By: Neil Rudel

Blue White Contributor

There's no quarterback controversy at Penn State. Joe Paterno knows it, and so do both of his quarterbacks.

Paterno met with Matt Senneca on Sunday and informed him he intended to start Zack Mills. That gives Senneca plenty of time to re-adjust the mindset that had him nearly despondent following the Lions’ win over Ohio State. So why doesn’t Paterno confirm to the media and public his intentions during his weekly press briefing Tuesday?

Because he’s Paterno.

He’s the same guy who after beating Northwestern on Saturday tempered his praise for Mills by saying, “Matt kept us in the football game.’’

Then he gave Senneca one series against the Buckeyes, pulling him the very second the Lions fell behind 7-0.

Even after Senneca himself confirmed the decision Tuesday, at the expense of being forthcoming and honest, Paterno would rather say he’s going “to give Matt a chance to compete’’ in practice and hold off on a public announcement for a couple of days.

It shouldn’t be surprising because his midweek messages have been handled this way for, oh, about a quarter century.

In Paterno’s mind, the people that need to know do. Everyone else, including the fans and the opponent, can assume.

In his mind, the pressure of playing Penn State football is enough. He doesn’t necessarily want to add to it by announcing that a redshirt freshman, no matter how gifted, no matter how poised, is now the team’s starting quarterback. Plus in this case, he knows the end of Matt Senneca’s meaningful playing time may be here and he’s trying to be sensitive to that. Truth shouldn’t be selective. But in Paterno’s case, actions have always been more telling than words.

CENTER OF ATTENTION

Penn State has been in the shotgun formation more than ever.

That could be because the Lions have trailed virtually the entire season.

So they’ve jumped into the gun, putting the focus on snapper Joe Iorio.

Other than snapping the ball over Mills’ head once last week — even Mills turned that into a gain — Iorio has done a good job.

But it hasn’t been easy, especially with the Nits using some play-action runs out of the shotgun.

“Shotgun is kind of a new concept for us,’’ Iorio said. “I don’t really like it as much as taking snaps under center. The stance is different. Everything is different.’’

KENNEDY'S TAKE ON AGE

Defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy has referred to the 74-year-old Paterno as “old man’’ several times.

“I’m one of those guys who wants to prove that Penn State still has it and the old man’s not getting too old,’’ he said. “Sometimes he has his days where you’re like ‘what is he thinking? I wonder what’s going on in that little old man’s mind.’

“We’ll come out on a Monday afer just playing Saturday and he’ll have us in full pads and the talk around the locker room is, ‘Oh what is the old man thinking? What’s going on with this guy?’ After a while, the name just stuck with him.

“Plus for my situation, I never saw a picutre of him when he was young. I was born in ’79; he was still old then. I love him to death, but he’s still an old man.’’

It won’t be long until Kennedy’s views get old for Paterno.

NITPICKING ...

*The coaching staff’s decision not to start defensive end Michael Haynes at Northwestern, sitting him in favor of Sam Ruhe, appears to have paid off. Haynes played well when he came off the bench against Northwestern and made two sacks against the Buckeyes, looking quicker than he has all year.

*Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower would have to be considered a great candidate for a high-profile conference job. He’s taken Southern Miss to four straight bowl games, produced a number of NFL players and led the Eagles to a 71-49-1 record in 10 seasons.

*The biggest-name NFL players out of Southern Miss? 1) Brett Favre; 2) Ray Guy; 3) Louis Lipps.

*Bryant Johnson is starting to play like a high-round draft pick.

*While most people in Beaver Stadium last week, not to mention ESPN’s TV crew, initially thought Bryan Scott blocked Ohio State’s attempt for a game-winning field goal, the PSU Radio Network immediately credited Jimmy Kennedy. Kudos to Altoona’s Ted Beam, long-time network spotter.

Rudel can be reached at scupe@aol.com. He will respond to your comments on PSU football periodically. Please keep comments brief and include names and hometowns.