Sports

PENN STATE FOOTBALL

By Derek Levarse dlevarse@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter
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For an hour or so before kickoff, Sean Lee blends in with the background on the field.

Indistinguishable from most of the various sideline staffers in a white collared Penn State shirt, he goes through the same motions as any other coach mulling on the sideline or walking through the stretching lines during warm-ups.

With his familiar No. 45 jersey stored away in the locker for the year while he rehabs from a torn ACL, Lee becomes another face in the crowd.

Until the game starts.

That’s when those linebacker instincts kick in. Complete with a headset to talk to position coach Ron Vanderlinden and the defensive staff, Lee suddenly becomes rather easy to spot on the sideline during the game.

His yells like he was in the huddle himself. His arms wave and motion frantically. When the defense comes over during a timeout, he’s right there in the mix talking with players.

“Sean is a leader all-around,” said sophomore Navorro Bowman, who has stepped up in Lee’s absence to become the team’s top tackler. “He helps me in every aspect of the game. Whenever I have a question, or if I’m not sure about an assignment, he’ll have an answer for me.”

That’s why Lee, an honorary captain for this year’s team, accompanies the team on the road, even though it costs the Nittany Lions a spot on their 70-man travel roster.

Likely his itch to play was never as strong as it was on Saturday night at Ohio State, as his team was locked into a tight, four-quarter game for the first time all season.

But Lee, who had a redshirt year available and will return for a fifth and final season in 2009, hasn’t said so publicly – in part because he doesn’t want to take any of the spotlight from his teammates.

While the Pittsburgh native may not want to talk about himself while Penn State hits its bye week at 9-0 and ranked No. 3 in the country, the guys on defense who have been learning from him have no problem praising him.

And it’s not just the linebackers.

“I mean, he’s had a tremendous impact,” senior safety Mark Rubin said. “Literally every day at practice he’s out there coaching. Actually on Wednesday before the Ohio State game, I had a question about how he thought I should play a certain play if it came up. And he gave me a great piece of advice.

“He’s definitely contributing, and he’s a huge piece of the success we’ve been able to have this year.”

Surely it’s just a coincidence, but this week Rubin earned national and Big Ten awards as the defensive player of the week.

Rubin certainly looked like a linebacker against the Buckeyes, frequently stepping up in run support to help corral All-America tailback Beanie Wells.

He collected a career-high 11 tackles and came up with what just may go down as one of the signature plays in Penn State history when he forced a fumble from Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor in the fourth quarter that set up the winning touchdown.

While Lee’s tackling and instincts on the field are obviously missed, his leadership is still helping the team.

“I think he’s making good progress with his rehabilitation and he’s been kind of an inspiration to some of the younger linebackers,” coach Joe Paterno said. “He coaches them all the time, the linebackers. He watches them and he is out at practice every day.

“We take him on the trips … and he’s on the sideline and he’s helping Ron Vanderlinden. He’s been a real plus. But, obviously, we’re looking forward to having him back next year.”