Penn State says that its football team's homecoming game against Northwestern on Oct. 6 will kick off at noon.

The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network, ESPN or ESPN2. An announcement on the network doesn't have to be made until 12 days before the game.

This is the third start time announced for the 2012 season, the Nittany Lions' first under new head coach Bill O'Brien. Penn State's Oct. 20 game at Iowa will start at 8 p.m. on the Big Ten Network, while its Oct. 27 game against Ohio State kicks off at 6 p.m. at Beaver Stadium on ESPN2.

Kickoff times for the Lions' first two home games -- Sept. 1 vs. Ohio and Sept. 15 against Navy -- should be announced by June 15, the athletic department said.

Northwestern, which will rotate off the Penn State schedule next year, has been on the opposite of two milestone victories for Joe Paterno the last two years. The Wildcats lost two years ago at Beaver Stadium in what was Paterno's 400th career victory, and last year's defeat at the hands of the Nittany Lions enabled Paterno to tie the record for most wins in Division I, at 408.

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Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien said Wednesday he would like to cut the competition for the starting quarterback job from three players to two by next week’s end of spring practice.

Speaking on the Big Ten coaches conference call, the first-year coach said the ideal situation would be to go into pre-season practice with two contenders because of the reps they will need to prepare for the season. But he said no one or two quarterbacks have stood out thus far.

“At the end of spring ball, I’m sure we’ll have a better idea of which one or two guys will be the starter, so hopefully we can do that at the end,” he said. “If not, then we go into training camp and we continue with three guys getting reps. But hopefully, for the next eight practices, a couple of guys will separate themselves. Right now, there is no separation.”

The Nittany Lions conducted their eighth day of spring practice Wednesday. They are allowed 15 days under NCAA rules. The team’s Blue-White Game will be held April 21 at Beaver Stadium.

The three quarterbacks competing for the starting job are senior Matt McGloin, junior Rob Bolden and sophomore Paul Jones. While Bolden has had the majority of starts (16) over the past two seasons, McGloin (10 starts) has seen more playing time. Jones has yet to play in a game, having been redshirted his first year and academically ineligible last season, when he played on the scout team.

O’Brien said the three have made progress and have worked very hard. But he said what he would like to see from all of them for the remainder of spring practice was to improve their decision-making, their accuracy and their grasp of the new offense.

“These guys are really working at it,” he said. “You gain everything through hard work and they’re working extremely hard at it. But I want to see them improve. Then it will be easier to make a decision.”

Asked about the new offense, O’Brien said the running game is a little bit ahead at the present time. As for the passing game, it’s “a little bit behind when it comes to throwing the football, and catching it, and getting open.”

--Joe Juliano

Penn State defensive end Pete Massaro has returned to the practice field with the knowledge of what it takes to come back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, something he has already done in his career with the Nittany Lions.

Massaro, a former star at Marple Newtown High School in Delaware County, is seeing his first on-field action since tearing the ACL in his left knee during spring practice of last year. In the spring of 2009, during the Blue-White Game, he tore his right ACL, not returning to the practice field until 2010 pre-season camp.

In an interview with reporters Wednesday, Massaro said his knee right now is about 80 to 85 percent but that it’s “pretty close” to 100 percent. He said his goal is to return to the form he showed at the end of 2010, his last full season of competing, but also realizes he must take his time.

“I’ve just got to keep telling myself I’ve got to take it slow,” he said. “I’ve got to take it one day at a time, not get too far ahead of myself, because it does take time to get that muscle memory back. It’s kind of a slow process. I’m kind of glad that I’m getting that out of the way now as opposed to during camp. So I think it’s a good thing.”

Massaro, who admitted he is a little rusty, said he’s experienced “a fair amount of contact” thus far but that his daily workload is monitored by the coaches.

“I don’t think about (my knee) when I’m out there,” he said. “That’s something that will slow me down if I start to think about it. There are times after I come out of a drill or a scrimmage or practice or whatever I’m doing, I’ll say, ‘Wow, that was a little scary.’ But there’s nothing that I think about while I’m in there.”

He said there still are some things that feel a little uncomfortable with his knee, including a brace that he must wear but he hopes to shed in time for the start of the 2012 season.

Massaro said there is also the mental side of making sure his knee is fine, something with which he has experienced with his comeback from his first torn ACL.

“There’s definitely times when I feel my head gets in the way more than my knee does,” he said. “There’s other times where I can take a step back and say, ‘Well, that part of it was mental, and the other part was definitely a little bit of rustiness on the part of my knee.’

