Deerfield's Joe Suhey Finishing His Career at Penn State University

Deerfield's Joe Suhey had been to Penn State plenty of times before he joined the Nittany Lions football team in 2008.

The Loyola Academy star is the eldest son of Chicago Bears legendary fullback Matt Suhey, who paved the way for Walter Payton's entry in the NFL record books. Before his father was Payton's lead blocker, he was a legendary Penn State fullback who totted the football for 2,618 yards, good enough for 10th place in school history.

His uncles Paul and Larry also played for Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno at Penn State. His grandfathers Steve Suhey and Bob Huggins were All-Americans for the Nittany Lions. His grandmother lives a stone's throw from PSU's Beaver Stadium.

Joe is equally excited about continuing the family tradition. His role as a pass-catching fullback for Penn State doesn't carry the glory that previous generations of Suhey had, but the senior has enjoyed his time in Happy Valley over the last four years.

"My family doesn't put any pressure on me and I don't think the coaches put any pressure on me because of that," Suhey said. "I've really loved my time at Penn State and really wouldn't say anything negative about it."

The fifth-year senior was a star tailback for Loyola under coach John Holecek, himself a former NFL player for eight seasons with the Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers and Atlanta Falcons. Suhey has watched from Pennsylvania as his brother Scotty and the Ramblers ran out to a 5-0 start and currently sit No. 4 in the state's high school football rankings.

"I actually loved my time at Loyola," Suhey said. "It was such a privilege to play for a coach like coach Holecek. My little brother's on the team and now and what (Holecek) has done for the Loyola Academy program and how he's built that up into a team that's contending every year, it's exciting to have been a part of that."

Suhey started three games as the Nittany Lions jumped out to a 4-1 record this season. Joe ran for 29 yards and a touchdown in the opener against Indiana State and scored again through the air with a touchdown catch against Eastern Michigan. He has nine carries for 37 yards and six catches for 55 yards so far this season.

"We've had a couple of tough games to prepare us for the Big Ten season, and now is where it counts," Suhey said. "We've made no secret that this team really wants to be a contender for a Big Ten championship and it starts this week with Indiana."

This year, the team is using two quarterbacks on a rotating basis. Rob Golden has started each game and been shuffled back and forth with former walk-on Matt McGloin. Suhey says the team has confidence in both and it doesn't matter to him which is under center.

"I think both guys have done a great job when they were in there and I think we are confident in both guys," Suhey said. "We don't think the offense loses anything with either guy in there. It's worked well for us and worked well for the team. I think that's not our problem. We have to get better at all areas and not just focus on the quarterback situation."

With a young or inexperienced player leading the team, someone usually has to stay up as a leader in the huddle. That's not something Suhey is very comfortable doing.

"With a young quarterback last year and even this year, some of the older guys have tried to take on a little more of a vocal role," Suhey said. "I'm not the most vocal guy. It's not really my personality."

After Saturday's 14-10 win over Indiana in their Big Ten opener, the Lions' sights are set on the new playoff and division format this season. This will be the first season the conference will have a tournament championship game and Suhey would enjoy the opportunity to participate.

"We were watching all the championship games last year and we're thinking 'Man, we wish we had to play in one of these games,' and now that's here and the Big Ten season, we have to go out each week and play our best game," Suhey said.

One of the highlights of his time in State College on the field is a six-catch performance during Paterno's 400th victory, a win where PSU was down 21-0 early in the game against Northwestern. He also was a freshman on the Nittany Lions' last Big Ten championship team in 2008.

As a junior, he started seven games and excelled as a receiver with 15 catches for 154 yards. His sophomore year included just two starts but he grabbed 21 receptions for 186 yards. He has played in every single game since joining the team, including trips to the Rose Bowl (a 38-24 loss to USC in 2008), Capital One Bowl (a 19-17 win over LSU) and Outback Bowl (a 37-24 loss to Florida).

Suhey has already earned his degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management and is taking media courses this semester. But he wasn't ready to talk about his future beyong Penn State.

"You can't ask me that, that's a tough one," Suhey said. "I'm just trying to focus on my season, do the best I can in school and on the field, and we'll see what happens."