Stefen Wisniewski

Coming off a Big Ten championship, Penn State returns to the football field today as spring practice opens. College football teams are allowed to have 15 spring practice sessions. The 11-2 Nittany Lions, who lost in the Rose Bowl to USC on Jan. 1 and finished ranked eighth in the country, return 10 starters and 37 letterwinners. The annual Blue-White scrimmage will be played in Beaver Stadium on April 25 at 2 p.m. Admission and parking are free for the Blue-White scrimmage.

Ben Ijalana, a senior offensive tackle at Villanova, is the only Football Championship Subdivision player named to the 2010 Outland Trophy Watch list. The trophy is given annually to the nation's top interior lineman. Penn State senior guard Stefen Wisniewski and Temple senior defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson are also among the 63 players announced to the list Monday. The 6-foot-4, 320-pound Ijalana earned spots on both the Sports Network and Walter Camp all-American teams last season.

More Penn State football players received recognition yesterday. Senior middle linebacker Dan Connor, a Strath Haven graduate, was selected as a first-team all-American by Collegefootballnews.com and a second-team all-American by the Sporting News. Sophomore defensive end Maurice Evans and junior outside linebacker Sean Lee were chosen third-team all-Americans by Collegefootballnews.com. Four players made the Sporting News' freshman all-Big Ten team: defensive end Aaron Maybin, defensive tackle Ollie Ogbu, tailback Evan Royster, and guard Stefen Wisniewski.

Here is a little more on the offensive line draft prospects you may have seen in person. Stefen Wisniewski, G-C Penn State 6-foot-3, 313 pounds The graduate of Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School participated in this year's NFL scouting combine after making first-team all-Big Ten in 2009 as a center and as a right guard in 2010. Wisniewski, who started 38 of the last 39 games of his college career, got stronger each year as a college player.

Nepotism is alive and well - very well, in fact - with the Oakland Raiders. But the fact Stefen Wisniewski's uncle, Steve Wisniewski, was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection for the Raiders and is now their assistant offensive line coach is not the overriding reason why Oakland selected the All-America guard for Penn State with their first pick of the 2011 draft, No. 48 overall, last night. Sentimentality is nice at family reunions, but productivity is always an NFL team's first consideration.

Stefen Wisniewski doesn't like to waste time, not that he has any time to waste. With all his success on the football field for Penn State, as well as in the classroom and participating in community service activities, Wisniewski has had to make sacrifices that contrast the normal student leisure-time routines of hanging out and playing video games. But if there's one thing about the 6-foot-3, 306-pound senior guard, who will play his final game at Beaver Stadium when the Nittany Lions take on No. 11 Michigan State on Saturday, it's being focused on the task.

NFL talent evaluators might have certain questions about Penn State offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski heading into Thursday's draft. Is the 6-3, 313-pounder primarily a guard, where he mostly played during his four seasons with the Nittany Lions? Or is he a center, where he started as a junior in 2009, earning third-team All-America honors? But two things general managers and player personnel directors should not be concerned with are Wisniewski's ability to mentally process any team's playbook, no matter how thick or complicated, and his character.

When Penn State opens its season today against Youngstown State, it will break in more than just a new quarterback and three starting linebackers. Four of the Nittany Lions' starting offensive linemen were in different positions a year ago. The uncertainty surrounding the unit has lessened since camp began. In a span of 3 weeks, the "not very good" offensive line - coach Joe Paterno's words on Aug. 12 - has made big strides, according to Paterno. "If that comes from him, that means we're doing something right," said Quinn Barham, the line's new left tackle and a former center and guard.

Big Ten champion Penn State hauled in a school-record 10 first-team selections in all-conference voting by coaches and media announced last night. Four more Nittany Lions were named to at least one second team and an additional seven made honorable mention. Also, Joe Paterno was named coach of the year for the third time and senior center A.Q. Shipley was selected as offensive lineman of the year. Joining Shipley on the first-team offense were junior quarterback Daryll Clark, senior wide receiver Derrick Williams (coaches only)

No one could have figured at the start of the season that, even with a rebuilt offensive line, Penn State would be mired in the bottom one-quarter in the nation in rushing after playing two opponents certainly not near the level of those they will face in the Big Ten. But at least playing Akron and Syracuse enabled the Nittany Lions to work out problems before the games fell off into garbage time, meaning that maybe Joe Paterno knew what he...

