Penn State's Powell is quite a piece of (art) work

The modern football game, with its pass-rushing specialists and situational running backs, bears only a passing resemblance to one-platoon football.

Although he is, in many ways, the most contemporary of athletes, Penn State's Chaz Powell also could be considered a throwback to a time when football was played in leather helmets and without face masks. His versatility is his link between then and now. If this were, say, 1950 (the year Joe Paterno arrived in Happy Valley as a 23-year-old assistant coach) instead of 2010, it would be easy to imagine Powell, a redshirt junior, as a diversified product of the era, catching passes, intercepting them, taking handoffs and pitchouts, returning punts and kickoffs.

Heck, the Nittany Lions' "Illustrated Man" already has done all that, if not in the same game. But who knows? He still has 20-plus autumn weekends remaining in what already is an interesting and curious college career.

"I'm going to find a way to get the ball in my hands, no matter what," Powell, then listed as a cornerback, said at Penn State's Media Day on Aug. 12. "I'm prepared for whatever happens."

Of course he is. Listed as a starting cornerback on the depth chart released on Aug. 29, Powell was switched back to wide receiver, the position he played the previous two seasons, earlier this week. He will be running pass routes and returning kickoffs when the 19th-ranked Nits open their 124th season tomorrow afternoon in Beaver Stadium against Youngstown State.

The move likely was precipitated by the fractured left tibia suffered in preseason practice by sophomore wideout Curtis Drake, a big-play threat. Like Drake, Powell can take it to the house if given a little wiggle room.

"We had him on offense, moved him to defense, now we've moved him back to offense," said Paterno, the 83-year-old coaching sage whose tenure has spanned nearly every phase of the college game's evolution. "He's a gifted kid."

Could Powell find his way back into the secondary if circumstances dictate?

"If something happens to one or two of those corners, he might be back on defense," Paterno said.

Powell isn't difficult to spot on the field. Oh sure, his No. 2 is sewn on his jersey. But his wending path from one of the worst areas in Baltimore to the relative tranquility of State College is best described by his assortment of intricate tattoos, nearly 20 at last count. If body art were an Olympic sport at Penn State, Powell would be the football team's gold medalist.

Junior defensive tackle Devon Still, whose arms also are well-inked, was asked if he was the most-tattooed Nit.

"No, no, no," he said, smiling. "I've got a lot of tats, but Chaz has me beat. It's not even close."

Powell's tattoos serve to remind him of a childhood spent with a crack-addicted mother (since recovered), of dangerous drug corners and gang-related shootings, of the love of family members who helped see him through.

"I express my emotions and feelings through artwork," he said. "Everything is like a big story."

Perhaps, were his torso as large as Still's, Powell might have found enough unadorned flesh to permanently celebrate his 55-yard touchdown run against Coastal Carolina and 69-yard kickoff return against Syracuse in 2008, or his 79-yard reception against Iowa and 54-yard kickoff return at Michigan in 2009. But then there wouldn't be enough room to denote future big plays, would there?

"Joe says football is hard work, but we should have fun playing it, too," Powell said. "Me, I'm having a lot of fun. I've shown I can catch the ball, run with the ball. If they want me to play defense again, I'm up for that. Anything to help the team."

3 things to look for:

-- The Nits are saying all the right things, but don't be surprised if they're looking past Youngstown State to their date at defending national champion and top-ranked Alabama. Penn State players want to uphold school and Big Ten pride against the bully boys from the Southeastern Conference.

"That kind of played into it in our game with LSU in the Capital One Bowl," guard Stefen Wisniewski said. "We had that mentality that we were going to represent the Big Ten as best we could."

-- Other than freshman quarterback Robert Bolden, the most scrutinized player will be redshirt junior left tackle Quinn Barham, a backup right guard in 2009. If he can't consistently protect Bolden's blindside, the passing game could be in deep trouble. Bolden will be the third PSU freshman to start a season opener. Shorty Miller was the first, in 1910, and Wally Richardson did it in 1992.

-- Joe Paterno expressed some concern that tailback Evan Royster, just 481 yards from setting the school career rushing record, was a tad heavy at 228 pounds.

"I keep telling him he's not going to have the kind of endurance he needs unless he loses some weight," JoePa said.

Penn State 42, Youngstown State 7.

Who: Youngstown State

at No. 19 Penn State

When: Tomorrow, 12:01 p.m.

Where: Beaver Stadium, State College

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: WNTP (990-AM); WPNV (1440-AM)

History: Penn State won the only previous meeting, 37-3, in 2006. The Nittany Lions scored four times in the final 9 minutes, 51 seconds of the first half en route to 568 net yards, 389 of which came on the ground.

Coaches: Eric Wolford (first year, 0-0), Joe Paterno (45th season, 394-129-3)

Youngstown State update: The Penguins, 6-5 in 2009, were picked to finish seventh in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, their lowest preseason slot since joining the league in 1997 . . . Wolford has 33 new players on the team in what is tantamount to a house-cleaning of the program; 47 players from 2009 have moved on, by their choice or Wolford's . . . Wide receiver Dominique Barnes, who led the MVFC with eight touchdown receptions a year ago, has caught at least one pass in 23 straight games . . . 6-5, 250-pound sophomore defensive lineman Obinna Ekweremuba, a former soccer player, moved from his native Nigeria to Brooklyn, N.Y., and will be appearing in his first varsity game after redshirting a year ago . . . YSU athletic director Ron Strollo will be banking a $450,000 check for this game, which, he says, "is not a bad hourly rate" for a 3-hour game.

Penn State update: The Nits become the first team to play road games against the winners of three Bowl Championship Series games from the previous season: Alabama (BCS national champion), Iowa (Orange Bowl) and Ohio State (Rose Bowl). The BCS started in the 1998 season . . . A year ago, senior tight ends Andrew Quarless and Mickey Shuler combined for 52 receptions. With projected starter Andrew Szczerba, a redshirt junior from Wilmington, Del., likely out with a back injury, converted defensive end Garry Gilliam, a redshirt freshman whose next college reception will be his first, fills in . . . Penn State's defense hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher in the last 16 games, a streak likely to continue. Youngstown State's leading returning rusher is Jamaine Cook, who carried the ball 20 times for 111 yards all season in '09.