Navorro Bowman

They started the season in depth-chart purgatory. They may still be far from heaven. But Aaron Maybin and Navorro Bowman are two of the main reasons Penn State is perched outside the pearly gates - three games and a little luck away from playing for the national championship. And the two redshirt sophomores have each other to thank for their - and Penn State's - ascension from the netherworld. Best friends, roommates and fellow defensive players, Maybin and Bowman are two talents who could not be contained by their past transgressions or the Lions' old-school hierarchy.

Finding replacements at quarterback and the three linebacker positions was the challenge facing Penn State coach Joe Paterno as the Nittany Lions began spring practice yesterday. The Lions return 13 starters - seven on offense, five on defense, and kicker Collin Wagner - from a squad that went 11-2 last season, won the Capital One Bowl against Louisiana State, and was ranked No. 9 in the final Associated Press poll. With two-year starting quarterback Daryll Clark gone, the Lions will look at three quarterbacks during the 15 days of drills leading up to the Blue-White Game on April 24. Paterno insists there is no front-runner at the quarterback position.

And then there were six. Penn State tight end Andrew Quarless has been suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules, according to football team spokesman Jeff Nelson. Quarless joins five other Lions who have been at least temporarily removed from the team for infractions since Jan. 25. First, it was defensive tackle Chris Baker, linebacker Navorro Bowman, and defensive back Knowledge Timmons. A few weeks later, defensive tackle Phil Taylor and wide receiver Chris Bell were suspended.

Penn State defensive tackle Chris Baker and linebacker Navorro Bowman were bound over for trial at a preliminary hearing yesterday in Bellefonte, Pa., in connection with an on-campus fight in October. Baker, 20, of Windsor, Conn., and Bowman, 19, of District Heights, Md., face misdemeanor charges of simple assault and disorderly conduct along with a summary violation of harassment and stalking. But a more serious felony charge of aggravated assault was dismissed by Centre County District Judge Carmine Prestia.

They sat down for a meeting during the summer, the old-school 82-year-old head football coach and the 21-year-old linebacker who had experienced so much adversity in his life and once told a judge that he hated to go home during breaks from school because of how rough things were in his old neighborhood. Navorro Bowman knew he had let Joe Paterno down. Just as he was about to complete a year of probation for his role in an October 2007 fight on campus, Bowman received an additional 12 months of probation last April after he admitted using marijuana in violation of his original sentence.

Evan Royster sounded as if he wanted to come back for his senior season at Penn State after the victory over Louisiana State in the Capital One Bowl. It took less than one week for Royster to make it official. The first-team all-Big Ten tailback announced yesterday that he would pass on the NFL draft and return to the Lions next year. "I wanted to return to finish my degree and for my final year at Penn State," Royster said in a news release issued by the university. Royster had said he was going to go over his evaluation from the NFL draft advisory board before making a decision, but an athletic department spokesman said the running back made his choice without knowing what his draft prospects would be. Royster, of Fairfax, Va., will have a chance at becoming Penn State's all-time leading rusher.

Villanova moved up one spot to second in The Sports Network poll and Penn is in the Top 25 for the first time since 2005. Following their 49-7 win over Towson, the Wildcats (9-1) jumped over unbeaten Montana (10-0), even though Montana received more first-place votes. Southern Illinois (9-1) remained at No. 1 and has 49 first-place votes. 'Nova closes at home against Delaware (6-4) on Saturday. With a win, it gets the conference's automatic bid to the playoffs, and one of the top seeds.

Penn State defensive tackle Chris Baker, already awaiting trial for his role in an off-campus April brawl, was charged Wednesday evening with assault in connection with an on-campus fight that left a man bloodied and with a broken nose after being punched and kicked. Nittany Lions linebacker Navorro Bowman also was charged and arraigned yesterday with Baker. Both players have been charged with felony aggravated assault and two misdemeanors, simple assault and disorderly conduct.

Navorro Bowman has gone from doghouse to penthouse and rightly could claim the tag as the next great linebacker at Penn State. Bowman put on a LaVar Arrington-esque performance Saturday as the No. 12 Nittany Lions routed Temple, 45-3. He racked up 11 tackles, three sacks, two other tackles for losses, one forced fumble and an interception - all in his first career start. "I talk to LaVar a lot," Bowman said of the former Penn State all-American linebacker. "We're pretty close.

Navorro Bowman spent much of the week of the Capital One Bowl wearing his poker face, declining to commit one way or the other whenever he was asked if he planned to give up his final season of eligibility at Penn State to enter the NFL draft. But in essence for the Nittany Lions' junior outside linebacker, the decision was a slam dunk. He fulfilled his mother's wishes by earning a degree in crime, law and justice. At least one Web site, ESPN.com's Scouts Inc., predicted that he would be drafted in the middle of the first round.

