Background: Ever since he stood in front of a packed house in Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium as a 10-year-old and fired a football 50 yards in a Punt, Pass & Kick contest, Anthony Morelli was destined to become western Pennsylvania’s next great quarterback. The only question was: for whom? He played at Pittsburgh’s Penn Hills High, the only four-year starter in school history. He threw for 5,255 yards and 57 touchdowns during his high school career and Rivals100.com rated him as the No. 2 quarterback in the country and the top prospect overall in Pennsylvania in 2003. He committed to Pittsburgh but de-committed a month later and signed with Penn State. Why? Morelli said he thought coach Joe Paterno would stick around Penn State longer than Walt Harris would Pitt.
Stat line: Morelli spent two years as Michael Robinson’s caddie, going 18-for-33 for 200 yards with a touchdown and an interception before taking over this season. In his starting debut Saturday, he hit 16-of-32 for 206 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-16 win over Akron.
What’s up: The jury remains out on Morelli, one of Paterno’s most talked- about recent recruits. The rap on Morelli coming out of high school was that his rocket arm was a lot stronger than his mind. He couldn’t read defenses. Couldn’t comprehend a complicated playbook. Turns out, Penn Hills didn’t have a very thick one. “I’ve been hearing that since I was in high school,” Morelli told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Whoever started that, it doesn’t matter to me.”
What’s next: No. 19 Penn State (1-0) visits No. 4 Notre Dame (1-0), 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Henderson’s take: This is when Morelli can put himself on the college football map. Notre Dame’s once-maligned defense appears to have stepped up after shutting down Calvin Johnson and Georgia Tech last week. Morelli is a different quarterback than Robinson, who could get out of trouble with his feet. Morelli can’t. He has relied on his arm and Saturday must rely on his head. It will be interesting to see what confusing scheme defensive coordinator Rick Minter will use to rattle Morelli.
