Penn State's Lee looking to return to action

PENN STATE coach Joe Paterno is old school, about as old school as it ever gets. JoePa has long maintained that there is a difference between being "hurt" and "injured," and that players who are merely hurt - which is to say a bit bumped and bruised - should be able to suck it up and play through a certain degree of discomfort. Hey, football is a rough game.

Injured players . . . well, that is something else. You don't want someone on the field who could be significantly damaged if he tries to play through anything serious enough as to require daily medical supervision.

And if that holds true for most of the Nittany Lions who have been entrusted to Paterno's care, it might be especially so for a blood-and-guts gamer whom he evidently regards as a special member of some inner circle.

Someone, in other words, like senior co-captain Sean Lee.

It has been 25 days since Lee sprained his left knee in Penn State's 31-6 victory over Temple, an injury deemed serious enough to keep the 6-2, 236-pound senior from Pittsburgh sidelined for games against Iowa, Illinois and Eastern Illinois. All of Nittany Nation has been waiting for the word as to when Lee will again be good to go, with indications that his much-expected return will come in Saturday afternoon's Big Ten Conference game against Minnesota in Beaver Stadium.

"Of course, I wanted to get back as soon as possible," said Lee, who, despite failure to obtain medical clearance, spent each of the last three games in full uniform, including pads, while wearing a headset along the sideline. "But I also wanted to do what was best for the team and what was best for me. I didn't want to go out there, be limping around and not play well, and at the same time reinjure myself and be out even longer.

"I think the smart thing was to wait until I felt completely comfortable and 100 percent, then go for it."

Lee said that he is very close to being where he and team doctors want him to be, and that it's almost a given he will be back to doing what he does best against the Golden Gophers, which is to say flying to ballcarriers like a heat-seeking missile.

"I think I'll be 100 percent for sure," Lee said of his easing back into a regular practice schedule this week. "[The knee] is feeling great now. It felt great [Monday]. I don't think it will be an issue."

But Paterno - perhaps remembering all the times Lee played hurt, until he was injured badly enough (a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee) to cost him the entire 2008 season - wants more than educated guesswork.

"It's still not a done deal," Paterno cautioned of Lee's chances of playing against Minnesota. "I'm not sure whether he's going to make it or not this Saturday. Don't count your chickens yet. Sean Lee might not play a down.

"We're going to go along each day and see how he's doing. What we are not going to do is to take any chances with his future. The medical people aren't going to do that, and I'm not, either. It would be selfish on our part and foolish on his if he went in there if he's not completely healthy."

Lee maintains he could have played Saturday, had he been needed, a moot point in a game in which the Nits seized a 38-0 halftime lead en route to a 52-3 blowout of Eastern Illinois.

But what if the opponent had been, say, Ohio State? Would there have been too much of a temptation to push up the timetable for him to make it back onto the field?

"There would have been higher stakes involved," Lee said. "There would have been more pressure on me to play. But the way the season has laid out, where we have these last six Big Ten games, I think I should be ready to go and be my normal self."

With or without Lee and the other All-America candidate at outside linebacker, Navorro Bowman, who missed the first three games with a strained groin, the Nits have been dominant on defense. They lead the Big Ten in rushing defense (81.8 yards per game), scoring defense (10.2 ppg) and total defense (255.7 ypg), and are second in pass defense (173.8 ypg). They also lead the league with 20 sacks.

Makes you wonder how good they would be with Lee and Bowman both healthy.

"I'm excited just to play next to him," Lee said of Bowman. "I think we can make a lot of plays together."

From 2010 through 2013, the Big Ten will participate in six bowl games to be played annually on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, including five contests on Jan. 1. The conference office announced 4-year extensions with the Capital One, Outback and Insight bowls, and new 4-year agreements with the Gator and Texas bowls, as well as the Dallas Football Classic. The Big Ten already is in the midst of an 8-year extension with the Rose Bowl through the 2013 season. *