There are two Penn State football coaching positions that have remained the same from last season.

And one of them has not changed in about 35 years.

Joe Paterno, seven wins shy of becoming the all-time victory leader in Div. I-A football, has been a mainstay in Happy Valley.

The other is Kenny Jackson, Penn State's wide receivers coach.

After longtime defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jerry Sandusky retired, Paterno shuffled the staff, moved former defensive line coach Joe Sarra to an administrative role and added two former players — Bob White and Al Golden — as assistants in February.

"Both of them are going to be outstanding coaches," Paterno said. "They have character and know what we are all about.

"They are young and have a lot of enthusiasm. Whether they can replace two coaches as good as Jerry Sandusky and Joe Sarra, obviously, it is going to take a while. I think both are going to be fine."

White, who played on the Nittany Lions' 1986 national championship squad, heads the special teams after working under Penn State Athletics Director Tim Curley in student-athlete services.

He now works also as an assistant under Larry Johnson, the former Penn State defensive ends coach who shifts to the mentor of the defensive line.

"He (Johnson) expects us to go all out on every play," defensive lineman Jimmy Kennedy said. "He's a great man. I look up to him so much — so much, really, that you can't put it into words."

Also on defense, Golden becomes the next tutor of linebackers and has a tough task on his hand fulfilling the legacy of Sandusky, who was also the position coach.

Golden joins the staff after a stint at Boston College and Virginia and also holds the position as Penn State's recruiting coordinator, a position previously held by Jay Paterno, a former tight ends coach.

Jay now oversees the quarterbacks, a position his father held when he was an assistant 50 years ago under Rip Engle.

"I looked at a lot of tapes from last year," said the younger Paterno. "I looked at a lot of the teams we were going to play. How did they play us? Starting lineups. Stuff like that. Almost critique the kids we have coming back to look to see what they can improve upon."

Former quarterbacks coach Dick Anderson has returned as a coach of the Lions offensive line, which he oversaw from 1979-83 and 1990-92. This season, he will work with the guards and the centers along with Bill Kenney. Kenney, who guided the line last season, will work with the offensive tackles and tight ends.

"Our offensive line players are the most fascinating part of coaching," Paterno said. "It is the most challenging part of coaching and the most challenging for players. Vince Lombardi used to say, 'The band never plays for the offensive line.' "

But having two coaches at the position should be an indication of its importance to Penn State's ground-oriented attack — an attack stifled with a line that seemed to change with the opponents on the Lions' schedule last season.

While the offense and running backs remain under the guidance of Fran Ganter, his role has changed somewhat, too.

Paterno has done away with the term "coordinator" for his assistants that head the offense and defense. Ganter has been named as the assistant head coach.

"People should not read too much into this thing as far as whether Fran is going to be my successor or not," Paterno said after the changes were announced last February. "I think that is a mistake. Fran certainly would be a very strong candidate, but I am not in any way trying to make a decision for this university five years from now.

"When Jerry decided to retire, I felt it might be appropriate to name Franny as assistant head coach just to let everybody know how much I think of him and what a great job he has done."

And now that Sandusky has retired, Tom Bradley has stepped into that role and will continue to work with the defensive backs.

"I have absolutely no concerns," Paterno said. "We have had a lot of fun. We are enjoying each other. They are good people and know how to coach. They know what to expect of them. I am concerned with the schedule — that is my biggest concern. I think we will be fine."