Finding replacements at quarterback and the three linebacker positions was the challenge facing Penn State coach Joe Paterno as the Nittany Lions began spring practice yesterday. The Lions return 13 starters - seven on offense, five on defense, and kicker Collin Wagner - from a squad that went 11-2 last season, won the Capital One Bowl against Louisiana State, and was ranked No. 9 in the final Associated Press poll. With two-year starting quarterback Daryll Clark gone, the Lions will look at three quarterbacks during the 15 days of drills leading up to the Blue-White Game on April 24. Paterno insists there is no front-runner at the quarterback position.

Evan Royster sounded as if he wanted to come back for his senior season at Penn State after the victory over Louisiana State in the Capital One Bowl. It took less than one week for Royster to make it official. The first-team all-Big Ten tailback announced yesterday that he would pass on the NFL draft and return to the Lions next year. "I wanted to return to finish my degree and for my final year at Penn State," Royster said in a news release issued by the university. Royster had said he was going to go over his evaluation from the NFL draft advisory board before making a decision, but an athletic department spokesman said the running back made his choice without knowing what his draft prospects would be. Royster, of Fairfax, Va., will have a chance at becoming Penn State's all-time leading rusher.

Navorro Bowman spent much of the week of the Capital One Bowl wearing his poker face, declining to commit one way or the other whenever he was asked if he planned to give up his final season of eligibility at Penn State to enter the NFL draft. But in essence for the Nittany Lions' junior outside linebacker, the decision was a slam dunk. He fulfilled his mother's wishes by earning a degree in crime, law and justice. At least one Web site, ESPN.com's Scouts Inc., predicted that he would be drafted in the middle of the first round.

Twenty Penn State seniors will end their college football careers as darkness falls on Friday. Probably less than half of them will move on to the NFL; the others will begin careers away from the playing field. But juniors Navorro Bowman and Evan Royster will take a few days or so after the Capital One Bowl matchup against LSU to decide if they, too, have concluded playing for Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions, and move up to the next level. Bowman, a linebacker who is one of Penn State's top tacklers this season, and Royster, who is eighth on the school's all-time list for rushing yards, both redshirted as freshmen so they have put in four years in Happy Valley and can enter the NFL draft.

Some Penn State players believe the Nittany Lions have something to prove in their Capital One Bowl matchup with Louisiana State. Others think the Lions have little to prove. Coach Joe Paterno - surprise, surprise - is in the camp of the second group. The 11th-ranked Nittany Lions (10-2) played two games against ranked teams - Iowa and Ohio State - and lost both. Their last chance to beat such a team comes on New Year's Day against the 13th-ranked Tigers, and some Lions emphasized the necessity of winning.

Villanova moved up one spot to second in The Sports Network poll and Penn is in the Top 25 for the first time since 2005. Following their 49-7 win over Towson, the Wildcats (9-1) jumped over unbeaten Montana (10-0), even though Montana received more first-place votes. Southern Illinois (9-1) remained at No. 1 and has 49 first-place votes. 'Nova closes at home against Delaware (6-4) on Saturday. With a win, it gets the conference's automatic bid to the playoffs, and one of the top seeds.

STATE COLLEGE - Penn State linebacker Navorro Bowman might have played his last game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday in the Nittany Lions' home finale. The redshirt junior is NFL bound - it's just a matter of when he'll make the leap. Bowman can declare for the NFL draft in mid-January, or he can play his senior year at Penn State and enter the draft next year. Bowman has not decided whether he'll stay or go, but he's certainly been mulling his options. "I've been thinking about it," Bowman said.

The emotions flowed as swiftly as a mountain stream yesterday at Beaver Stadium, starting with tears during the introduction of the Penn State seniors playing in their final home game. Not much later, the emotions switched to irritation and disgust - on the sideline and in the stands - as the Nittany Lions committed three turnovers in the first quarter and another in the second against Indiana. But whether it was the feelings of the day or a lengthy hangover from last week's loss to Ohio State, the 19th-ranked Lions finally got their heads on straight and recovered from 10 points down to knock off the Hoosiers, 31-20, and keep their faint BCS bowl hopes from dying altogether.

If you're a football fan who loves offense, find something else to do at 3:30 p.m. Saturday rather than watch 11th-ranked Penn State test Ohio State, ranked 15th. The Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes are 1-2 in the Big Ten Conference in the four major defensive categories (rushing, passing, total defense, and fewest points allowed). They are in the top 10 nationally in three of those classifications, and in the top 15 in pass defense. The numbers point to a low-scoring, slug-'em-out battle at Beaver Stadium similar to the Lions' 13-6 victory last season, when the first turnover of the game, an Ohio State fumble recovered by linebacker Navorro Bowman in the fourth quarter, set up a touchdown drive that gave Penn State the lead for good.

On the rare October day when Mount Nittany looked like one of those snow-capped peaks in the Rockies, the Penn State defense made it tough sledding for Minnesota's potent offense. Led by linebacker Sean Lee in his return and the inspired play of cornerback A.J. Wallace, the 14th-ranked Nittany Lions allowed yardage with extreme reluctance yesterday and pitched a 20-0 shutout over the Golden Gophers at chilly, misty Beaver Stadium. Snow dotted the stands, the game-time temperature was 37 degrees, and intermittent light rain fell during the game.