Paul Posluszny yearns to hit someone.

So much so, that even a congratulatory chest-bump will suffice.

For the Penn State linebacker and captain, spring just isn't the same without some good old-fashioned contact. The winner of the Butkus and Bednarik awards in 2005, Posluszny has not participated in full-contact activities since Florida State running back Lorenzo Booker planted a block on him in the FedEx Orange Bowl on Jan. 3.

The play left Posluszny on the ground with partial tears in the posterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments of his right knee, requiring a cart to take him off the field as he gave fans the thumbs-up. He returned to the sideline a bit later, and now he's anxious to return to the field.

Posluszny wants to turn his bad fortune into someone else's misery on the field, and, in the absence of any on-field contact, he has taken multiple approaches to improving his game even further for the upcoming season.

"I can see it in his eyes, he's itching to get out there, they just won't let him out there yet, but I think he's ready," defensive tackle Jay Alford said of the All-America linebacker.

The rising senior participates in linebacker drills and does strength and conditioning work, but the Nittany Lion coaching staff has held him out of any type of contact this spring.

The frustration of not playing has not taken away from his sense of humor.

Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will sometimes call his injured pupil over while standing on the side at practice. Posluszny jogs over and offers up his services.

"What, you need me to suit up," Posluszny asks facetiously, half-hoping Bradley will reply with the unexpected affirmative. "I can go in for a rep."

Posluszny said the knee feels great and he is good to go, but explained he also understands why the coaches are holding him out.

"I know in the long run the smart thing to do is relax and make sure everything heals completely," Posluszny said yesterday.

The relaxation of which he speaks is all relative.

After talking it over with Bradley this winter, the Aliquippa product decided it would be beneficial to bulk up during the offseason. Posluszny said he feels a lot stronger and that he can be more physical now at a robust 235 pounds.

Despite both the increased weight and the knee injury, he said he hasn't lost a step.

"It's all good weight," Posluszny explained. "With the whole summer ahead of me, I feel like I can still gain a step."

This is bad news for opposing offensive players, as they may find out in the fall that Posluszny's injury will come back to hurt them during the season.

Posluszny's 256 career tackles leave him 87 shy of Greg Buttle's Penn State record. His 220 stops over the last two years and 23 tackles for a loss are both tops on the team. Even so, he is still looking for improvement in the 2006 campaign.

"A good thing [about the time off the field] is I've been able to watch the film of all our defensive plays from last year," Posluszny said. "With a pen and paper you begin to realize all the mistakes we made."

He cites technique and aggressiveness at the point of attack as facets of his game that can be improved.

In addition to improving his own game, Posluszny is using the time spent sitting out of practices to help younger linebackers on the team. He spends much of his time at practice watching rising sophomore Sean Lee and rising redshirt freshman Jerome Hayes to make sure they're doing the right things on the field.

"When they make a big play, I just run in and give a big chest bump -- that's my contact for the day," Posluszny said.

Posluszny concedes he needs to take a more vocal leadership role this season. He prefers to lead by example, but that has been difficult this spring because it's not easy to tell teammates what they should do when you are in shorts and a T-shirt and they are in full pads.

Since he won't participate in the Blue-White game on Saturday, Posluszny still waits for the day he can suit up in full pads again.

"I've been out of contact for a long time now, and I'm starting to get a little antsy," Posluszny said.

In the meantime, though, the All-American will be doing what he can to make up for lost practice time.

"I just go home and beat up my roommates instead," he joked. "I need to get a little contact here and there."