UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A month before the start of preseason practice, Penn State freshman quarterback Kevin Newsome is settling into his role as Daryll Clark's backup.

Well, sort of.

"In a perfect world, what quarterback wouldn't want to come in and play right away?" Newsome said. "But the fact of the matter is, I probably am not ready. Daryll being a senior is a bonus. He's a great quarterback who can teach me and lead the way.

"They don't need me to be a hero at quarterback. They need me to just come in here and do my part and contribute to the team. I know I can do that."

Newsome, 6 feet 2, 225 pounds, enrolled at Penn State in January after playing at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., where he was a U.S. Army All-American as a senior.

He spent his first three years at Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, Va., where he doubled as an elite track athlete who exhibited a rare blend of size, speed and power.

Newsome showed off some of his raw skills as a dual threat this spring in the annual Blue-White scrimmage at Beaver Stadium. Playing for both teams, he completed 9 of 13 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown -- a perfectly executed 9-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Brett Brackett in the right corner of the end zone.

Newsome also ran twice for 7 yards.

He hasn't slacked off this summer.

"He's got some room for improvement, but he's already a really good quarterback," wide receiver Graham Zug said yesterday at the annual Lift for Life event at Holuba Hall. "You could tell when he first came in he wanted to be a running quarterback. And now he's learning how to stay in the pocket longer and working on his passing."

Entering the start of preseason practice Aug. 10, Newsome holds a slight edge over redshirt freshman walk-on Matt McGloin for the No. 2 spot behind Clark, an All-Big Ten Conference first-team pick last season in his first year as a starter.

"I think [Kevin's] matured as fast as we wanted him to," Clark said. "He's just getting better each and every day."

Newsome said the adjustment from high school to college has been difficult.

"The hardest adjustment probably has been the workouts and the training," he said. "And the playbook is huge. It's not a vanilla offense like most people think."

Newsome was rated a four-star quarterback coming out of high school, but he feels like he has a lot to prove to his teammates and coaches since he only has been on campus for six months.

"You expect nothing as a freshman, so there's even more pressure," Newsome said. "How good do I think I can be? I'm not even sure. We'll see."

Newsome originally gave a verbal commitment to Michigan in April 2008, but he changed his mind four months later. He eventually picked the Nittany Lions over Virginia Tech and Boston College. He made his official visit to Penn State in December, just days before former backup quarterback Pat Devlin departed for Division I-AA Delaware.

Newsome and Clark will be the only scholarship quarterbacks on the roster this fall.

"God forbid I get hurt and [Kevin] has to step in," Clark said. "[But] with everything going as well as it is right now, there's not a doubt I have in my mind if I happen to get hurt, he would be able to fit the mold."

NOTE -- Newsome will have some stiff competition for the starting job in 2010 after Penn State landed its second blue-chip quarterback prospect yesterday. Robert Bolden, a 6-4, 195-pounder from St. Mary's Prep School in Orchard Lake, Mich., made a verbal commitment to the Lions, choosing them over Oregon and Louisville. Bolden is rated a four-star recruit by Scout.com and is the eighth-ranked quarterback prospect in the country. He joins Sto-Rox's Paul Jones, a five-star quarterback prospect who could miss his senior season after having surgery this week to repair a broken left ankle. Bolden is the 12th player to commit to Penn State for 2010.