A hamstring injury kept Jordan Norwood off the field last Saturday against Illinois and might prevent him from playing this weekend when No. 6 Penn State travels to West Lafayette, Ind., to play Purdue.
At his weekly press conference Tuesday, Joe Paterno couldn't say for sure if Norwood -- Penn State's top receiver -- will play against the Boilermakers (2-2).
Norwood pulled the hamstring last week in practice and is listed as "probable" on the team's most recent depth chart.
"I think he's going to be OK," Paterno said. "Don't hold me to that."
On Monday, Norwood didn't do much with the team in practice, but quarterback Daryll Clark said the wideout did some "light jogging" and "slight sprints."
Monday's practice was an easier day for all of Paterno's players. The coach said he wanted to give the team a break after the physical Illinois game and had his players practice in shells as opposed to full gear.
Paterno said he hoped to work Norwood in more later in the week.
"We've been pushing them pretty hard, and I wanted to just give them a chance to take a blow," Paterno said Tuesday. "We didn't work that hard yesterday. We will work hard today, and I'm hoping maybe we can get Jordan involved in some things."
Norwood dressed for last week's game, but only got on the field to slap high-fives with his teammates after scores and big plays. He didn't play a single down.
The senior wide receiver leads Penn State in every major receiving category. Norwood has caught 18 passes for 318 yards in four games this season. He also leads the Lions with four touchdown grabs.
Paterno said Norwood is getting treatment for the injury every day.
Most importantly, Paterno said, he wouldn't "push" Norwood to play if he's not ready. Team doctors would have to clear Norwood to play and Paterno acknowledged the team has still got a long schedule ahead of it.
"He's got to bring it along," Paterno said. "A hamstring -- when you're a skill player -- is not easy to get over because when you want to practice, you've got to go all out otherwise your timing gets fouled up. It's just going to take time. He may be ready tomorrow for all I know or he may be ready today when he goes out there and tests it."
Norwood caught the longest touchdown from scrimmage this season -- a 55-yard hook-up with Clark -- against Syracuse. When asked on a conference call Tuesday about Norwood's injury, Clark couldn't provide specifics.
"I think they're going to try to bring him back this week. Really not sure what happened, I think he tweaked a hamstring. I'm really not sure what's gonna happen yet," he said.
In addition to Norwood, starting tight end Mickey Shuler has been recovering from an injury he sustained in Penn State's win over Temple Sept. 20. Shuler suffered a slight left ankle sprain in that game, but did play sparingly against Illinois.
Shuler is no longer listed on Penn State's injury report and Paterno said the tight end should play against Purdue.
"Mickey'll be OK," Paterno said. "Mickey played a little bit Saturday, in fact he jumped in there, and I was a little bit annoyed he got in there because I didn't want to play him Saturday if we didn't have to. I think Mickey should be OK now."
