Joe Paterno walked with a slight limp during Friday's opening spring practice, but his tongue was as quick as it's always been during his 42-year head-coaching career at Penn State.
Clad in his usual khaki pants and Penn State jacket, the 80-year-old coach stalked the Holuba Hall sidelines without a cane, occasionally giving offensive linemen a taste of his raspy yelling that has become symbolic of a Penn State football practice.
After watching the final three games of last season from home or a coach's box because of surgery on a broken left leg and two torn ligaments suffered during a sideline collision, Paterno said he expects to bring that voice back to the sidelines full-time next fall.
Still, he said he has reservations.
"I'm not doing as much as I'd like to do,"
he said. "I'm a little bit nervous, to be frank with you. I've got to watch a couple of things, but I'll get better as it goes along."
Paterno underwent surgery last November and was told to stay off the leg for six weeks by team doctor Wayne Sebastianelli. At times, Paterno used a wheelchair and was forced to patrol the practice fields in a golf cart. Paterno used a cane to walk at the Outback Bowl.
Paterno said he hasn't done any running since the surgery, but said he's progressing well. He did say, though, that a nagging injury to his right leg has been bothering him more than his left leg.
Back on the sidelines, Paterno will lead a team coming off a 9-4 season -- not to mention one that returns eight starters on offense and six on defense. There's no shortage of confidence either, as national title talk began immediately after Penn State's Outback Bowl win against Tennessee on New Year's Day.
"It's so much talent on the team. In the years past, it's been talent but it might be, from first string to second string, a slight drop off," rising junior wideout Deon Butler said. "It's gonna be position battles going on. Practice is not gonna be just a regular practice. People are gonna be fighting for position. So, it's gonna liven it up."
Still, rising senior linebacker Dan Connor said confidence alone won't win a title.
"Talk is cheap to just say it," Connor said. "It's another thing to get out there, spring ball and summer, and then these winter conditioning ones and workouts and busting your butts to be the best."
Paterno, though, was hesitant to speak about next season or any position battles and said he's just trying to figure out where the team stands this spring.
"We're just trying to put a football team together. Do you ever see me out there doing this?" Paterno said, mimicking someone taking notes. "What do you think I'm doing? 'Who's [number] 52? Who's 15?' I've got to get to know these guys, too."
Paterno will have 15 allotted practices for the spring to get to know his team, with the early workouts culminating with the annual Blue-White Game on April 21. Paterno won't be on the sideline for that game, though, because he will again be doing his traditional radio show from the press box.
During Friday's practice, Paterno paced through Holuba Hall, but he never got too close to the action. But in the brief intermissions between plays, he was sure to let his opinion be heard.
"He's gotta watch himself a little bit," Connor said. "But he's back walking and getting in peoples' faces, yelling and intense. Same old Coach Paterno."
