Uniformly The Same

STATE COLLEGE - For the first time since 1929, there is no member of the Penn State football coaching staff who played for the Nittany Lions, and that includes two holdovers from the Joe Paterno regime, defensive line coach Larry Johnson (Elizabeth City State) and linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden (Albion College).

Incorporating the best of what was, and what will be, is the challenge confronting new coach Bill O'Brien, who knows something of the traditions put into place by his late, great predecessor, Paterno, but apparently not everything.

O'Brien, the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, will continue splitting his time between the Patriots, who take on the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis, and Penn State, where he won't take over on a full-time basis until the day after the Pats are finished playing.

"It's important for us to learn the history of Penn State football and to embrace it," O'Brien said of what he and seven new assistant coaches need to learn in the weeks ahead.

Toward that end, O'Brien assured Penn State faithful that one of the school's most obvious traditions - its plain but distinctive uniforms - won't be getting some fancy makeover.

"We are not changing the uniform," O'Brien stressed. "When you put the television on and you see Penn State, you know it's Penn State because, one, it's a tough, smart football team and, two, because of the uniforms - no name on the back of the jerseys, the black shoes, the helmets. That, to me, is what Penn State is."

Less familiar to O'Brien, obviously, was Paterno's long-standing rule prohibiting facial hair on players. When O'Brien held a team meeting at Penn State a couple of days ago, some players looked as if they belonged in an NHL playoff locker room.

"Guys are just excited that they don't have to be clean-cut and clean-shaved every day, so they're just letting things go," starting quarterback Matt McGloin, who was sporting a close-cropped red beard, told ESPN.com. "Coach Paterno's rule was to make sure you have a nice shave, hair not too long. Obviously I respect that and I liked that when I first got here. But . . . college kids tend to let themselves go."