Welcome to Joe Paterno's doghouse. Population: Chris McKelvy.

The Penn State football coach declared his dissatisfaction in his junior tackle at the press conference before Saturday's Blue-White game. Paterno wanted McKelvy to lose weight before Spring practice, and McKelvy has not complied to his satisfaction.

McKelvy was listed at 325 pounds last season, and Paterno asked him to trim down to 315. However, over Christmas break he ballooned to an approximate 333 pounds. He has cut weight, and is now down to 323, but he still has a ways to go before pleasing Paterno.

"It's been a disappointment that he hasn't had a little bit more of a commitment to himself and to the football team, that he couldn't get better control of his weight," Paterno said.

Paterno said that if the season started tomorrow, McKelvy, who started the last nine games of the 2001 season, would be on the bench in favor of junior Damone Jones and senior Matt Schmitt. Schmitt was named the winner of the Red Worrell Award for the most improved offensive player in Spring practice.

McKelvy acknowledged that he was indeed in Paterno's doghouse.

"Obviously he has some disagreements with me about my weight, and he has a right to," McKelvy said. "He's the head coach and I should do what he wants.

"He asked me to lose weight, and I haven't yet. I don't hold anything against him. I think he made the right decision. So all I have to do this summer is try to get my weight down and get my spot back."

Felder's fight

Paterno's other returning starting tackle has a two-front battle to fight this summer. Senior left tackle Gus Felder first has to graduate before the Fall semester in order to gain eligibility for this season. That will require him to pass an estimated 25 credits in the Spring and summer semesters. Felder was originally expected to practice sparingly, but Paterno allowed him to skip Spring practice completely to focus on his academics.

"Gus is taking on an awful lot of responsibility, and he's handled it well," Paterno said. "I'd rather not have him take a chance with that, spending a couple hours a day in football, I just said hey, go get that done. I think he'll get it done, but he's got an awful lot of work ahead of him."

Paterno said that when Felder does come back in the Spring, said that neither he nor McKelvy would have an easy fight to beat Schmitt and Jones.

Jones hasn't played much in his first three years on the squad, one spent as a redshirt freshman. He expects this year to be the year he gives Felder and the other tackles a run for their money.

"I'm just really trying," Jones said. "I've been here three years, and I've yet to letter, and I'm really hungry to get on the field. Ever since the end of last season I've been doing everything I could to improve myself."

Who's No. 2?

Though the graduation of tailbacks Eric McCoo and Omar Easy allows the Nittany Lions to finally place the running load squarely on the back of senior Larry Johnson, it also opens up a lot of questions on who will be Johnson's backup. The leading candidates are sophomores Pete Gilmore and Mike Gasparato, though redshirt freshman Aric Heffelfinger's 92 yard rushing day in the Blue-White game led all runners.

"When we started Spring practice I had serious doubts about Gilmore and Mike Gasparato," Paterno said. "I didn't know whether they were tough enough and consistent enough to pass protect and get that extra tough yard. But they were challenged early, and both of them responded very well.

"I'm optimistic. I don't think either one of them will be a great back, but I think both of them will be good backs.

Gasparato rushed for 37 yards on nine carries in the Blue-White game, and Gilmore rushed four times for 20 yards.