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Wednesday, September 18, 2002

By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno is not pleased with the development of some of his younger offensive linemen, and he is attempting to light a fire under them by moving senior defensive tackle Tyler Valoczki to offensive guard.

"I have been a little disappointed in some of our young offensive linemen who have not come to the front," Paterno said. "We had to play that offensive line almost the whole game, except for maybe the last series or two."

Penn State has some talented players behind starting guards Tyler Lenda and E.Z. Smith, but they are not quite ready to play. Highly touted redshirt freshman Tyler Reed, who played at Thomas Jefferson High School, is Lenda's backup, but he appears to be one of the players Paterno would like to see improve.

On his weekly radio show last week, Paterno said Reed "had all the physical ability in the world" but that Reed needed to cut down on his mental mistakes.

Paterno did not rule out moving Valoczki to tight end or keeping him on the defensive line. Casey Williams is the starter at tight end, but the depth at the position is suspect. His current backup, Mike Lukac, is a walk-on.

Davis to sit first half

Defensive end Jeremiah Davis must sit out the first half of this week's game for fighting with Nebraska's Richie Incognito, but Paterno said he would not take further disciplinary action against Davis.

Davis, who made his first career start, was ejected in the third quarter when he and Incognito tussled on the ground after Richard Gardner scored on an interception return.

"I think it was one of those situations where somebody lost their temper," Paterno said. "As far as I could tell there was no taunting or anything like that. Somebody just lost their head and threw a punch, and the other guy got involved in it. Jeremiah has been a good kid. I do not have any problems with Jeremiah."

Injury update

Bryan Scott left the Nebraska game with a pulled hamstring, but Paterno said Scott should be able to play against Louisiana Tech. Alan Zemaitis took his place at cornerback in the second half.

"[Scott] probably could have played if we had to use him," Paterno said. "Zemaitis played well. We didn't have to put him in there."

Inside linebacker Sam Ruhe has had a setback with a neck injury that has bothered him since camp. He did not practice last week and did not practice on Monday.

This 'n' that

Defensive back Richard Gardner is the Big Ten Conference defensive player of the week. Gardner returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown and had 4 1/2 tackles. ... Penn State's home game against Iowa Sept. 28 will begin at 12:05 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN.