Daryll Clark burst onto the scene in 2008, becoming one of the most dangerous duel threat quarterbacks in the nation. With his return for his senior season there is no QB controversy in Happy Valley like seasons in the past.

Let’s take a quick look at Clark’s numbers from the ’08 season and you will be able to see why there is no such controversy.

He threw for 2,592 yards, good for third all-time in Penn State history. He completed 59.8 percent of his pass attempts and threw 19 TD’s compared to six INT’s. He also rushed for 282 yards and 10 TD’s, bringing his total touchdowns responsible for to 29, a new school record. These numbers landed Clark with first team All-Big Ten quarterback honors and the runner-up for conference MVP.

His leadership ability and play making skills on the field remind many Penn State fans of former Penn State QB Michael Robinson. The good thing for the Nittany Lions is that Clark has a year left after his breakout season, unlike Robinson.

Not everything was all Roses for Clark in 2008 though. The Rose Bowl for one was not his best performance, as he was picked off a season-high two times. Another knock against Clark was his failure in pressure situations.

At Ohio State Clark was injured and did not lead Penn State on their winning drive. His failure down the stretch at Iowa, in the Nittany Lions only regular season loss, also raised some questions. The Iowa game saw him only complete 9 of 23 passes for 86 yards and one late INT. A 61.8 QB rating in the game was his lowest of the season.

But coming into the 2009 season the Nittany Lions are far from uncomfortable with Clark under the helm. The biggest QB question this offseason has been whether Joe Paterno and other Penn State coaches will crack down on the amount of times Clark runs the ball.

The answer to that has been an emphatic no. Clark just needs to be smarter about when to take a hit and when to just slide or get out of bounds.

The awards and accolades have been flying Clark’s way this offseason. In late July, he participated in the prestigious Elite 11 Quarterback Camp as a counselor along side Chase Daniel (Missouri/Washington Redskins), Cody Hawkins (Colorado), Colt McCoy (Texas), Zac Robinson (Oklahoma State), Mark Sanchez (USC/New York Jets) and Juice Williams (Illinois).

He has been named to the 2009 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award watch list, an award he was a semi-finalist for last year. Clark is also on the 2009 Walter Camp Player of the year watch list and the 2009 Maxwell Award watch list, which goes to college football’s most outstanding player.

Being a favorite on these watch lists puts him automatically in the running for the Heisman Trophy as well, before the season even starts.

With Clark solidly the number one QB, the big question is who number two on the depth chart is.

With the departure of Pat Devlin, who is transferring to Delaware, the Nittany Lions were in dire need of finding a worthy second-string QB. Remember Devlin is the QB who engineered the game winning drive at Ohio State last year, even though he mostly only handed the ball off. But his QB sneak was the winning touchdown.

Penn State thinks they found their number two guy and possibly the guy to take over the “Spread HD” offense when Clark is gone in Kevin Newsome, a 6’2” 220 pound duel threat QB recruit from Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia. He enrolled early and participated in spring drills. His play in the annual Blue White game in April has helped him lock down the backup role to Clark.

Sophomore Matt McGloin sits third on the depth chart and had himself a nice Blue White game as well.

All-in-all Penn State can go as far as Clark takes them from the QB position and if he gets injured Newsome will be thrown into the fire immediately.