The spring football season begins today, as players and coaches take to the practice field for the first time in the build up to the April 19 Blue-White game.

Of course, the news media are not allowed to attend practices. However, players and Joe Paterno are scheduled to be available later in the week. We will report back when we know who will be around to speak with us hacks.

Also, we wanted to let you know that by the end of the week there will likely be a new trio of Collegian reporters taking over the beat. It's just the natural attrition of the newspaper's football coverage. Time is almost up for Corey, Kevin and I, who will no longer inhabit this space. But we're sure that the incoming group will do an outstanding job as they get acclimated to life with the Lions this spring and then move into the fall.

We will miss our time around the team, and, of course, all the readers who have never been afraid to let us know how they feel about Penn State football (and all of our articles).

-- Mark