Penn State's Paterno plans to patrol the sideline

After a rough summer that saw him miss a number of personal appearances because of an intestinal disorder, coach Joe Paterno left no doubt regarding his intended whereabouts during Penn State's 2010 football season.

"I'm on the field," Paterno said Tuesday at his weekly teleconference. "I haven't missed one play in practice. And I don't intend to miss any games, any plays."

The 83-year-old Paterno, beginning his 45th season as head Lion, had to cancel three alumni outings around the state, including one in Philadelphia, because of his illness. At the Big Ten media day in Chicago four weeks ago, he said the ailment wasn't serious but that he had to be "careful that I didn't get myself in a position where I would embarrass myself."

At that time, he also left open the question whether he would be on the sideline for every game. He apparently answered that Tuesday.

Paterno said junior Chaz Powell, who was moved from wide receiver to defensive back during the spring, has been moved back to offense.

Paterno said injuries to West Catholic grad Curtis Drake (broken leg) and running back Stephfon Green (neck) necessitated the switch.

"We've got some people bumped up," he said. "We needed somebody over there to do some of the things those guys could do . . . guys that could maybe make something happen."

Paterno said Powell would be an all-purpose back.

"I hope he does a lot of different things," he said. "I don't think anybody these days is just a receiver. They're runners. Everybody's throwing that little quick screen out there on the fly, which is nothing but an end run. So you've got to be a good runner, you've got to block. There's a lot of things you've got to do."

Paterno said Powell, who caught 28 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns last season, would have to quickly adapt to changes in the offense made because of inexperience at quarterback and the fact that starting tight end Andrew Szczerba has missed the entire preseason because of a neck injury.

The team announced that the players voted wide receiver Brett Brackett and defensive tackle Ollie Ogbu as cocaptains. Both are fifth-year seniors.