Even with those plate glass-thick specs, Joe Paterno is one of the most color-blind people I've ever met. And yet, protesters used Penn State's annual Blue-White spring scrimmage on Saturday as a stage to draw attention to death threats made to several black PSU students, as well as faculty members and one university trustee. More than 20 of the student protesters were arrested after storming the field shortly before the start of play.

Maybe it's coincidence -- probably is ... has to be -- but one of the nation's most sought-after football recruits, running back Kevin Jones of Chester, Pa., recently told me he received "a bunch of hate mail," after he chose Virginia Tech over Penn State. The mail was sent to his high school and delivered to his homeroom. "They call you, 'Stupid,' 'Idiot,' everything ... racial slurs, you get everything," said Jones, whose college finalists were the Hokies and Nittany Lions.

Two pieces of the hate mail, he said, were written on Penn State postcards. Sadly enough, this sort of thing isn't unprecedented -- at Penn State, or any other major football program, for that matter. As for the issue of alleged racism at Penn State, you can count on one thing: Joe Pa, who has a social conscience and isn't afraid to use it, will do what he can to address the situation.

Tennessee Titan

The second-best player on the field during Tennessee's spring game was a 21-year-old freshman walk-on quarterback/wide receiver named Kelley Washington. Seamheads who read Baseball America will know the name, since Washington is a third baseman in the Florida Marlins organization. But the 12,300 folks who wandered into Neyland Stadium last Saturday had only heard rumors of Washington's talent. Now they know what Volunteers coach Phillip Fulmer knows: "He's not your typical freshman, that's for sure."

Washington accounted for 111 yards of total offense, scored once, Michael Vick-ed his way around a dozen would-be tacklers, nearly broke a receiver's sternum with one of his passes, and generally put the ooh and ahh into an otherwise dreadful spring game. If Fulmer can figure out what to do with him, Tennessee will have the best non-scholarship player on campus since Todd Helton wore a T on his batting helmet.

Washington is 6'3", 215 pounds and looks like the "After" photo for an abs-cruncher ad. After listening to him say all the right things ("I'm all about team," etc.) you still get the idea Washington wants to play quarterback for the Vols. But Tennessee has sophomore-to-be Casey Clausen, a work in progress, but getting there. That means Washington will likely end up at receiver (Fulmer compared him to former Vol star Carl Pickens), where UT is on the thin side. And also expect Fulmer to use him at quarterback in certain red zone situations. In case you're curious, the best player on the field was defensive tackle John Henderson.

Two other quarterback updates:

· Nate Hybl, the supposed heir obvious to Josh Heupel's starting position at Oklahoma, still hasn't won the job. Hybl completed 23 of 31 passes for 180 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in OU's spring game, but it wasn't enough to separate him from Jason White, who was 19 of 28 for 155 yards, one score and no interceptions. Afterward, coach Bob Stoops said he won't choose a starter until after the Sooners report for fall practice in early August. Stoops is no dummy. This way both Hybl and White stay interested during the entire summer. Plus, the spring practice statistics for the two quarterbacks were nearly identical.

· Not so impressive was the spring-game performance of USC junior quarterback Carson Palmer, who was outplayed by redshirt freshman Matt Cassel. Palmer completed 14 of 21 passes (17 of 21, if you count the three interceptions) for a modest 95 yards. Trojan followers probably shouldn't get their shorts in a bunch over Palmer's day. Palmer still is adjusting to the new offense installed by new coordinator Norm Chow. Give Chow time; he'll make a difference in Palmer's development.

Gene Wojciechowski is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail Geno at gene.wojciechowski@espnmag.com.