“When I think back to last time when I came back from the last knee in camp, I was a little bit rusty then also. So I know it’s something that I’m going to have to go through. It’s just kind of an adjustment period. If I keep my nose to the grindstone and take it one day at a time, I know it’s going to turn out all right.”

Massaro, who has junior eligibility although he received his undergraduate degree in finance last December, is learning new schemes and terminology under defensive coordinator Ted Roof, who was hired by new head coach Bill O’Brien to succeed long-time defensive coach Tom Bradley.

“It’s just kind of been a fresh start with everyone learning the new terminology,” Massaro said. “It’s something we’re going to have to adjust to. It’s kind of like learning a new language.”

Massaro said the younger defensive ends have been impressive so far in camp, and he mentioned redshirt freshman Deion Barnes, from Northeast High School.

“Deion is really showing flashes and I think he’s going to be a really great player,” Massaro said.

--Joe Juliano

Former Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien created some excitement at Penn State earlier this week when he watched the first day of the Nittany Lions’ spring practice, leading to speculation that he might elect to play for new head coach Bill O’Brien.

But the younger O’Brien announced Wednesday that he chosen Wisconsin, not Penn State, as the place where he will spend his final two years of eligibility.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound O’Brien took two visits to Penn State during the process of trying to decide where he wanted to go after getting his release from Maryland. He said he took the second trip Monday so he could watch the Nittany Lions practice.

In the end, he said it came down to Penn State or Wisconsin, and the Badgers prevailed.

“It was close. It was a very tough decision,” O’Brien said Wednesday on a conference call. “I have a pretty tight relationship with coach O’Brien, and he’s going to do some great things there. It was a pretty similar situation (to Wisconsin) in a lot of respects – great people, great players, it felt good there.

“But there was no denying after I took the Wisconsin visit, especially after talking with my family about it, that Wisconsin was home. It felt more like the place I wanted to be. Penn State was a great opportunity that a lot of people are lucky to have. But clearly Wisconsin to me was the place I wanted to be.”

O’Brien also reportedly considered Vanderbilt and Mississippi.

O’Brien is graduating in three years, and will get his degree from Maryland in mid-May. Since he redshirted his first year, he will have two years remaining. And because he has his degree, he will not have to sit out a year.

After passing for more than 2,400 yards and 22 touchdowns during his freshman season when he was named ACC rookie of the year, O’Brien struggled in new head coach Randy Edsall’s system last season. He broke his left (non-throwing) arm in a game against Notre Dame late in the year.

For the second straight year, the Badgers acquired a proven quarterback who had graduated from an ACC school. Russell Wilson, formerly of North Carolina State, helped carry Wisconsin to the Big Ten championship last season. The Badgers return a Heisman Trophy candidate in running back Montee Ball.

--Joe Juliano

 For the third year now, a 5K Run/ one-mile Family Fun Walk will take place at Penn State on Sunday, April 22, during Blue-White Weekend to benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania.

 The run begins in front of the Bryce Jordan Center on Curtin Road, and winds through campus before finishing with runners racing through the Beaver Stadium Tunnel and onto the fifty yard line.

 This year’s run will honor former Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno, a longtime supporter of the Special Olympics Pennsylvania. Paterno had served as an Honorary Chair for the Pennsylvania Summer Games, had spoken at events and had encouraged the football team's participation at Special Olympics Pennsylvania events. Paterno’s wife, Sue, joined the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Board of Directors in 1989.

 After achieving a fundraising benchmark of $62 (signifying Paterno’s 62 years at Penn State), runners become a member of “Team Paterno” and will receive gifts after each level of fundraising.

 “Team Paterno” incentive levels go as follows:

 $62 – Team Paterno (Paterno’s years at Penn State)‐ Special Memorial Long Sleeved T-Shirt

 $85 – Team Paterno Bronze (in honor of Paterno’s years of life) - Memorial Long Sleeved T‐Shirt and Paterno Tribute Coffee Mug from Dunkin Donuts.

 $239 – Team Paterno Silver (the number of Paterno-coached players drafted into the NFL) - Special Memorial Long Sleeved T‐Shirt and Paterno Tribute 48 x 53 fleece stadium blanket.

 $409 – Team Paterno Gold (in honor of Paterno’s NCAA record career wins) - Special Memorial Long Sleeved T‐Shirt and an invitation for you (plus one guest) to attend an exclusive breakfast with the Paterno Family and PSU Football alumni the morning of the event.

 $548 – Team Paterno Platinum (in honor of Paterno’s career games coached) - Receive all Gold Level items, plus a Paterno Tribute Hooded Sweatshirt.

