Two-year wait paying off for Mark Arcidiacono at Penn State

St. Joseph's Prep graduate Mark Arcidiacono knew when he committed to Penn State in the spring of 2008 that it would be a process.

Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno has never been an advocate of playing freshmen, and there is a learning curve associated with playing the offensive line at the collegiate level.

Arcidiacono redshirted his freshman season and did not see any game action last year, but the waiting game is starting to pay off. The former Hawks offensive tackle from Holland, Bucks County, is the second-string left guard for Penn State and said he thinks he will get some game time this season.

Arcidiacono, listed at 6-foot-4, 284 pounds, hopes that the experience he gets in a backup role helps him for the future. Both of the Nittany Lions starting offensive tackles - Quinn Barham and Chima Okoli - are seniors, as are two of the guards fighting for starting jobs.

"You have to have really sound technique and really have to concentrate on understanding the playbook and really having a grasp of what you're doing on the field," Arcidiacono said.

Despite spending most of his time on the sideline so far, Arcidiacono has enjoyed his time in Happy Valley. His favorite memory, he said, was Paterno's 400th career win last Nov. 6.

The next step is getting onto the field. That opportunity may come sooner rather than later, since the Nittany Lions host Indiana State of the Missouri Valley Football Conference for their season opener on Sept. 3 at Beaver Stadium. The season's first game usually is against an inferior opponent, and backups often have a chance late in those games to get experience.

"I'm still in that process a little bit, starting to get some time and get in the mix this year," Arcidiacono said.