STATE COLLEGE -- Throughout the course of his media day press conference in the belly of Beaver Stadium on Friday, Joe Paterno kept talking about developing depth on the offensive line.
Even with five starters returning and another with significant starting experience, the veteran Penn State coach knows the Nittany Lions need to be deeper up front.
That hope was dealt a blow when former Southern Columbia standout Josh Marks -- listed as a second-string guard on PSU's latest depth chart -- decided to leave the program earlier this week, first reported on BlueWhiteIllustrated.com and confirmed by Paterno on Friday.
Marks, a redshirt freshman listed at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds, left the team following Wednesday's workout, according to BlueWhiteIllustrated.com.
"Josh has given it up. ... He will not be with the team," Paterno said during Friday's media day.
Marks was unavailable for comment Friday, but his father John Marks said that his son was on a "recruiting visit." The elder Marks said that Josh would play college football again, and he wanted to dispel rumors about why his son left Penn State.
"He did not get in trouble, he did not get in a fight," John Marks said. "And his grades are fine."
The Nittany Lions return all five starters up front, including All-American candidates A.Q. Shipley at center and guard Rich Ohrnberger. Marks was listed behind true sophomore Stefen Wisniewski at guard. Wisniewski was a member of Penn State's 2007 class, along with Marks.
Despite the experience returning up front, Penn State typically rotates linemen throughout the game and Marks was scheduled to be in that rotation, according to the team's media guide.
"Josh is a good kid and I'm not going to get into anything negative about him," the veteran coach said. "Sometimes people have to make decisions in their lives that are very difficult to make when you're in the limelight."
Marks had a stellar athletic career at Southern Columbia, leading the Tigers to four state titles in football and becoming the first athlete in school history to qualify for the state championships in three sports.
He finished his career at Southern as a three-time first-team All-State selection and was the Pennsylvania Football News' Class A Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2006. He had nearly 250 career tackles, including 15 sacks.
Marks, a two-time PIAA wrestling qualifier, won two state wrestling medals for the Tigers and also qualified for the state track & field championships as a senior in the discus.
If Marks wishes to continue his football career, he would have to sit out the 2008 season if he transfers to another Division I-A school and would then have three years of eligibility remaining. If he were to transfer down to a program at either the FCS, Division II or Division III, he would be eligible to play this fall.
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Marks leaves Penn State
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