 In 2011, the Beaver Stadium 5K Run/Family Fun Walk included more than 1,600 runners and walkers, raising more than $86,000.

 Registration for the run/walk before April 13 costs $25 per person or $20 per person for a family of five or more. Registration after April 13 up until the day of the run/walk costs $35 per person or $25 per person for a family of five or more. A T-shirt and entry into Beaver Stadium on race day costs $20 or $10 without the shirt.

Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien said he made a few position changes in time for Monday’s start of spring practice, including the move of former West Catholic star Curtis Drake from wide receiver to cornerback.

“What I saw with Curtis on the football field was good size, good feet, good hips, instinctiveness,” O’Brien said during a press conference at Beaver Stadium. “I think he’s a guy that can contribute over there.”

O’Brien also said he moved Drake to add another player to the secondary, which is a little thinner than he would like.

The 5-foot-11, 173-pound Drake, who will be a redshirt junior in the fall, caught five passes for 102 yards and a touchdown last season and rushed five times for 54 yards as a Wildcat quarterback.

He was involved in a scuffle in December with quarterback Matt McGloin and did not travel with the Nittany Lions to the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas.

Drake, who broke his left leg for the second time during 2011 spring drills, also has been cited twice for disorderly conduct after being involved in fights off-campus.

O’Brien said all 126 players in the program, including Drake, “start with a clean slate with me.

“Curtis and I have had many conversations and I’ll keep those between Curtis and I,” he said. “He’s got to keep up his end of the bargain by doing well in school and keeping his nose clean, and then we’ll give him a shot to play over there this spring.”

O’Brien also said Bill Belton, a former star at Winslow Township High in Camden County, has been moved from wide receiver to tailback.

“We just felt like that was, in our staff’s opinion, a more appropriate position for him, body-type wise, skill-set wise,” he said.

Defensive end Pete Massaro, a former Marple Newtown High standout, has recovered from a torn left ACL and is ready to go, O’Brien said.

“He’s had a good winter,” O’Brien said. “Pete’s a hard-working guy. He’s a typical Penn State guy to me. He’s what we’re all about. He’ll be out there in the spring. He’s going to be hard to block.”

--Joe Juliano

Penn State police have filed charges against Shawn Oakman, the former Penn Wood High School football star, in connection with an alleged theft in a convenience store in Pollock Commons on campus.

Oakman, an All-State defensive end from Lansdowne who redshirted last season, was charged with two counts of retail theft, and one count each of harassment and disorderly conduct in the Feb. 25 incident, which led to him being kicked off the Penn State football team by new head coach Bill O’Brien.

University police chief Tyrone Parham said Oakman entered the store and presented his student ID to purchase some items. However, the store clerk noticed that Oakman had hidden a hoagie and a bottle of grape juice on his person, and held on to the student’s ID, Parham said.

In an attempt to recover the ID, Oakman shoved the employee against the wall, the chief said.

Parham said the citations had been filed with a magisterial district judge, who will set fines. He said the maximum fine is $300 per violation.

Oakman, who is 6-foot-7 and 260 pounds, sat out the entire 2011 season and had been expected to be part of the competition at a starting defensive end spot. Word of his dismissal from the team “for a violation of team rules” came on Feb. 28.

--Joe Juliano

By Joe McIntyre

Former Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien has contacted Penn State about a possible transfer to the Nittany Lions next season.

During Penn State’s Pro Day Wednesday afternoon, head coach Bill O’Brien confirmed that the Lions were among a number of schools the quarterback has talked to about playing for in 2012.

“Danny does have an interest. He was obviously granted a release by the University of Maryland and contacted us,” O’Brien said. “He’s contacted a few other schools, so I’d say we’re one of many schools he’s looking at.”

O’Brien is scheduled to earn his undergraduate degree this spring but has two years of eligibility remaining. And if he enters a graduate program that is not offered at Maryland, he could be eligible to play next season. Along with the Lions, he is said to have received interest from Wisconsin, Vanderbilt and UConn, among others.

The Kernersville, N.C. native’s best season with the Terps came in 2010 when he threw for 2,438 yards with 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 192-for-337 passing. In 2011, he tossed only seven touchdowns with 10 interceptions on 150-for-266 passing for 1,648 yards while missing three games and playing sparingly in others.

Though he is not aware of any timetable for Danny O’Brien to make his decision, Bill O’Brien said as long as it’s within the rules, he’s going to do whatever it takes to improve his football team.

“Whether it’s a recruiting idea or a scheme or a transfer, I’m definitely going to look into it,” O’Brien said. “So that’s the part of the process now with Danny O’Brien.”