If Paul Jefferson was just another one those other seniors -- one of those "this is our last chance to get it right" upperclassmen who seem to be coming through Happy Valley with regularity these days -- he could be expected to wither under the pressure.

And, really, that wouldn't be all that surprising at this point.

He, after all, had a pretty rough game against Boston College last weekend. Surely, you must recall the crucial fumble he committed on the 26-yard line of Penn State, setting BC up for its second touchdown, a 14-0 halftime lead.

Everyone at the game and watching on television noticed that play. It was an obvious turning point in a 21-7 Eagles' victory, and, thus, it put a typically not-so-obvious lead-blocking fullback in an uncomfortable spotlight. Right up there with quarterback Zack Mills, who threw four interceptions.

"It's tough," Jefferson said of that lead-blocking fullback role. "You don't get the ball much, so you can see how [the fumble] happened."

Yes, for Jefferson in particular, it was a most unpleasant game. A game that would send a man with less fortitude into a tailspin of self-doubt.

But his teammates are convinced that Jefferson -- they mostly call him Juice -- isn't going to be one of those guys. He isn't going to be the next Eddie Drummond or Eric McCoo -- guys whose final seasons didn't come together as expected.

Those guys tried their best to make their last year at Penn State a success, but when things started to go sour in 2001, their playing time faded, and their play suffered because of it.

That sort of thing isn't going to happen to Juice, though.

Juice has something different that isn't going to let him waver.

That something, is an inner calm that Jefferson has. It helps him take the good with the bad, and it's helped him, yet again, earn the respect of his teammates in the regrouping process known as this week's preparation for the University of Central Florida.

"Everyone tried to put the game behind us," offensive lineman Tyler Reed said. "He's one of the guys that sets the tone for us on this team."

Setting the tone this week included a players-only meeting that occurred on Monday. And you can bet Jefferson, a fifth-year senior, was a vocal part of that gathering.

"The way they that they reacted is something I've never seen," cornerback Alan Zemaitis said of the seniors' response to the loss. "Guys like [wide out] Gerald Smith, Paul Jefferson, [linebacker] Derek Wake ... It's like a father telling his son that everything is going to be all right."

And Jefferson is the kind of guy who can say those things and be taken seriously by his teammates. They know he's persevered through some difficult times in his career.

Last season, for instance, he fumed as the Nittany Lions finished a disappointing 3-9.

Yet, even as a 259-pound bone-crushing fullback, he was powerless to prevent it. That season wasn't something Jefferson could have stopped like the linebackers he normally plows out of a gap on running plays.

All he could do was his best imitation of the opposing team's fullback. After a 2003 spring semester marked with speculation about his involvement in an off the field incident, the coaches asked Jefferson to redshirt because of a crowded backfield in which Sean McHugh would be playing fullback.

Jefferson would play on the scout team, where he would help simulate whoever was in the opposing team's backfield that week. What he was able to do from there shows he didn't view that as a demotion, playing with the foreign team.

Maybe calling it an opportunity is wording it to strongly, though. It was just a man making the most of what the situation offered him, and he eventually got back into the good graces of his coaches and his teammates.

"Him bouncing back from that thing the way he did was an inspiration for everyone on the team," Reed said.

And at this point, a fumble in the second game of the season isn't going to get him down on himself.

"That guy [who forced the fumble] had perfect form tackling, couldn't have happened any better for the other guy," Jefferson said. "If I start getting down and acting negative and not making blocks, that can affect the whole team."

Of course, he'd never want that to happen. But the Penn State football players who talked about Jefferson this week didn't seem worried that he would.

His head coach, Joe Paterno, even got a little miffed when someone asked at the coach's weekly press conference if Jefferson fumbled against BC because he was pressing too hard.

"Everybody fumbles once in awhile," Paterno said. "Don't read too many things into everything that happens out there. I think Paul is doing fine."

And, at the same, maybe no one should read too much into Paterno sticking up for Jefferson so fiercely. Maybe he is just doing what he can to keep the press off of Jefferson's back as he has with others, such as the case with Mills, recently. Paterno always is extra vigilant when defending his seniors.

But don't take his words with that same barrel of salt when it comes to Juice.

As you know, Jefferson is not just another one of those guys.