It's difficult for many of us to wait more than three months for another college football season to begin. [
So ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach decided to come out with another edition of his "way-too-early preseason Top 25."
In this one, Penn State is No. 9, just above Oklahoma State and just below Alabama.
Ohio State comes in at No. 6.
The Nittany Lions "have to replace their entire starting receiver corps and rebuild both of their lines, but they still seem to be the second-best team in what will probably again be a watered-down league. Quarterback Daryll Clark is efficient and tailbacks Evan Royster and Stephfon Green form a pretty good one-two punch (if Green recovers from off-season ankle surgery). ... The Nittany Lions will have one of the country's best linebacker corps if Navorro Bowman puts his off-field problems in the rearview mirror. Penn State's non-Big Ten schedule is far from challenging and fellow Big Ten favorites Ohio State and Iowa play in Happy Valley."
It was a pretty standard, accurate evaluation of the Lions, who don't figure to be ranked quite that high when the mainstream polls come out in late summer.
What the report didn't mention was the strong and deep talent at tight end and at defensive tackle, which could go a long way in making up for inexperience elsewhere, if utilized properly.
By the way, the No. 1 pick was Florida, followed by Texas, Oklahoma, USC and Virginia Tech.
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