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Mills to miss Saturday's game
Rob Biertempfel is the Pirates beat writer. He can be reached via e-mail. Also check out Biertempfel's blog, Pirates Q&A or follow him on Twitter.
Against Ohio State, junior Michael Robinson will make his second start at quarterback this season. But do not expect freshman Anthony Morelli to get on the field, even if Robinson gets hurt or if the offense continues to struggle.
"No," coach Joe Paterno said Tuesday. "(Morelli) is not adequately prepared."
When pressed to explain what he meant by that, Paterno got testy.
"He is not prepared, all right? You asked me a question, and I gave you an answer."
Morelli, a highly touted recruit from Penn Hills, has appeared in three games. He has completed 4 of 9 passes for 32 yards.
Under Paterno's rules, Morelli is forbidden to give interviews until after his freshman year.
Three hours before Paterno addressed reporters, Robinson was asked during a teleconference whether he thought Morelli might get some significant playing time soon.
"He's real close," Robinson said. "Basically, he's one injury away or two injuries away. Every day, I try to work with him. He's going to be a good one."
Against Purdue on Oct. 9, Morelli was used only for the final play of the game, a Hail Mary pass attempt. Mills was unable to throw deep because of a shoulder injury, and Robinson was out with a concussion.
Last week against Iowa, Mills went to the sideline with 4:47 left in the third quarter and did not return. Robinson finished the game at quarterback, but he was awful, going 2 for 9 with three turnovers.
When Robinson was slow to get up after being sacked and fumbling with 2:30 to play, Morelli quickly began warming up on the sideline. However, Penn State never got the ball back.
Paterno said Mills was injured early in the game, but it took a while before the coaches realized it. Mills took a beating on practically every play and went 7 for 19 for 82 yards with two picks.
"He had some problems with signals and those kind of things," Paterno said. "We have to be careful with him. He's taken some tough hits."
Even before the start of this season, it was clear that Mills was fragile. Since the 2002 season, he has been hampered by injuries to his elbow, knee and shoulder.
Robinson has played mostly at wideout this season, and he is second on the team with 19 catches for 283 yards. Because of the concussion he sustained against Wisconsin and the general ineptitude of the offense, Robinson has been unable to really develop into a star.
"We've asked him to do an awful lot," Paterno said. "Maybe we've got to step back and decide on one (role) rather than let's get him good at a couple of things.
"For a while, we weren't even sure (team doctors) were going to let him play again this year. He lost three solid weeks of practice. He lost some time last year (to injuries). He's working at quarterback, he's working at wideout. He hasn't had a chance to get in a groove."
