Many Penn State fans remember that picture with pure joy while Maryland fans saw it as a classless act by a high school kid who 20 months earlier made a verbal commitment to their Terps. Now we are a little over a year from that day and Antonio Logan El might be going back to Maryland, with his tail between his legs.

Logan El’s first year at Penn State was filled with as much drama as a week’s worth of Days Of Our Lives. He came into camp and the rumors started to circulate that he wasn’t in shape, but many within the team said it was just a problem with his asthma medication. At the end of the season he took a leave of absence from the team to be with an ailing relative. It is nice to see a kid put his family first, and realize that the college football world will still be here when life settles down. Logan El came back to the team around the time frame where Penn State started spring ball, but before he could rejoin the team Coach Paterno wanted Logan El to work out a bit on his own with the strength trainer before starting practice with the team. That makes sense doesn’t it?

Most would think yes, but not Antonio. He was mad that he was asked to do this work and that became the straw that broke the camel’s back in his opinion. Next thing Nittany Lion fans knew is that Paterno was saying in so many words that Logan El’s days as a Nittany Lion were over. So how does this happen? How does someone with such promise just lose the drive to play football?

In my opinion, recruiting Offensive Lineman is the hardest position to project for the collegian level. A high school lineman can look dominate just because he has matured faster and is just plain bigger than his competition. That allows the lineman to push his opponents around, but when he gets to a level where his competition is the same size as he is, that is when you find out what the lineman is really about.

For Logan El, he just didn’t have the drive to take his athletic size and ability to the next level. There is nothing wrong with that, some people are not cut out for college football. It is not easy to play football and carry a full load of classes, but to do it with the lack of respect that he did, is not something he should be proud of. People do make mistakes, but I think the biggest mistake would be if Ralph Friedgen allowed Logan El to play on his team. So Fridge, listen to Mike Farrell and myself and cut your losses. Let Logan El find another team to latch onto.