By Andrew Staub

Joe Paterno and the Penn State Nittany Lions kicked off spring practice today at Holuba Hall, with the 80-year-old coach back stalking the sidelines and plenty of new stories surrounding the team.

Paterno walked with a slight limp in practice today, the result of surgery the coach underwent in November to repair a broken left leg he suffered during a sideline collision during Penn State's Nov. 4 loss to Wisconsin. Paterno also said a nagging injury from a year ago to his right leg also attributed to the limp.

Despite the limp, Paterno made sure to get in at least a few players' faces during the practicing. Afterward, he said he wasn't sure what the early practice accomplished.

"Who knows?" he said. "First day, everybody's just getting the feel. … It takes four of five days to find out what you're doing."

The first of 15 spring practices leading up to the annual Blue-White Game on April 21 offered many new story lines for the Nittany Lions.

-- Most notably, rising senior linebacker Dan Connor practiced at middle linebacker and said he feels comfortable at the position despite playing outside linebacker last year. Connor said he was planning on calling former Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny, tonight for advice on the switch. Posluszny made the same transition last year.

-- Rising fifth-year senior running back Austin Scott, expected to carry the rushing load after redshirting last year, said today that he has felt "unlucky" at times at Penn State after suffering nagging injuries and limited playing time behind Tony Hunt, but called last season a "blessing in disguise."

-- Rising senior Rodney Kinlaw is also expected to challenge Scott for playing time, and broke several long runs during a padless scrimmage today.

-- Rising sophomore A.J. Wallace practiced at cornerback today, with rising junior Tony Davis practicing at safety alongside rising junior Anthony Scirrotto. Paterno said he isn't sure how long Davis will remain at safety, but said he expects Wallace to remain on defense this year.

-- Josh Gaines, the only returning starter from last year's defensive line, was joined on the first-team defensive line today by rising sophomores Jared Odrick, Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma.

-- On the first-team offensive line, rising junior A.Q. Shipley practiced at center, rising senior John Shaw at right tackle, rising junior Rich Ohrnberger at right guard, rising junior Elijah Robinson at left guard and rising junior Gerald Cadogan at left tackle.

For the complete coverage of today's spring practice, check Monday's edition of The Daily Collegian.