When Joe Paterno sees his injured players make their way to the sidelines at practice, the 80-year-old coach tries to encourage them.
"Hey, you going to class?" Paterno asks them. "How are you doing? Make sure you keep your head up, there is always another year."
Three newly injured players have made their way to that sideline during the last two weeks, with sophomore defensive linemen Jared Odrick and Jerome Hayes and senior fullback Matt Hahn lost for the season.
Despite his disappointment about the injuries, Paterno said at his weekly press conference yesterday that each of the hurt players' backups would be ready to step up when Penn State faces No. 1 Ohio State this weekend.
"We have people who have the ability," Paterno said.
On the defensive line, sophomore Phil Taylor and freshman Ollie Ogbu look ready to fill the void left by Odrick and Hayes, Paterno said. Freshmen Tom McEowen and Abe Koroma -- who have both played in only four games this season -- will also need to step up, Paterno added.
"We have to make sure we give them enough reps and don't make it too complicated and don't start changing a lot of things around," Paterno said. "I think they will be competitive."
Odrick broke his right ankle Saturday against Indiana. Senior linebacker Dan Connor talked to Odrick after Saturday's game and said the lineman was upset, but realizes he will still have an important role on the team for the rest of the season.
"He's gonna have to be a leader and help out with some of the D-linemen," Connor said. "I think he's gonna help them."
Paterno said the team would look to junior Dan Lawlor to fill in for Hahn at the fullback position. Hahn injured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee during Saturday's game.
Lawlor has carried the ball seven times this season, rushing for 37 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Larry Federoff may also see more time on the field, Paterno said.
"Lawlor has all the stuff to be a fine fullback," Paterno said. "He just has to step up to the plate and go to work."
Paterno and Tressel
Paterno has crossed paths with Ohio State coach Jim Tressel a number of times since Tressel was growing up in Ohio.
Tressel's father, Lee, was the head coach at Baldwin Wallace College in Ohio, and Paterno traveled to coaching clinics with Lee during the late 1960s and met Jim when he was a teenager.
When Jim Tressel was coaching at Youngstown State, Paterno said he considered offering him a job on Penn State's coaching staff.
Kinlaw progressing
Paterno said he has been impressed with the play of senior running back Rodney Kinlaw during the past three weeks.
Since stepping in as a starter for the indefinitely suspended Austin Scott, Kinlaw has carried the ball 73 times, rushing for 349 yards and four touchdowns.
"[He] used to drive me nuts," Paterno said, "because he didn't have any patience and he was always looking to bounce it outside and outrun everybody. ... But he has been a good, tough kid and I think he has got the makings of a good football player."
