THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
Joe Paterno likely faces a bigger challenge this week than getting Penn State prepared to resume Big Ten competition, against Minnesota.
The challenge: trying to rein in Sean Lee as the star linebacker of the 14th-ranked Nittany Lions tries to prove to the coach and team doctors that he can play Saturday.
Lee, the Lions' senior and defensive captain, tested his sprained left knee Monday during practice and said he "felt great." He would be allowed to do a little more at yesterday's practice, Paterno said, and might be allowed light hitting today.
Amid all the activity, a cautious Paterno said it would be wrong to "count your chickens yet" on whether Lee would be given the green light to get back on the field at Beaver Stadium against the Golden Gophers.
"Sean Lee may not play a down this coming Saturday," the coach said yesterday during his weekly teleconference. "We're just going to go along each day and see how he's doing. We're not going to take any chances with his future. The medical people aren't, and I'm not.
"I keep telling him, 'Take it easy, take it easy, Sean, don't overdo it.' I think it would be selfish on our part and foolish on his part if he went in there when he doesn't feel like it's 100 percent."
However, Lee, who spoke to reporters about an hour after Paterno, said he felt close to full strength and ready to return to the lineup.
"I think it'll be 100 percent, for sure," Lee said. "It feels great now. It felt great [Monday]. It's just a matter of getting back to playing football, but I don't think the knee is going to be an issue.
"If I keep progressing and feeling good, I feel I'll be ready to go on Saturday. Based on how I felt [Monday], I think that will be the case."
Lee, who sat out the 2008 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and undergoing surgery, injured the left knee on Sept. 19, against Temple. He has missed three games, although he suited up for each.
When Paterno has been asked about Lee's return, he often has said he doesn't want to do anything to jeopardize Lee's future in football after Penn State, presumably in the NFL, and would be extra cautious. He said the final decision would lie with Lee and team doctors.
"If we play Sean, Sean is going to play as if he were not hurt," Paterno said.
"I would not play a youngster in a game as big as this and as tough a game as it's going to be with as many things that are going to come, particularly a linebacker . . . and feel comfortable that I'm doing right by him unless he's 100 percent," he said.
Lee, who began preparing last week as if he would return for the Minnesota game, said his thoughts were not of his future after Penn State, but of being on the field as soon as possible.
"You've got to play football," he said. "I want to be part of this team, no matter what. Of course, I want to continue to play football after this year, but I want to play now for this team. The only way I can do that is at 100 percent, to be able to do what I can do."
Nittany notes. Gerald Hodges, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound true freshman who was recruited by Paterno out of Paulsboro High as a safety, played a few snaps at linebacker Saturday against Eastern Illinois. "We think Hodges' future will be at linebacker," the coach said. "He's a big kid who likes to hit people, and he can play in space. . . . I think he'll be a very fine outside linebacker." . . . Paterno said he thought cornerback Knowledge Timmons would be fine for Saturday. Timmons suffered a bruised knee early in the Eastern Illinois game. . . . The Big Ten announced that agreements had been reached with six postseason bowl games running from the 2010 through the 2013 seasons. The conference signed four-year extensions with the Capital One, Outback, and Insight Bowls, and new four-year agreements with the Gator and Texas Bowls, along with the Dallas Football Classic. The Big Ten's current agreement with the Rose Bowl runs through 2013.
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