CAMP HILL -- Joe Paterno addressed several topics Saturday at the Central Pa. Nittany Lion Club dinner, but there was little in the way of news.
His responses to retirement questions were typical, the answer to the status of the four suspended players was non-committal and the quarterback situation remained undefined.
There was plenty of humor to go around, too.
Asked whether he was drinking enough water, Paterno laughed.
"I've been drinking G2 until it comes out my ears," Paterno said. "You've never met my wife. ... She's one of those Germans. You know what I mean? I get up in the morning and she sticks a bottle of G2 in front of me. I've been a good boy."
He also kept the mood light when asked if he's worried about being up late because of the three night games scheduled.
''If you see me walk off the field, it won't be because of diarrhea like I had the last time,'' Paterno said. ''I want to go to sleep.''
As for the more serious and pressing topics, the status of suspended players Chris Baker, Navorro Bowman, Phil Taylor and Knowledge Timmons hasn't changed, and Paterno said each player will need to prove he wants to work his way back onto the team before they are reinstated.
"I'm tired of it," Paterno said. "I really am. ... I'm certainly not going to crucify them. I wasn't an angel and I'm not going to say that a kid can't make a mistake when he's 19 or 20 years old. I want to give him a chance, take a good look at what happened and learn from it, and fight his way back and be part of the team, if that's what he wants to do. Now if he wants to horse around, then of course he's going to eliminate himself."
The starting quarterback position remains a three-way competition, Paterno said. Daryll Clark and Pat Devlin stayed in State College all summer, while Paul Cianciolo -- considered an extreme long shot to win the job -- is in and out as he works football around an internship.
Paterno said he expects to take 20-22 recruits in the next class. Penn State has 11 commitments so far.
The most important factor he considers in recruiting is honesty.
"I often say it's like getting married," he said. "You can tell your bride-to-be a few lies, but you have to live with her. You've got to be careful."
Paterno also said he opposed adding an early signing period, which the SEC voted in favor of two weeks ago.
"Early signing dates bother me because you've got to have your official visits during the season. You're playing a big game. I don't want to be bothered, really. We do a terrible job when kids come up for official visits for a game."