Nepotism is alive and well - very well, in fact - with the Oakland Raiders. But the fact Stefen Wisniewski's uncle, Steve Wisniewski, was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection for the Raiders and is now their assistant offensive line coach is not the overriding reason why Oakland selected the All-America guard for Penn State with their first pick of the 2011 draft, No. 48 overall, last night. Sentimentality is nice at family reunions, but productivity is always an NFL team's first consideration.

NFL talent evaluators might have certain questions about Penn State offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski heading into Thursday's draft. Is the 6-3, 313-pounder primarily a guard, where he mostly played during his four seasons with the Nittany Lions? Or is he a center, where he started as a junior in 2009, earning third-team All-America honors? But two things general managers and player personnel directors should not be concerned with are Wisniewski's ability to mentally process any team's playbook, no matter how thick or complicated, and his character.

Here is a little more on the offensive line draft prospects you may have seen in person. Stefen Wisniewski, G-C Penn State 6-foot-3, 313 pounds The graduate of Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School participated in this year's NFL scouting combine after making first-team all-Big Ten in 2009 as a center and as a right guard in 2010. Wisniewski, who started 38 of the last 39 games of his college career, got stronger each year as a college player.

INDIANAPOLIS - Stefen Wisniewski didn't have to look far for inspiration - or pressure - in his four years at Penn State. Reminders of his lineage, and expectations, were prominent parts of his college life. Often he saw the pictures of his father, Leo, a former Nittany Lions tri-captain who played four years in the NFL, and his uncle Steve, a two-time all-American at guard who made eight Pro Bowls. How's that for pressure? "Definitely a lot," Wisniewski said when he met with reporters at the NFL combine.

TAMPA - "Chip Hilton" is the main character in a series of sports books for adolescents written by Hall of Fame basketball coach Clair Bee. In 24 novels published from 1948 to 1965, the heroic Hilton not only led his high school team to championships in football, basketball and baseball, he also was an honor roll student, a role model for his teammates and the community, and the kind of boy parents wanted their sons to be like and their daughters to...

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Senior Day has enjoyed a long history at Penn State, and the Nittany Lions have been remarkably successful sending those players away from their last game at Beaver Stadium with a smile. The focus this season, however, is a little different. Sure, the Nittany Lions would like their seniors to go out with a win Saturday against Michigan State and at the same time spoil the Spartans' chance at a berth in the Rose Bowl. But most important for the seniors is what the history book will show.

Stefen Wisniewski doesn't like to waste time, not that he has any time to waste. With all his success on the football field for Penn State, as well as in the classroom and participating in community service activities, Wisniewski has had to make sacrifices that contrast the normal student leisure-time routines of hanging out and playing video games. But if there's one thing about the 6-foot-3, 306-pound senior guard, who will play his final game at Beaver Stadium when the Nittany Lions take on No. 11 Michigan State on Saturday, it's being focused on the task.

Penn State has spent the 2010 season playing ragged football one moment, inspired football the next, a style that has kept its fans from sitting back, relaxing and enjoying the games. But the bottom line is this: If the Nittany Lions can knock off No. 11 Michigan State Saturday at Beaver Stadium, they will finish the regular season 8-4 and have a chance at finishing alone in fourth place in the Big Ten. The Lions moved to 4-3 in the conference Saturday with a 41-24 victory over Indiana at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. Somehow, that 33-13 loss to Illinois a little more than six weeks ago in Happy Valley is almost one of those did-it-really-happen images.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - One week after he anchored the second-half defensive effort in Penn State's comeback win over Northwestern, linebacker Michael Mauti spent the second half Saturday on the sideline for all but a couple of plays. Coach Joe Paterno said Mauti's shoulder "had gone out of place. " He added that Mauti "has been having troubles with that shoulder," although that had not been known previously. "That hurt," he said. "Mauti's been playing really well. " Mauti, a redshirt sophomore, posted six tackles - five unassisted and two for losses, including a sack - against Northwestern, the game that gave Paterno his 400th career win.   Tailbacks down In the span of back-to-back plays in the third quarter, Penn State went from three available tailbacks to one. Stephfon Green was knocked woozy on a kickoff return and stayed down for about five minutes before standing and going off on a cart.

Michael Zordich tells a story about his grandfather, a man who got to observe firsthand Joe Paterno's recruitment of two generations of his family to play football at Penn State. "He told me," the Nittany Lions' sophomore fullback said this week, "that when my dad was being recruited, Joe told him he would be there five more years. That was in 1981. " Zordich's father, also named Michael, laughed when his son's account was relayed to him. "It's a true story. I was right there when he said it," said the elder Zordich, a former all-American strong safety and NFL player who is now an assistant coach for the Eagles.