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Friday, December 13, 2002
Casey remains focused despite off-field
troubles
Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Rashard Casey already has faced his
toughest test of the season, and it has nothing to do with blitzing
linebackers.
The Penn State quarterback enters his senior year facing charges
of assaulting an off-duty police officer. He says he is more
concerned about a collapsing pocket of blockers.
"There's nothing anybody can say about me or do to me that will
change what I have to do on the field," Casey said. "I live with
it, grow from it. You learn a lot from things that happen in your
life."
Casey pleaded innocent to the aggravated assault charge in the
May 14 incident in his hometown of Hoboken, N.J. The case may not
be settled for several months.
Meanwhile, Casey prepares for his final season, which begins
Sunday when the 17th-ranked Nittany Lions meet No. 16 Southern Cal
in the Kickoff Classic.
"My spirits are fine. They have been fine. I don't have
anything to hang my head over. I don't worry about what happened in
the offseason," Casey said.
Neither, it seems, does anyone else in Happy Valley. Casey's
teammates and coach Joe Paterno have stood by him throughout
training camp.
"What happened in May, happened in May," fullback Mike
Cerimele said. "Rashard is our quarterback and he has our full
support."
Paterno, who has been criticized for not taking action against
Casey, hasn't wavered.
"You don't expect me to do anything just because something is
alleged," he said.
Penn State is coming off a disappointing 10-3 season. It
finished No. 11 after being ranked as high as No. 2 before
suffering three losses by a total of a dozen points in November.
Casey, who alternated with Kevin Thompson at quarterback most of
the season, led the Nittany Lions to a convincing 24-0 victory over
Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl.
He had 856 yards and six touchdowns passing, while rushing for
290 yards and five touchdowns last season. Casey's quarterback
rating of 153.94 would have ranked him fourth if he had the
required number of attempts.
"The bowl game helped my confidence a little, but I never
doubted myself," Casey said. "I just got a chance to play a whole
game."
Casey now has the opportunity to play the entire game each week.
Paterno hopes his quarterback shows more discipline in the pocket.
"I just want him to play within himself, which is a big within.
He has marvelous talents," Paterno said. "Don't try to improvise
when it is not necessary. Be the leader of the football team. Be
the guy that pays attention to details. Be the guy that demands
certain levels of performance from his teammates and demands
respect in the huddle.
"Those kinds of things, the intangibles, that he started to
show last year, particularly when we were getting ready for the
Alamo Bowl. He started to understand some things and really did a
good job last winter, the spring and this summer. He has been
around all the time. He has rounded up kids to go out there and do
things. I am excited about what kind of progress he is going to
make from last year to this year."
Casey says he feels less pressure this year because he won't be
coming out after one quarter, one series or even one play.
"I'm more patient now because I know I'll be in the whole
game," he said. "I can't take off. I will get tired if I run
around."
Or defenders will get tired chasing him.
"He is an extraordinary athlete. The thing about him that is
underrated is his ability as a passer," USC coach Paul Hackett
said. "I think that was indicated last year in his passing
efficiency and how he throws the deep ball. Particularly, it's
evident when he gets outside the pocket. This is not a runner. When
he gets outside the pocket, he has the ability to calm himself and
throw the ball on the run and throw it very accurately."
Casey plans to do most of his running behind the line of
scrimmage.
"When I first start to run, my first thought is not to run but
to get the receivers open," Casey said. "So a lot of times I'm
not running upfield, I run lateral just so they think I'm running
and they have to either come up to play me or choose to stay back
and play the receiver and then I play off of their reaction."
Though he says he isn't thinking about his legal troubles, Casey
eventually will have to deal with the felony charge.
He is accused of punching Patrick Fitzsimmons as the off-duty
officer was walking to his car outside a Hoboken bar, then kicking
Fitzsimmons in the head after he fell and continuing to kick him
after he lost consciousness.
Casey's former high school teammate, Desmond Miller, also was
involved in the beating, which may have been racially motivated,
police said.
Fitzsimmons, who is white, was at the bar with a black woman. A
witness said the two players, who are black, yelled that the woman
should not be with a white man.
Fitzsimmons has sued. He is seeking an unspecified amount of
money for "severe and painful injuries" that have brought
"significant loss in the quality and enjoyment of his life,"
according to the lawsuit.
"It's nonsense," Casey said.
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