PSU players adjust to changes

Stefen Wisniewski has established himself as Penn State's starting right guard as a sophomore.

His reward next year could be a position switch to center.

So it goes in the world of college football, where players are shuffled around in the best interest of the team.

In the case of Wisniewski, a former Central Catholic star, he would step in for A.Q Shipley, a redshirt senior who won't be back in 2009. Wisniewski already is taking 20 or so snaps at center in practice, so he can step in if Shipley is injured.

"Just enough to know what I'm doing and get some footwork down," Wisniewski said.

Wisniewski already knew a lot about the center's assignments from playing next door.

Looking at 2009 and a switch to center, Wisniewski said, "I think that's definitely a possibility. I don't really mind. I like both (positions)."

Defensive end Josh Gaines was involved in a position switch last week, seeing some time at defensive tackle in the opener with Coastal Carolina. The tackle position was weakened by the loss of Chris Baker and Phil Taylor for disciplinary reasons and Devon Still because of a broken ankle.

Gaines, 6-foot-1, 273 pounds, hadn't played defensive tackle since his freshman season in high school, after which he dropped 50 pounds and moved to linebacker. But he got moved there last week in practice and saw time at tackle during the opening game.

"At first, I was a little skeptical of being able to go down there," he said. "D-ends don't want to go down there. I tried to keep weight off, so I didn't have to go down there. But I feel comfortable. I actually like it."

Penn State coach Joe Paterno explained the move as one made out of a confluence of ability and necessity.

"He's big enough to play in there," Paterno said of Gaines. "We've got some young kids who are probably better off at defensive end, and if we got someone banged up inside, I don't know if we have enough depth inside right now."

The Nittany Lions also played freshman defensive tackle Jack Crawford against Coastal Carolina in their search for depth.

Brett Brackett, who got a start in the opener as a slot receiver in a four-wide receiver set, also is the product of a position change. The 6-foot-6 Bracket came to Penn State because, unlike some other schools, the coaches were recruiting him as a quarterback, not as a tight end or receiver.

But Brackett was called upon to impersonate former Notre Dame receiver Jeff Samardzija on the scout team as a redshirt freshman in 2006.

"They threw me out there to try that, and I guess I did better than they expected," Brackett said.

The position switch became official last year. Brackett's size provides a changeup to the smaller trio of Derrick Williams, Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood.

But defensive back Lydell Sargeant said it's a mistake to presume Brackett is just tall.

"Brett's a guy who's already (6-6), and his vertical is ridiculous," Sargeant said. "I think he can do like a 360 dunk. He's a really good athlete. If the ball's there and the quarterback really places the ball well, I don't think there's a corner in the country that can stop it."

Starting strong safety Mark Rubin had 16 catches as a freshman wide receiver in 2004, but he sat out '05 with an injury and re-emerged in '06 playing defense and offense. He shifted to defense entirely in 2007 and started the last five games last season.

Additional Information:

Making a move

Here's a list of some high-profile Penn State position changes:

Brett Brackett : Starting wide receiver began as quarterback

Mark Rubin : Starting strong safety began as wide receiver

Josh Gaines : Starting defensive end could see more time at tackle

Stefen Wisniewski : Starting right guard takes practice snaps at center and likely will play there in 2009