It has definitely been an interesting Spring and Summer in State College this off-season with some of the news coming out of "Happy Valley" being good and some not so good.

Starting with the bad, it seems Joe Paterno once again found himself in a tumultuous situation this pre-season getting run over by speedy slot back Devon Smith. The 160 pounder was running an out pattern when he stretched the rout too far past the sidelines and ran right into Paterno injuring his arm and hip area. No worries however, as in typical Paterno-fashion the coach made a quick recovery and says there is a 50/50 shot of him being on the sidelines for the opener against Indiana State."I've got some medical people who want me upstairs, and I want to be downstairs", added Paterno. "That being upstairs is for the birds. I like to be on the sideline and get a feel for things and be able to grab a kid and tell him to do certain things. So I'm going to try hard to be on the sideline."Continuing with the bad, there are a few Nittany Lions from last year's squad that Paterno won't be able to school from the sidelines with a couple of key personnel transferring from University Park. Back-up quarterback Kevin Newsome finally took his talents elsewhere after McGloin surpassed him on the depth chart last season. Newsome was a highly-touted four star recruit coming into Penn State but couldn't get his throwing mechanics fine tuned enough where he could see significant playing time. Offensive lineman Tommy Ricketts also packed his bags for Pitt after he made it known to his coaches and teammates that he was home sick. Ricketts was another four star recruit that was kind-of a surprise pick-up for the Nittany Lions last year where they beat out Pitt for the big offensive lineman. The biggest transfer loss came when back-up defensive tackle Brandon Ware left town for Eastern Arizona. Ware stated his reasons for leaving were personal but all signs point to academic troubles. With Ware's departure, the interior of the Nittany Lions defense gets even thinner and if last year is any indication of how injury prone the Lions are going to be up front Ware leaving could cause even more of an impact.Now to the worst, where it's no secret to any college football fan across the nation that Penn State has had one of the better quarterback battles in the country. Seemingly enough, the Lions will begin their season today against Indiana State and still there is no clear cut number one to lead the offense."I'm not a guy that likes to play two quarterbacks, but I think we'll play both of them", said Paterno. "They both are ready to play and they're both as I said done everything we've asked them to do, and both of them continue to contribute to the football team and get us ready to play as well as we can offensively."Lions 247.com has reported that Bolden will be getting the start against the Sycamores but all indications from Paterno still say that both will play against Indiana State. Why should the Nittany Lions choose a starting quarterback? It's not like they have one of the most fiercest defenses in all of the country coming into State College in two weeks and that having a starter now would give the offense more confidence heading into that game. Coaches always say to the their kids not to look forward to the next week and just concentrate on who your playing this week, but let's get a little real here. Penn State needs all the solidity it can get going into their match-up with Alabama and playing two quarterbacks has proven time and again that it just doesn't get the job done when playing a big time opponent.On to the good, where the Nittany Lions certainly have some weapons on offense that once a number one signal caller is chosen should give Big Ten defenses some trouble throughout the season. The most highly recognized being 6-5 Derek Moye who led the Lions in receiving last season catching 48 balls for 806 yards and 8 td's. The PSU coaching staff moved (6-3, 214) pound monster wideout Justin Brown to the slot position this season where they hope he will create a match-up problem on short passing situations and against linebackers. A junior, Brown is expected to have a break out year and improve on his numbers (33 catches, 452 yards, 1 td) from last year. Shawney Kersey is another receiver that people in "Happy Valley" are talking about. Kersey is another big target (6-1,198) for Bolden or McGloin to throw to and Paterno believes he can do some damage to opposing defenses."Kersey may be the fastest of the group, except Devon Smith", added Paterno "He's had a good pre-season, and there is no question about his potential. He can run, has good hands, and great body control. He can do a lot of things well."The Nittany Lions also return a stout linebacking core and experienced secondary. Anchoring the middle is Glenn Carson (6-3, 239) which comes as a surprise to most who thought Michael Mauti was going to be "the man in the middle" for Penn State. Moving Mauti to the outside does make sense though because of his ability to make plays all over the field. Joining Carson, and Mauti are Gerald Hodges (6-2, 234) and Nate Stupar (6-1, 234).The secondary maybe the strongest unit out of any on the Penn State squad as it returns all of it's starters from last season. D'Anton Lynn (6-1, 208) and Stephon Morris (5-8, 184) will lock down the corner positions. Lynn is a big physical corner that can take away a team's premier receiver. Joining Lynn and Morris in the secondary is Malcolm Willis (5-11, 209) and Drew Asterino (5-10, 207) at the safety positions to complete one of the best secondaries in the country.Coming into the 2011-12 season the future looks bright for the Nittany Lions. Question marks still and it seems like forever need to be answered on the offensive line and of course the fact that their is no clear cut leader for the Lions on offense. Fans can probably expect a better result this season but if somebody doesn't pick a quarterback before the Alabama game the season could take a turn for the worst.