The hardest thing for Stefen Wisniewski to remember as he prepares to be the new center this season isn't knowing the play or worrying about the defense -- it's the snap count.
"The last thing you think about is the snap count. I remember A.Q. [Shipley] would turn around and ask Daryll [Clark] what the snap count was like every other play," Wisniewski said about last year with a laugh.
Wisniewski, a junior, was a guard last season and will anchor the offensive line. He replaces Shipley, a three-year starter who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round of this year's NFL Draft.
Although Wisniewski sat out Lift for Life with a minor injury, he didn't specify what it was. But the center acknowledged that if there was a game, he'd be playing. He's worked with Clark and the backup quarterbacks on snaps about once a week this year, and expected there to be "a million" snaps during camp.
Helping Wisniewski transition is Shipley, who also won the Dave Rimington Trophy last season as the best center in college football. Shipley was around Penn State during spring practice.
"Every time I'd see him, I'd be asking him a question about how do you step on this, how do you do this," Wisniewski said. "He's getting pretty sick of me by the end of it, asking so many questions. But that's the only way to get better, to ask people who know more than you."
The center has also gotten advice from his father, Leo, and uncle, Steve. Both men played for Penn State and in the NFL, and his uncle was selected All-Pro eight times. Most of the advice Wisniewski's gotten, especially from his uncle, has been about what he calls the little things.
"He was telling me that in the middle of camp after two-a-days, he would go for three-mile, four-mile runs just to prove that it wasn't hard," Wisniewski said. "Just doing all these little things like balance work and things that not everyone's doing."
Regarding the change at center, guard Johnnie Troutman hasn't noticed much difference between Shipley and Wisniewski. The guard said Wisniewski would rotate in for Shipley at center in practice last year, meaning he was familiar with the entire offense, not just the line.
Troutman sees Wisniewski at center and senior tackle Dennis Landolt starting but the rest of the slots -- the other tackle and the two guards -- as open. Landolt was the right tackle last season but could move to left.
Despite the uncertainty at who will step in, Troutman said the unit is getting more cohesive every day. As for knowing if the line is doing its job in the trenches, Troutman has a good idea how to tell.
"Offensive line's one of those jobs that if you're doing your job, you don't hear about you," Troutman said. "If your not doing your job they hear about you. Last year, you didn't hear about them too often."
One of the backs running through holes made by the line will be Evan Royster, who rushed for 1,236 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.
Despite the turnover, Royster sees this season as an opportunity for the line.
"I think we're really confident in the guys we have now," Royster said.
