NOTEBOOK \ Penn State football

Posluszny's future: There's at least one more game left in linebacker Paul Posluszny's collegiate career -- the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3 against Florida State. Whether the linebacker sticks around Happy Valley for his senior season is unclear. Posluszny said Friday that while he wants to come back to Penn State next season, he wasn't 100 percent certain on what he would do. "I just want to weigh my options really and come back to that after the season," he said. Posluszny had said earlier this year that he was most likely returning to Penn State. But that was long before he received a slew of awards for helping the Nittany Lion defense hold opponents to 16.5 points per game, good for 11th out of 117 Division I-A teams. The guy that teammates call "Puz" has won the Chuck Bednarik Award, given to the nation's top defensive player as well as the Butkus Award for being the top linebacker. He has also been named to the AP's All-America team. Posluszny, a captain, is quiet off the field but is known for his intensity on the field. He wants to make sure his teammates get their due for helping him with his play -- he has a team-leading 111 tackles and ranges from sideline to sideline to make hits. It's those teammates that are the biggest pull for him to return to State College. "I don't want to leave them," he said. "They are like brothers. We'll be friends the rest of our lives. That's the big thing." He also wants to have a one-on-one chat with Coach Joe Paterno after the season to get his advice. "He will have a good amount of input, and that will have a big impact on my decision," he said.
Williams' prognosis: Freshman wideout Derrick Williams, who has been sidelined since October with a broken left arm suffered in the loss to Michigan, is now listed as "possible" on Penn State's injury list. Paterno last week had said that doctors were evaluating Williams each week, though it was still unclear whether he would be available for the Orange Bowl. Williams this year has caught 22 balls for 289 yards and a touchdown. Paterno has used his game-breaking speed on the ground, as well, where Williams has rushed 22 times for 105 yards and three scores. "I definitely will take him any day of the week to have him back," said teammate Deon Butler, who has a team-leading 36 catches for 678 yards and nine touchdowns. "But in the long run, if it jeopardizes his future, I would want to have him miss one game."
Schedules: Purdue and Wisconsin won't play Penn State in 2009 and 2010 as part of the Big Ten's scheduling rotation, announced earlier this week. In 2009, the Nittany Lions will get conference home games against Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State and Indiana, as well as non-conference contests at Beaver Stadium against Temple and Syracuse. The home schedule for 2010 so far includes Illinois, Michigan, Northwestern and Michigan State.
Associated Press