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Willis and Stephen Obeng-Agyapong – will both be juniors next fall. Right cor- nerback Stephon Morris will be a senior. He's been in and out of the starting lineup and made two starts last fall. The Lions' most intriguing defensive A LEG UP Fera gave the Nittany Lions' kicking game a huge lift last fall. After re- turning from a disci- plinary suspension early in the season, he took over the punting duties, finishing fourth in the Big Ten with a 42-yard average. He also hit 82.4 percent of his field goal at- tempts, third-best in the conference. John Beale Gerald Hodges and Glenn Carson. In addition, the Lions are hoping that Michael Mauti will be able to bounce back from the knee injury that ended his junior season in September. Vanderlinden's return was a relief to players, who had to cope with the un- certainty. Said Mauti, "Coach Vander- linden is one of the best linebacker coaches in the country. That's why I came to Penn State, to work with him. For him to stay, that means a lot to me personally. I know all the linebackers feel the same way." Hodges is back after a great junior season in which he led the Nittany Li- ons with 106 tackles while also mak- ing 4.5 sacks. There had been some 30 M A R C H 2 3 , 2 0 1 2 talk that he would leave early for the NFL, but the senior-to-be squelched all speculation during the team's trip to Dallas, and the league's loss is Penn State's gain. He should be one of the Big Ten's premier outside linebackers next season and a strong contender for the Defensive Player of the Year Award that Still won in 2011. Carson didn't play much in the bowl game, as Penn State used its nickel defense to try to contain the Cougars. That didn't go so well. But overall, he got his career off to an im- pressive start last fall, finishing fourth on the team in tackles with 74. SECONDARY In recent interviews, new de- fensive backs coach John Butler said he's still getting to know his players. That's OK. Penn State followers don't know them real well, either. With the possible exception of the of- fensive line, the secondary is Penn State's biggest question mark head- ing into the off-season. The Lions graduated all four of their starting de- fensive backs after the 2011 season, guys who combined to miss only three starts as seniors and helped the team finish sixth in the Big Ten in pass defense. Their replacements are going to come from a talent pool that includes a couple of experienced backups and some very promising underclassmen. The likely starters at safety – Malcolm backs are the ones who've played the least. Adrian Amos will be a sophomore in the fall. He made a nice debut for the Nittany Lions, participating in 12 games, intercepting a pass and break- ing up four others. He even made a start in his debut season, filling in for Chaz Powell at right cornerback against Iowa when Powell moved to left corner- back to cover for the injured D'Anton Lynn. Also in the fold is the much-buzzed- about Derrick Thomas. Thomas didn't play much as a redshirt sophomore, making only four tackles in nine games, but he's repeatedly been hailed by insiders as a star-in-the-making. If he's going to step up, now would be an excellent time. The Lions could also end up turning to their incoming freshman class for help in the defensive backfield. Amos' former high school teammate Da'Quan Davis was a recent signee, and Jake Kiley and Jordan Lucas are both ex- pected to end up in the secondary, as well. Defensive coordinator Ted Roof said he was pleased that the Lions were able to build some depth on signing day. "We lost four starters there last year, so we needed to address that and get some numbers there," he said. "We got some kids with some versatility who can be either safeties or corners. I thought that was a real positive for us, a real plus." SPECIAL TEAMS First things first: The Nit- tany Lions aren't going to have a ded- icated special teams coach, even though Butler performed that role at South Carolina last season. Instead, various coaches will be responsible for different aspects of the kicking game, as was the case on Paterno's staff. In addition, other members of the staff will consult with the coach who is over- seeing each particular unit. "It's going to be a collective effort," Butler said. "That's when it works the best, because everybody is involved. When you just have one guy as spe- cial teams coordinator, everyone thinks W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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