The reigning Butkus and Bednarik Award winner and All-American is one of the more humble players on the team.
"When I see a picture of myself or something like that, I kind of just look the other way," Posluszny said. "It's not embarrassing, but if your teammates see those, they'll rag on you a little bit."
Sometimes more than just a little bit.
A team favorite is the Big Ten public service commercial promoting good sportsmanship, in which Posluszny is shown sitting in the locker room.
"Oh man, everybody was all over him about that on the sidelines," Tim Shaw said. "He's the big deal around here. It's fun to see just what comes out next, and it's fun also because of him, because he plays it off so cool. So we have a little fun with him.
"You didn't have to say anything. You just looked at him and laughed, it was so funny."
Regardless of the accolade, Posluszny routinely deflects all praise and dishes it out to his teammates and coaches.
When asked about setting Penn State's career tackle mark, Posluszny attributes the feat to the solid defenses he's played on the last three years, never mentioning that he's a big reason those units have been so effective.
Asked if the Nittany Lions have the best linebacker core in the country, the Hopewell native says he isn't quite sure where Penn State ranks, but that he does know fellow linebacker Dan Connor is a tremendous player.
As an incoming freshman in 2003, Posluszny had no expectations of personal greatness.
"Coming in, I thought I was going to redshirt, play on special teams a couple years and then maybe start at linebacker my senior year," he said. "Obviously things change."
Not his modesty, though.
Even when peers tell stories of Posluszny's character and strength, the senior tends to bashfully brush off any praise.
Andrew Guman, a starting safety on the 2004 team, recalled how Posluszny battled stingers through the course of that season. One incident stood out from a 20-13 home loss to Purdue.
"He came back to the huddle after a hit, and you could just see in his eyes, the tears were swelling up," Guman said. "I asked him what was the matter and he said his arm. His whole side went numb and he got a pretty bad stinger. I told him to just go out, and he's like, 'No, I'm playing, I'm playing.' A few plays later, the trainers had to come and force him off the field."
Told of Guman's version of the story, Posluszny smiled and dismissed any notion of him being tougher than anyone else.
"Andrew's just telling stories to make us look better," Posluszny said. "He's just saying the right things. [Pain] is just part of the game -- you just have to deal with it sometimes."
But the injuries he sustained in last year's Orange Bowl were too much to shake off. Posluszny partially tore his posterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments, and required several months of extensive rehabilitation to properly rebuild the strength in his knee.
In the aftermath of the injury, the reserved co-captain -- who hounded coaches to let him practice during spring drills -- was understandably frustrated.
"He wasn't his typical self; he was even quieter than usual," said Posluszny's father, also named Paul.
Perhaps he wasn't as frustrated by the circumstances and the timing, so much as he was frustrated with himself. A bastion of accountability, Posluszny didn't blame fate or the opposition for his injury.
"It happened and there's nothing I can do about it now," Posluszny said earlier this season. "Looking back at the tape, a lot of people don't realize that the play before I went down, I dropped an interception. So it's my fault that this happened because if I made that catch, then there are no questions about the knee. It just goes to show that we control everything that we do."
And that's been the philosophy of the man who will be remembered among the all-time greats at Linebacker U.
On Sunday mornings at 8, Posluszny is in the weight room, working to get bigger and better. In his mind, anything less would be letting down the team.
"All he worries about is us winning and him getting better ..." defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said. "It has nothing to do with awards. It is about him being the best football player he can be and he will do whatever that takes."
His teammates certainly notice much of what he does, including switching to middle linebacker from the outside before this season.
"I've looked up to him since I got here, and even when I was in high school watching him play," said Sean Lee, who took over Posluszny's outside linebacker spot following the senior's move to the middle. "He doesn't realize it because he's so hard on himself, but from my perspective and other people's perspective, it's great watching him and it's great seeing how successful he is."
Away from football, Posluszny attends church regularly, maintains a solid GPA in a challenging major (finance) and occasionally takes the time out to meet up with fans seeking autographs.
According to his father, every now and then Posluszny still mentions the possibility of joining the armed services after his football days are through.
But most think Posluszny -- the only Penn State player since 1968 to serve as a captain his junior year -- has several years of football left in him in the NFL.
Frank Coyle, a scouting consultant for NFL teams and the Senior Bowl, projects Posluszny as a mid to late first-round pick in the draft and says he could fit in any linebacker spot in a 4-3 defense.
For now, though, Posluszny won't allow any discussion of the future to take his focus off of Michigan State.
Besides, he doesn't want to think about leaving Penn State right now -- and his coaches and teammates don't want to picture what the program will be like without him.
"It is going to be tough," Bradley said of watching Posluszny finish his college career. "He is a tremendous leader; he is the heart and soul of our defense. He is a great competitor and a tremendous person. Every day at practice, he works as hard as anyone I have been around. He is so committed to this football team. He gives everything he has to everything in his life. He is a marvelous person and someone I am proud to say I was able to coach."
Perhaps showing where his son gets that humble, praise-deflecting attitude from, the elder Posluszny heard the compliment and chalked it up to Bradley's oratory.
"Tom just knows how to say all the right things," he said, "he seems to be very eloquent about it."
