While promising to uphold the traditions and focus on academics that Paterno championed, O'Brien has also started to imprint his own stamp on the program.
A re-tooled offense based on the pass-happy attack he ran with the Patriots is the biggest change. There's also a new strength and conditioning program based more on Olympic-style lifting and free weights.
"Once we started spring ball, it was really icing on the cake to get out there and just start hitting each other again," defensive tackle Jordan Hill said.
Instead of dividing the entire team into two separate squads for the Blue-White game, Saturday will feature a new "offense versus defense" scoring system. For instance, the defense could score six points for a turnover and four points for a sack.
At least one thing hasn't changed under O'Brien: for the third straight season, Penn State is undecided on its starting quarterback. O'Brien plans to rotate Matt McGloin, Rob Bolden and Paul Jones for equal stints Saturday, and hopes to narrow the field going into the offseason.
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