CHICAGO -- The belated arrival of Joe Paterno at Big Ten Media Days was met with a lot of attention, but not much new talk yesterday.

The Penn State football coach, speaking to the media for the first time since Penn State's summer tour of booster club events, has consistently waved off any notion that he has thought about leaving his post, or thought about who he would favor as his replacement.

"I've been up since 4:30 this morning," Paterno said yesterday while answering questions from reporters at a large, round table in one of the Hyatt Regency Hotel's dining rooms. "I still get by on five hours of sleep and I still walk six miles every day, and it's 85 degrees. I don't feel like an old man."

Paterno exercised his youthful vitality -- literally -- by standing up from the table and touching his toes with his fingertips, stretching in his best "head-shoulders-knees-and-toes, knees-and-toes" song impression.

"I could do that maybe 50, 60 times," Paterno said.

The tanned 78-year-old was with his grandchildren at his Avalon, N.J., shore house earlier this summer when wife Sue broke her leg.

With Sue Paterno recovering, Joe Paterno chose to remain in State College Monday, missing the first day of the Big Ten Conference kickoff event that gives everyone a glimpse into the upcoming fall season.

Although the coach's tone was upbeat and relatively straightforward, his feelings on the upcoming season have not wavered since April's Blue-White Game.

"We have not been a bad football team," Paterno said. "We haven't won as many games as we would like, but we haven't had a bunch of guys that could make plays."

Paterno also did not address the offensive playcalling situation at length, often cited as a reason by several offensive players as an explanation for the Lions' recent woes. He instead dove into a story about how little changes have been actually made in the Lions' playbook in the last 50 years.

"Coaching's not a mystery," Paterno said. "The biggest part of coaching is not a question of X's and O's and spread offenses -- that's easy. If I showed you a picture of our booklet from the 1959 team and I showed you double-winged shotgun with Richie Lucas at quarterback you guys would say, 'Holy Smokes!' Four wideouts, one running back -- I did that in '59."

The four wide, spread offensive set was the first offense brought out in front of the fans at the past Blue-White Game.

Paterno also talked about running a similar offense in his high school days at Brooklyn, N.Y., Prep.

"If I showed you my high school pictures when I played, I'd show you the shotgun," he said. "I played tailback in the shotgun -- in high school. Direct snap, handoff, throw the ball. Keep, trap, the whole bit. Every play that you guys see, I've seen."

The last point was Paterno's answer, too, to whether or not the game has "passed him by," a question those not usually around Paterno are always eager to ask.

Again, Paterno's offerings of aspects of college football that perhaps he's not quite as keen with as he used to be are the same ones he's cited all summer long: the media, sports talk shows and the Internet.

"The environment's different," Paterno said. "Now whether that's passed me by or not, I think that would be debatable. I don't think it has."

Paterno said his support staff has his back on keeping him in the loop of such "environmental" concerns.

"I'm not going to be a hot dog guy," Paterno said. "I'm not going to be running around. I'm not going to give in to give in unless I think it's important."

The stance was equally staunch when it came to the impact individual players -- even seniors -- would be able to make this year.

Paterno did call senior quarterback Michael Robinson a "better passer than people realize," but he made it very clear that No. 12 is no X-factor.

"Until he's in there and we have a couple of good ball games," Paterno said. "Until we get in there and start to have a personality. Until you have a personality, it's very difficult for people to feel comfortable.

How effective Robinson will be, Paterno said, depends on the effectiveness of the offensive line and the effectiveness of junior tailback Tony Hunt.

A solid line protecting quarterbacks? A clock-eating tailback? Football fundamentals -- interesting stuff, but not much in the way of new talk from Paterno.