Before the 1981 season, the legendary Penn State coach recalled, he decided he would go with Todd Blackledge as his starting quarterback instead of Jeff Hostetler, who had started two games the previous year. But he knew Hostetler wanted to be the No. 1 guy somewhere, even if it wasn't in Happy Valley.

"We're going into the preseason and I called in the Hostetler family because I felt I owed it to them and because two of Jeff's brothers had played for me," Paterno said Saturday at the Radisson Valley Forge, where he and several of his players appeared at a Nittany Lion Club dinner. "I said, 'I just want you to know, I'd love to keep Jeff, but right now, if we were going to play tomorrow, I'd probably start Todd Blackledge. If you want to leave, Jeff, I'll help you go wherever you want to go.'

"Dolly Hostetler, who was really a wonderful, wonderful woman, said she'd like to talk to me alone. She sent everybody else out, gave me a big hug and a kiss. Then she said, 'I just want you to know we don't want to leave. We want you to leave.' ''

Media members who had come to King of Prussia for the occasion laughed, as is often the case whenever JoePa delivers the punch line to one of his tales of what once was. But the impromptu history lessons often address some current or possibly future truth. With the 81-year-old Paterno, the past is always prologue.

The tale of Blackledge and Hostetler - who transferred to West Virginia, where he starred for two seasons - was Paterno's roundabout way of explaining that he hadn't yet made up his mind whether senior Daryll Clark or redshirt sophomore Pat Devlin would line up under center for the Aug. 30 season opener against Coastal Carolina in Beaver Stadium. Indications are that Clark will win the job, but Paterno isn't disposed to tip his hand any sooner than he absolutely must.

"I think we got a nice little situation there," said Paterno, who also listed senior Paul Cianciolo as being in the mix. "That's one of the strongest positions we have right now. All three of those kids had good springs. We'll just let it play out.

"Obviously, you'd want one dominant guy. Last year, I probably made a mistake. Jay Paterno [Joe's son and Penn State's quarterbacks coach] came to me a couple of times and said he wanted to play Clark a little bit. I was a little leery about doing that because I thought [Anthony] Morelli wasn't so secure that he could handle it. Then we went to the [Alamo] bowl and we were able to work Clark in."

If you think Paterno is purposefully vague about who his quarterback will be in 2008, he's even more so when it comes to discussing his own future beyond this season.

Entering his 43rd year as the Lions' head coach and 59th at the university, Paterno might or might not be there beyond the upcoming season, when his contract expires. He, Penn State president Graham Spanier and athletic director Tim Curley have come to a somewhat uneasy agreement that Paterno's status will be reviewed on a year-to-year basis. There is no succession plan in place, as is the case at Florida State and Purdue.

Rival coaches no doubt use the tenuousness of Paterno's job status against Penn State in recruiting, and that's OK with him. The way he sees it, tomorrow is guaranteed to no one.

"If a kid asks, 'Are you going to be there?,' I tell him exactly how I feel," Paterno said. "I say, 'Look, I don't know if I'm going to be here the 3, 4 or 5 years you're going to be here. But I feel great and I intend to coach as long as I feel good.' ''

That might or might not be construed as a mixed message, but even at his advanced age and with a left leg that was surgically repaired in 2006, Paterno can reverse fields as adroitly as one of his tailbacks.

At this very same gathering a year ago, Paterno referred to an off-campus incident, which involved safety Anthony Scirrotto and several of his teammates, as a "team embarrassment" that would neither be condoned nor tolerated. That was merely the first of several brouhahas involving Penn State players that resulted in five Lions - defensive tackles Chris Baker and Phil Taylor, linebacker Navorro Bowman, tight end Andrew Quarless and cornerback Knowledge Timmons - being suspended from the team during the spring. Their status remains unresolved, and another player - wide receiver Chris Bell - was permanently dismissed from the squad after he pulled a knife on teammate Devon Still in a dining hall.

Asked about Scirrotto being named one of five team captains for this season, Paterno expressed irritation about repeated questions regarding the off-field conduct of some of his players and suggested reporters were being "intimidated by the Web site mob."

"If I were in Scirrotto's shoes, and somebody did what they did to him, downtown, with his girlfriend and kid brother, I probably would have [reacted the same way]," Paterno said. "But let's not rehash old stories.

"He didn't beat up anybody. He didn't hit anybody with a chair. He did what I think all of us would do. And his teammates rallied around him.

"Hey, I got a good football team, all right? I'm sick and tired of talking about this, that and the other thing."

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