EAST LANSING — Some stories grow more impressive (or embellished) with each retelling.

Such is the case with Jon Misch’s second-most famous stint on the piano.

While the Michigan State linebacker became a YouTube sensation with his rendition of a Chopin number during the talent show during bowl week in 2007, it’s not the first time he’s wowed people as a concert pianist.

While still in high school at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s — in fact, on the same day he helped lead the Eaglets to a district football title — the Waterford native volunteered to become an emergency fill-in on the piano, and save a wedding scheduled that afternoon for the chapel on the Orchard Lake campus. One of Misch’s teammmates happened across the tearful bride, who explained that her wedding couldn’t start until the pianist she’d hired showed up. There was one easy solution.

“I got a call from one of my captains, and he was like, ‘Hey, Misch. They’re having a wedding here, and the pianist didn’t show up. If you could come and play for them, I bet they’d appreciate it,’ ”

Misch remembered. “So I came over, and was like ‘Hey, I heard your pianist didn’t show up, and I’d like to play for you, if you want.’ ... I’d played for weddings before, so I put together a regular repertoire for a wedding, and they paid me $100.”

That’s where the story has started to become urban legend. Yes, Misch was still in uniform, and hadn’t showered yet — “I was all covered in dirt and everything,” he said. “It was funny.”

But some parts of the story have grown in to tall tale proportions.

“I’ve only told (the story) a few times, but now it’s gotten misconstrued a little bit, because now they’re saying ‘He came in, and he played everything they asked him to, for free. Yadda, yadda, yadda,’ ” Misch said. “I didn’t ask for any money, but they did pay me. Don’t let anybody tell you that I didn’t.”

 

No doubt after leading Orchard Lake St. Mary's to the state title game twice in his high school career, Robert Bolden made the decision to sign with Penn State dreaming he'd go to Happy Valley, replace Daryll Clark and lead the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten title.

Forget the fact that the venerable Joe Paterno hasn't started a true freshman QB in nearly two decades.

No, literally — forget it.

Despite the fact that Bolden appeared the odd man out, experience-wise, in a four-man competition at QB for Penn State, his competition recently narrowed by one, as the PSU coaching staff informed U.S. Army All-American Paul Jones — the star of the spring game after enrolling early — that he'd be redshirted, reported the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

That leaves Bolden, sophomore Kevin Newsom and redshirt sophomore Matt McGloin in the battle. According the the Post-Gazette's Ron Musselman, Bolden has been the most impressive QB in camp, despite his relative inexperience, and currently has a better grasp of the offense than Jones.

There's just over three weeks left before the Nittany Lions open the season vs. Youngstown State, but the door has been cracked for a pair of true freshman from this state — Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez admitted it was still "possible" for Devin Gardner to be the other — to start the season under center.

Big Ten Network analysts Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith have already called the race, predicting Bolden to be the Week One starter.

Once one of the nation's most highly coveted cornerbacks in the prep ranks in his senior year at Orchard Lake St. Mary's, Dionte Allen has decided to transfer from Florida State, the school announced Monday, after granting his release.

The No. 3 player in Michigan in 2007, and 40th-best overall according to Rivals.com, Allen struggled to get on the field with the Seminoles, then struggled to stay there when he finally did. After a redshirt year, Allen played in just five games as a freshman, then split time at corner last season, starting once. His redshirt sophomore season was curtailed by a broken thumb, which required surgery and cost him four games.

Allen was pushed by freshman sensation Greg Reid, the Seminoles' nickel back and primary return man, and may have seen the handwriting on the wall, with Florida State adding three more highly-touted DBs — including five-star stud Lamarcus Joyner — in the 2010 recruiting class.

Often times, when a player gets a second chance with a team, the coach of that team tends to take a wait-and-see approach.

Not so with Orchard Lake St. Mary's grad Justin Siller, who's back with the Purdue Boilermakers after a year in community college exile (read my earlier post about his dismissal and his May reinstatement here), and will be a huge part of the team's plans.

"He's back in school, he's eligible, he's on the team, and we're excited about having him back," said Purdue coach Danny Hope at Monday's Big Ten media day in Chicago. "He's a great teammate, a fine person, an outstanding student. Obviously, we missed his services last year."

The Boilermakers didn't necessarily need Siller at quarterback — the position from which he'd engineered a 48-42 win over Michigan in his first start in 2008 — since they had Joey Elliott. The beneficiary of Siller's year-long absence, in that he won the QB derby last spring by default, Elliott led Purdue to just a 5-7 record, but nearly swept the state of Michigan, beating the Wolverines, 38-36, and losing to the Spartans, 40-37.

This year, the Boilermakers will have Miami (Fla.) transfer Robert Marve — who Hope called "as talented as any quarterback (he'd) been around" — but they'll still need Siller's versatility and athleticism.

Hope noted that the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Siller is currently listed on the depth chart at wide receiver, but he could line up at any of the skill positions on offense. That could be especially critical, since the Boilers will be without starting running back Ralph Bolden, who tore an ACL in spring practice. Siller may end up in the mix at running back with Al-Terek McBurse and another converted WR, Keith Carlos, a JUCO transfer who was a runner in junior college.

"He's hard to tackle, can make you miss. He's a heck of a football player and a heck of a guy — huge shot in the arm for our football team if we can get Justin Siller back this year," Hope said. "Justin Siller can be a difference maker for our football team, when it's all said and done, and I expect him to impact a whole lot of football games."