As quarterback Daryll Clark hustled the offense to the line of scrimmage during Saturday's practice at Holuba Hall, Joe Paterno stepped onto the playing surface, interrupting the repetition.
Paterno opened his squad's practice to the public, and the 81-year old coach was as animated as ever. He waved Clark and company back toward the huddle, jabbed a finger fiercely at the ground and raised his voice.
"Break the huddle right!" Paterno yelled.
Penn State then got a bit of a scare when Derrick Williams got his bell rung from a hit by sophomore linebacker Chris Colasanti. Williams laid on his back on the turf for a few moments before Paterno gave the senior an earful.
"Get up!" Paterno shouted.
Williams said he noticed Paterno's increased enthusiasm earlier this year.
"I think right now that Joe's got a feeling and the whole team's got a feeling that this is a special group," Williams said after practice on Saturday "He's into it. He's been into it every year, but there's that certain feeling, that certain vibe that we get from this group. It's a good thing."
Williams used more
Derrick Williams turned into part running back during Saturday afternoon's practice.
He took two handoffs out of the shotgun formation and was used on sweeps and in other creative positions.
It's a trend he hopes extends into this season.
"As much as I can touch the ball, the better," Williams said. "I'm just trying to make the most out of my opportunities this year."
Williams carried the ball 16 times last year and averaged 6.3 yards per carry.
A.J. Wallace, who is vying to replace Justin King at cornerback, also was used in offensive formations in a role similar to Williams.
Lee tweaks hamstring
Linebacker Sean Lee injured a hamstring in winter drills and has scaled back participation in spring practice.
"I busted my hamstring a little bit," Lee said after Saturday's practice. "Tweaked it in winter workouts, so I'm trying to be cautious now. I came out Monday and it was still sore so I'm trying to be cautious but I expect to be ready to go [for the Blue-White game]."
There had been speculation Lee could be moved inside, as Penn State has done in the past with Dan Connor, but Lee practiced in his usual outside linebacker position on Saturday.
Williams: No more trouble
Following the off-the-field issues the team has experienced this past season and in the wake of suspensions to six players, Derrick Williams said he, A.Q. Shipley and Sean Lee addressed their teammates about the team's legal struggles.
"We've got a lot of great guys and there are a lot of people that have stepped up to the leadership role," Williams said.
"Sean Lee, myself, A.Q. Shipley -- we just got the guys together and we said there's not going to be any more trouble, no more anything like that. We've just been trying to lead by example.
"I think that we were pretty much comfortable with the guys that we had and we knew that we had some good guys, that we were going to be good. Everybody is just taking care of themselves and it's working out."
Other notes
Safety Travis McBride and linebacker Dontey Brown have transferred to California University of Pennsylvania ... Mike Lucian and Stefan Wisniewski split repetitions as first-team right guard.
