Saturday night was not an easy night for Pennsylvania's Most Valuable Player in the Big 33 All-Star Game.

Paul Posluszny, a Penn State rising freshman at linebacker, was a defensive bright spot in a dismal Pennsylvania performance.

But that did not make Pennsylvania's 38-7 loss to the Ohio All-Stars any easier for him.

"It's tough, especially in a game like this where you have one week, you have one shot to win," Posluszny said, visibly choked up. "We didn't come up big tonight."

Pennsylvania would have come up even smaller had it not been for Posluszny's play-halting tackles. Three times in the first half, the 6 foot 2 inch, 220-pound linebacker charged downfield to make crucial saves on what might have been breakaway runs. The services of Posluszny were necessary in stopping Ohio's backup and option quarterback, Michael Daniels, on draw plays.

"What impressed us most is how consistent [Paul] is in what he does," Pennsylvania assistant coach Steve Shiffert said. "He doesn't make mistakes, he's always going full speed."

While chasing the Ohio offensive players in pursuit of the end zone, Posluszny had one thought on his mind.

"You better tackle this kid or he's going to score again," Posluszny said he thought at the time.

Chasing offenses became second nature for Posluszny during his time at Hopewell High School in Aliquippa, where he recorded 102 tackles and eight sacks during his senior season. Posluszny also saw time at running back and was named First Team All-Conference for both positions.

Posluszny will next look to direct his defensive talents at Big Ten offensive threats -- that is, of course, once he makes the transition into the college football scene.

"College football, Big Ten football is a whole new level, so it's going to be something I'm going to have to get
used to," Posluszny said Saturday.

Posluszny expects to be redshirted for the fall 2003 season, so he will have plenty of time to adjust to the new tier of play.

He anticipates the speed of the game to be the biggest change.

"There's just a lot more athletes, guys are bigger, faster, stronger," Posluszny said.

Not that Posluszny is lacking in any of those areas. Beyond his consistency, Posluszny also impressed Shiffert and the Pennsylvania coaching staff with his overall athleticism and quickness on his feet. But he knows that the transition will go beyond the physical.

"[I'll have to get used to] the mental part of the game too," Posluszny said. "In high school, if you're a good athlete, you can run around and make plays, but in college it's not like that."

"You have to be a student of the game, you have to learn," Posluszny said.

After Posluszny adapts to the Beaver Stadium style of play, the possibilities for his career are wide open.

"Once he learns and gets comfortable with the system, he'll do very well," Shiffert said. But for now, Posluszny has kept his goals simple.

"Right now, I'm just going to go there, learn as much as I can, work hard, just see how things go," Posluszny said.