Blue White Illustrated

wideout Allen Robinson and guard John Urschel. Despite concerns that the Lions would suffer a wave of attrition once coaches from rival programs started poring over last year���s game tapes and hounding their top young players in hope of luring them away, the team is essentially intact. Penn State isn���t out of the woods just yet, as the NCAA���s transfer waiver remains in effect, but O���Brien has expressed confidence that his team is going to survive one of the more onerous aspects of the NCAA sanctions. Among the goals this spring are to refine those player evaluations, take a good look at the freshmen ��� both true and redshirt ��� and stay healthy. Don���t expect the Lions to definitively answer the off-season���s most pressing question. With freshman recruit Christian Hackenberg yet to arrive, the battle for the starting quarterback spot is likely to continue into preseason practice. But there are plenty of other developments to monitor. ���We���ve got a hungry bunch of guys in that room, young guys who are talented,��� O���Brien said. ���We���re gonna put them in situations and see how they react and at the end of spring have a good evaluation on who we think can be the starting quarterback, or at least who can compete for it.��� Here���s a look at some of the biggest questions facing the team as spring practice gets under way. 1 Tim Owen regular season. They will have 15 practices culminating in the Blue-White Game on April 20. So how does O���Brien feel now that the winds of change have died down a bit? Pretty good, actually. ���I wouldn���t say it���s easier, but it���s much more comfortable because you have a working knowledge of your players from a skillset standpoint, an academic standpoint, a health standpoint and a mental standpoint,��� he said. ���You understand how they fit and who they are. Your first year��� you do the best you can to get to know them. And that���s hard. It���s really hard. But now it���s a little more comfortable because of our knowledge of the players.��� Penn State returns 16 starters and 38 letterwinners from last year���s 8-4 squad, including three first-team AllBig Ten players: tight end Kyle Carter, Did winter workouts make a difference? Players certainly seem to think so. ���I just feel like we���re faster, I feel like we���re stronger,��� junior cornerback Adrian Amos said. ���I go out and watch us as a team and watch people race during workouts and things, and it feels like we���re a faster team.��� The Nittany Lions endured the same rise-and-grind regimen as last year, starting their outdoor drills on Friday mornings at about 5:15 a.m. After getting out on the field at the Lasch Building for calisthenics, sprints, agility drills, wrestling matches and tugs-ofwar, they filed into the weight room for team lifting sessions. And unlike last year, when the weight room was being

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