[Tuck4Bama]

By Bernard Fernandez, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS
Thursday, August 20, 2009

STATE COLLEGE -- Some major-college football coaches apparently contract the same eye disease that distorts the vision of so many of their NFL counterparts.

It isn't glaucoma, cataracts or conjunctivitis. It's "workout warrior syndrome," and it's a condition not to be found in any medical text.

Those infected have a tendency to fall in love with players wearing shorts who run really fast, jump very high and come packaged within specific physical dimensions. They also are prone to overlook the less-obvious gifts of other players who simply make plays on the field while wearing helmets and shoulder pads.

Drew Astorino, Penn State's redshirt sophomore free safety, came this close to being another casualty of the "workout warrior" mentality.

He had come up huge in leading General McLane High, of Edinboro, to PIAA Class AAA state championships in both football and basketball his senior year. But some coaches with the power to determine his future doggedly held onto the notion that stop watches and tape measures don't lie. The kid was a gamer, sure, but he was just a little too small and a little too slow to succeed big-time college football.

Paterno discovers a gem at Penn State - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review