One after another, reporters gravitated toward Sean Lee. It was almost noon on Saturday at Penn State football's media day, and he was interviewing like a champion.

That's the only way he'd have it. He is Sean Lee, perfectionist. And he'll be called upon to help lead a young Penn State defense this fall.

He's the type who agonizes over one or two false steps.

"That's something I've worked on," said Lee, a starting linebacker. "I think I've gotten better, where you could be somewhere a step sooner if you didn't take a false step."

He was named to ESPN the Magazine's Academic All-District Team with a cumulative GPA of more than 3.0.

But he wasn't pleased.

"I feel like I could do better," Lee said. "Probably a 3.5. I don't know, that's how it's always been."

Maybe that's why Lee was one of the last players on the Nittany Lions' practice field on Saturday, speaking with any and everyone who approached -- reporters and autograph-seekers alike. It was clear he would not rest until their every question was exhausted and their notepads full.

In 2005, Lee was the precocious newcomer wedged in the depth chart behind the likes of Paul Posluszny and Dan Connor. He waited for much of that season, until Posluszny went down with a partially torn ACL in the Orange Bowl.

He logged his most significant minutes in that game, equal parts shocked and comfortable. Shocked because he was actually in the Orange Bowl playing in place of Posluszny. Comfortable because he had a veteran squad around him.

Lee, a junior, won't have that level of experience to fall back on this year.

"We miss having him out there," he said of Posluszny. "He was someone who made a lot of plays, and you're next to him and if you don't make it, you know Puz is probably going to make it. But you have to move on and grow up and get ready to do it on your own."

Lee returns after a 90-tackle 2006 season, and he'll be an anchoring force for the entire defense. In fact, the linebacking corps as a whole will be central.

The defense line is young. And the secondary -- no doubt talented -- has a few question marks: 1. Will Anthony Scirrotto be on the field? 2. Will it be Lydell Sargeant or A.J. Wallace at cornerback? 3. How smooth will Tony Davis' transition to safety be?

That's where Lee, the perfectionist, comes in. He's big into self-evaluation, placing an emphasis on detail.

He pores over game footage of himself, Penn State and cut-ups of a lot of different teams and opponents. During the week of a game, he said, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights are devoted to film study.

He said he's a little bigger and quicker, so he might be more useful on the blitz this season.

But he also said he needs to improve his pass coverage, specifically emphasizing his quarterback awareness in passing situations.

One play from the Outback Bowl sticks out -- when he froze on his chance to bring down Tennessee running back LaMarcus Coker before Coker broke a 42-yard touchdown run.

It was Tennessee's only touchdown.

"It sticks in my head," he said. "I watched it on film and I looked at my form. I was low, square and shuffling. Maybe I was too fundamentally sound. Maybe I should've just killed him."

Nothing was mentioned about Lee's forced fumble, which Tony Davis scooped and ran 88 yards for a Penn State touchdown.