UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Quarterback Daryll Clark sure sounds like he's the new man in charge of Penn State's offense entering the start of spring drills tomorrow.

"I can't wait to get the show on the road," said Clark, who has backed up Anthony Morelli the past two seasons. "I'm really itching to get started."

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Looking ahead

• What: Penn State Blue-White game.
• When: 2 p.m., April 19.
• Where: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pa.

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Clark, a senior-to-be from Ursuline High School in Youngstown, Ohio, will be challenged for the starting job by Pat Devlin, a heralded sophomore from Downingtown East.

Clark and Devlin have played sparingly for the Nittany Lions in their careers, although Clark did rush for 50 yards on six carries while spelling Morelli in the Lions' 24-17 Alamo Bowl victory against Texas A&M.

"It's going to be stiff competition between me and Devlin," Clark said. "He's a good player. We're going to get after it pretty good this spring. We've been working together and trying to get the timing down with our wideouts and everything, and we're just going to have to wait to see how it comes out.

"I look forward to the challenge."

Clark, 6 feet 2 and 228 pounds, played in eight games last season but only completed 6 of 9 passes for 31 yards. He ran for another 78 yards and two touchdowns.

He appeared in seven games in 2006, connecting on 14 of 27 passes for 116 yards. He added 48 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

Devlin, 6-4 and 212, played in four games last year, with his only pass attempt an incompletion.

However, Devlin owns Pennsylvania's all-time high school career passing record with 8,162 yards.

"Both bring a lot to the table," Morelli said. "Daryll has a strong arm and can run a little bit. Depending on what style of offense they run, he has all the tools to get the job done. Pat's probably similar to me in that he's got a strong arm."

Clark was a non-qualifier coming out of high school and had to spend one season at Kiski School to get his grades in order.

He is on course to earn enough credits at the end of this semester to secure another year of eligibility, meaning he has two left.

Clark expects Penn State to run more of a spread style of offense this spring to take advantage of his strengths.

"We'll start next week going against our defense -- that's the way we test out things," he said. "Our defense is one of the toughest in the Big Ten, I think. If the spread works against them, it will work against anybody.

"From my understanding, we're going to try to go back to the offense back in 2005 when Michael Robinson ran it and see how that goes -- add a couple of wrinkles here and there."

Center A.Q. Shipley doesn't have any doubt that Clark will be a leader on and off the field.

"He's champing at the bit right now," Shipley said. "He realizes this is his shot. You could tell throughout the whole winter conditioning program that he wants to make the most of it. He realizes it's his job.

"He has mobility. He can run a little bit. When he gets in the huddle, he commands respect, and that's what you want in your quarterback. He can throw the ball better than people think."

Clark, who said he has lost three percent of his body fat from last year, isn't too keen on the thought of splitting playing time with Devlin.

"You would hope that's not the case," he said. "I respect Pat's game, but you want to be the guy at the end of the day."