kevin Newsome) as he enters his sophomore season. By all accounts, he's probably imagining that his prospects could be much better elsewhere. Unfortunately for him, Paterno expects him to honor his commitment to the Lions and play out his existing contract...oops, wrong sport, sorry.

Paterno expects him to honor the letter of intent he signed last February, and won't jeopardize his depth chart simply because some 19-year old kid is unhappy about his minutes—this might be a good time to mention that the 2011 class for the Lions is looking thin and there isn't a quarterback prospect anywhere in the mix. If Penn State loses Bolden, it's Newsome and McGloin—assuming Newsome doesn't decide to transfer. 

Translation: things could become Unhappy, in Happy Valley, very quickly.

While you must applaud Paterno's gumption in playing chicken with his young star, the first question you have to ask is why bother keeping a guy who doesn't want to play for you? Aren't you just tempting fate and taking a major risk that his discontent trickles into your locker room?

Why bother?

On the other hand, perhaps Paterno is gambling that Bolden hasn't really thought this through, and he's really just doing him a favor. After all, why waste a year of eligibility sitting behind someone else, at another FBS school, when you could feasibly come in and win the starting job in the spring.

Patience is a virtue, right?

Whatever his motivation, Paterno is taking a pretty big risk in denying this kid his out. We'll soon see if it's a gamble that pays off.

Related articles

• QB Newsome stays behind, may transfer (philly.com)

Penn State Football: Brett Brackett's TD Catch Helps Catapult Joe Paterno to 400

It seemed harmless enough, an end of half touchdown score to bring a team back from the brink of embarrassment. At least, that's what the fans of the Northwestern Wildcats might have been thinking when they saw Matt McGloin connect with Brett Bracket for six points with less than :06 seconds left to go before the half.

Brackett's touchdown catch, however insignificant it might have seemed at the time, became just the momentum grabber the Nittany Lions needed to go from zero to 100—on both sides of the ball.

Or perhaps, better still, ol' Joe Paterno might have delivered one helluva halftime rally cry to his guys. Might he have told them they were better than their play showed? Perhaps he let them know that the play they had exhibited to that point was unacceptable and sub par?

Maybe he just said, "win this damn game, I don't need the press stretching out this 400 nonsense".

Whatever he told his players in the locker room, it worked, because the Penn State team we saw in the second half was very different than the one that was overrun in the first half. They came onto the field and lit up the third quarter with 21 unanswered points and stymied the Northwestern offense the rest of the way.

It was a win befitting of a coach that so many have come to love and respect, not only for his longevity in a game that has become more about "lately" than "history", but for his honesty. Paterno has always been a straight-shooter. Perhaps the Brooklyn boy in him wouldn't allow him to be anyone else.

Joe Paterno is now the winningest coach in FBS history and, quite frankly, it's an honor that no other coach is ever likely to have again anytime soon.

Congrats to Joe Paterno!

Related articles

• Penn State rallies for Joe Paterno's 400th win (sportingnews.com)

College Football: Dan Persa Leads Northwestern To 21-7 Lead Over Penn State at Halftime

At the half of the Penn State/Northwestern game, it has been all Northwestern as the Wildcats lead 21-7 going into halftime of the game in Happy Valley.

Dan Persa has run all over and through a porous Penn State defense for 88-yards and two touchdowns—even adding a passing touchdown to the mix when Drake Dunsmore made a phenomenal one-handed grab on their last possession of the half:



Persa's Penn State counterpart, Robert Bolden was largely ineffective in the first quarter and has, all but, been replaced by former walk-on, Matt McGloin—who has been more productive for the Nittany Lions.

McGloin led the team on a nine play, 82-yard, scoring drive to end the half—bringing Penn State within two touchdowns.



The game isn't over yet and the Nittany Lions still have an opportunity to secure win number 400 for Joe Paterno, but the defense will need to tighten up and get a handle on the talented Persa.