OLSM star QB Robert Bolden is serious about future at Penn State

BY PERRY A. FARRELL
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Robert Bolden received the news from his father.

In a recent poll of best college party schools, Penn State ranked No. 1.

"Yeah, that surprised me. I didn't know that," said the Orchard Lake St. Mary's senior quarterback, who has committed to the Nittany Lions program. "My dad printed if off on the computer when he got off work and threw it on my bed. I was kind of shocked. I wasn't expecting that. It is what it is."

Don't expect Bolden to hit the party scene. After being one of three Michigan quarterbacks to receive an invitation to the prestigious Elite 11 Quarterback Camp in California, his work ethic won't be swayed by Friday night kegs and co-eds.

"The extra stuff I do has made me the quarterback I am," said Bolden, "the extra sprints after practice; getting in the weight room, looking over film, the stuff that sets you apart from everybody else."

Penn State set itself apart from other schools recruiting Bolden during his second visit.

"I talked to all the coaches," Bolden said. "I stayed the night up there with DeOn'tae Pannell (Birmingham Groves). Everybody was cool. I just felt comfortable there and felt I could go ahead and make that decision. My coaches were pushing me to make a decision so I wouldn't be thinking of anything else during the season. I wasn't listening to that. I was just making the right decision for me. I had 24 offers. I put them all on the table and listed the pros and cons."

At the Elite 11 camp, he had a chance to go to ESPN's SportsCenter, Laguna Beach to visit 10 of his counterparts and have fun with a lot of people.

"I held it down for the state of Michigan," he said.

A highlight of the trip was working with Daryll Clark, Penn State's senior quarterback whose job Bolden hopes to have one day.

"I wanted to make sure he corrected me on anything I was doing wrong," Bolden said. "If he observed anything I could do better, I wanted to make sure he got with me on the side. I definitely could be like him; I could see it. It helped a lot. None of the other guys had a chance to experience that or had a chance to talk to the quarterback that's in the position you want to be in a couple of years down the line. He pulled me aside, and it was great."

As far as coach Joe Paterno, Bolden said: "He's a funny guy. He's kind of cool and laid back. I like him. He can get along with all of his players and coaches. It's a family there, and that's what I was looking for."

Party on, Penn State.

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