Redshirt freshman running back Stephfon Green wowed teammates and coaches in practices last season and showed fans a glimpse of his impressive speed with a touchdown run in April's Blue-White Game. Green and sophomore Evan Royster expect to compete for the starting tailback position, but Green said all the Lion running backs are good friends. "We've got a tight relationship," Green said. "The running backs stick together. When one of us is down, we help each other up. We don't look at the number one guy like we hate them. We're together."

Quarterbacks Daryll Clark (left) and Pat Devlin (right) may both see time behind center throughout the 2008 season. "I think they've both done well," Paterno said of the signal callers. "And everyone keeps pushing [senior quarterback Paul] Cianciolo to the side, but I don't. The quarterbacks are obviously comfortable with the three kids [wide receivers Norwood, Butler and Williams] who have been around. The nice thing about it is the wideouts have helped the quarterbacks, helped coach them. I think we've made some progress but we've got a long way to go."

Redshirt sophomore Evan Royster will likely see significant time at tailback this fall after an impressive 2007 campaign that saw him gain 513 yards on the ground, on a stellar 6.3 yards per carry, in backing up 1000 yard rusher Rodney Kinlaw. With Kinlaw now in the NFL, Royster would figure to be the main ball-carrier, but he said he is excited about the depth Penn State has at the position. "Stephon's [Green] got some explosion out there. He can get the corner and go the whole field and I doubt anybody's going to catch him" Royster said. "I see myself as a back that can pound it out for seven or eight yards every time. If you give me an open crack maybe I can break it for 30, 40 yards. I think we're a little underestimated in the Big Ten. We've got a great set of backs -- me, Brent [Carter], Stephon, Joe Suhey. We've got a lot of depth."

All-Big Ten Center A.Q. Shipley joins three other seniors as team captains and steers a veteran offensive line that came together well during the 2007 campaign.

Standout linebacker Sean Lee was expected to be the leader of the Penn State defense in 2008, but an ACL tear in the spring will sideline him for the season. He'll return to the field in 2009, but was still elected a captain for this year's squad. Paterno included him on the 105-man practice roster because of his leadership and mentoring abilities. "We've included Lee even though he can't work because I wanted him around the team," Paterno said.