Next great linebacker

Posluszny is a junior captain who has played dominating football the past three weeks. He plays tough, fast, relentless. He is a captain, a leader. He plays hurt.

He doesn’t have intimidating size (He looks lighter than his listed 230 pounds). He’s just good.

Make that great.

"For me to say he is the best linebacker in the country, I haven’t seen all of them, but it would be tough for me to think there is a better one," Paterno said.

Posluszny has earned three straight Big Ten Player of the Week honors — the first time that’s ever happened in the Big Ten.

"He’s definitely a guy you have to get a hat on," said Michigan tight end Tim Massaquoi. "He’s a guy who’s all over the place."

Posluszny is averaging 11.8 tackles per game, third in the Big Ten.

And suddenly, there are whispers about whether he will even stick around for his senior season at Penn State. He could end up a high NFL draft choice if this continues.

"I love Puz," said PSU defensive tackle Scott Paxson. "The guy’s everywhere, he’s like a machine. I don’t know how he does it sometimes."

Paxson should know something about this. He not only plays in front of Posluszny but he also played linebacker for a bit at PSU.

The Penn State linebackers are "quick, nifty, smooth, smart," Paxson said. "I’m the opposite of all of that."

But back to Posluszny. And Conlan, the linebacker who led the Lions to the national title upset over Miami.

The two have run into each other working out at a YMCA in suburban Pittsburgh.

"All the conversations have been pretty short," Posluszny said. "After last season he was just giving me words of encouragement to get things back to where they used to be."

And he has followed through quite well.

For more PSU coverage, see Friday morning's York Daily Record...