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Andrew Quarless hopes he can finally put his off-field problems behind him and become known more for his playing.
MCT direct file photo
This was the end of it. Had to be.
Andrew Quarless could think of nothing else as he prepared to face Joe Paterno for a second time – a second time after being cited for an alcohol-related offense.
The tight end had caught for underage drinking during preseason camp in 2007, breaking Paterno’s imposed curfew in the process. He was suspended for the first two games of the season and was nearly kicked off the team right then and there.
The following offseason, he was pulled over by police just off campus. He would have been under the legal limit – had he been 21 at the time. He was slapped with a DUI and had to sit down with his coach once again.
Quarless expected to be off the team and stripped of his scholarship.
“Joe didn’t even want to speak to me at one point, he was so angry,” Quarless said. “The first time I got in trouble, I spoke to him and I gave him my word. And the second time, it was, you know, ‘Fool me twice, and I’m the fool.’”
Paterno held his temper in check, and eventually made the decision to keep Quarless on board.
Although his football career was still alive at Penn State, Quarless was more worried about how his actions were affecting his family.
For the last two years, he was associated more with his off-field transgressions than his brief highlights in games.
“It was definitely tough for them,” Quarless said of his parents and relatives. “And that’s one reason I’ve really changed – for the program and especially my family. I never wanted them to go through all this negative publicity. … The only Quarless news was negative and it hurt my family. And it hurt me to portray the Quarless name in that way.
“I came to the point in my life that if I want to succeed and go to NFL – that’s my dream – I can’t continue to live the way I was living.”
Quarless’ first misstep resulted in plenty of talk, but no real change in his life or his routine.
Things have been different this time around.
“First of all, I have not drank since my DUI, which is 18 months now,” Quarless said. “That’s a sacrifice I made to the team and the coaches. I sat down with coach after the DUI, and I knew this was my last chance. I was walking a thin line.
“I also live by myself. Can’t afford to have roommates. So a lot of what I do is all little stuff that nobody sees, whether it’s push-ups, getting stronger, or going over plays more. I’ve got more time for classes and a lot more time to pinpoint things and work on being perfect.”
As a true freshman out of Uniondale High School in New York, Quarless caught 21 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. His size and speed had people thinking he could be Penn State’s most dynamic tight end since Kyle Brady.
Instead, Quarless enters his final season with just a combined 25 catches over the past two years.
Inconsistency and poor attitude have kept him behind Mickey Shuler on the depth chart since 2007. But with Penn State’s top three receivers from the past four years gone, the Nittany Lions expect to use more two-tight end sets.
Quarless will be needed.
“Andrew Quarless, hopefully he’s grown up,” Paterno said. “He did a lot of silly things when he first came into the program. But so far so good (this year). And he has the potential to be a really good tight end. He can run. He’s got good hands. He’s obviously got nice size for a tight end. So I think he and Shuler should give us two kids that are good tight ends, both of whom have played some.
“But, I’m hoping Quarless will have a big year.”