BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Star QB Morelli excited about Big 33, PSU

July 20, 2004

Geoff Rushton
BlueWhiteIllustrated.com Editor

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Hershey, Pa. ? There probably is not a more publicized subplot at this week?s Big 33 Football Classic between Pennsylvania and Ohio all-stars than the one involving Anthony Morelli and Chad Henne.

Morelli, from Penn Hills in Western Pennsylvania, and Henne from West Lawn High in Wilson in Eastern Pa., are the two quarterbacks for the Keystone State squad when it takes the field this Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff at HersheyPark Stadium.

As seniors in 2003 both were rated among the best of the best high school quarterbacks in the nation. Both also happened to have a notable recruiting experience with Penn State.

The Nittany Lions at first only recruited Henne and many thought he was Happy Valley-bound. In August though he picked Michigan. Morelli meanwhile was committed to Pittsburgh, but on signing day in February, spurned the Panthers and signed with the Lions.

In the future they expect to go head-to-head in Big Ten play, but together on the Pennsylvania team, it would seem they make strange bedfellow teammates playing at the same position. This week however, Morelli downplayed any drama between the pair.

?Me and Chad are getting along great and everything?s going good,? Morelli said. ?We?re teammates now so we?ve got to work together.?

He?s also pleased with the Pennsylvania offense under the direction of head coach George Chaump, a longtime coach at programs in high school, college and the NFL. Chaump, now head coach at Harrisburg, is known for his predilection for the pass. Factor in the Big 33?s rules requiring 40 percent of the offensive plays to be passing and defenses to play man-to-man, and, all told, it makes for a promising game for Pennsylvania on offense.

?The offense is great right now,? Morelli said. ?We?ve been throwing the ball a ton. We?ve got to be able to run the ball too to be able to throw. Hopefully [PSU-bound fullback] Dan [Lawlor] will do his thing and we can open up the passing game.?

For Chaump, it?s something of an ideal situation. Asked about the 40 percent passing rule, he half-jokingly noted, ?That?s low.?

And so far he?s been very impressed with his signal callers.

?I guess we have two outstanding quarterbacks,? Chaump explained. ?They have strong arms and have been throwing well in practice. They?re both as good as you can find in two high school quarterbacks. I wish I had them for four years.

?They?re similar in that they both have very strong arms. After that there?s differences. I don?t want to compare them, but both have their strengths, and I don?t know if they have a weakness.?

For Morelli, Big 33 week marks a change of scenery from the past month, which he spent grinding away in summer workouts with the Nittany Lions in University Park. While he, along with his fellow future PSU teammates, explained the workouts at Penn State have been an eye-opening experience, he also noted how important they were to go through before beginning preseason camp.

?It?s been a great experience,? Morelli said. ?I was up there for three weeks. We got to meet all the guys, did 7-on-7, lifted weights with everybody and did the running program. It was tough at times, but it was also a lot of fun.

?It?s definitely a benefit to come up early. If you don?t, you kind of get behind, especially with running all the plays, the running part, as well as all the weightlifting. You?re better off getting up there early and getting started. These workouts your muscle and strength just keeps increasing. It?s crazy what they?ve got us doing. I?m not used to this kind of stuff but it helps so much.?

Arriving at Penn State in June also gave Morelli the opportunity to work with incumbent quarterback Zack Mills and presumptive back-up Michael Robinson.

?We did on Tuesdays and Thursdays 7-on-7s and they were there helping me out as much as they could,? he said.

The most high-profile quarterback in Penn State?s most recent recruiting class, Morelli would like to be the next in line behind center at PSU. Though he said he expects Mills to be ?the guy? in 2004, he will head into preseason camp with what should be the goal of any star quarterback ? winning the the starting spot.

?My goal is obviously to go and try to start. But we?ve got Zack Mills. He?s a senior, this is his last year. I?m not sure if they?ll redshirt me or not. I?m just going to give it my all and go from there.?

He?s also excited about working under the guidance of new assistant coach in charge of offense Galen Hall, an offensive mastermind in three decades of coaching in college and the pros.

?I?m definitely excited about him coming in,? Morelli said of Hall. ?He knows the passing game inside and out. When I was up there I haven?t had the chance to talk to him. Whenever I went up earlier in the summer, for the spring game, I had the chance to speak to him then.?

But for now Morelli has one more game to put the finishing touches on his stellar high school career. Already Big 33 has been a worthwile endeavor, he said.

?It?s a great experience,? he said. ?We have two-a-day practices with all the guys we?ll be playing against in college. It?s great to get to know them now.?

Look for more stories on PSU players in the Big 33 game throughout the week. On Thursday, tune into a special edition of BWI Live on 1390 AM WRSC in State College and on the Internet for interviews with all the PSU players in the Big 33

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