STATE COLLEGE -- Linebacker U. has some big shoes to fill this year.

Dan Connor took his school-record 419 career tackles to the NFL. Standout two-year starter Sean Lee is out for the year with a right knee injury.

So coach Joe Paterno and No. 22 Penn State are looking for a new vocal leader on the field, a Paul Posluszy-type presence to pace the corps of mostly young linebackers.

"Whether we've got the kind of a guy like a Paul or a Connor or a Lee that can get in that huddle when the going gets tough and say, 'Look, you do this,' I don't have a feel for that yet," Paterno said.

Senior Tyrell Sales wants to change Paterno's mind. He's talking like he can be the leader.

"It's one of those things that you have to be able to do. Demand respect when respect is needed to be demanded," Sales said. "I feel like I do have those qualities."

Lee is a captain, though he'll spend 2008 as an unofficial coach on the sideline. Sales is the only senior on a unit filled mainly with young, though promising, players.

Sales certainly has the experience. He started three games his freshman year in 2005 in the Nittany Lions' ride to the Orange Bowl, and served as key backup on an '06 corps led by Posluszny and Connor. He started 12 games at outside linebacker last season, getting 50 tackles and three sacks.

But Sales has never been the go-to guy at Penn State, which is steeped in linebacker tradition. A Penn State linebacker has won the last three Bednarik Awards for best collegiate defensive player, and guys like Lavar Arrington, Shane Conlan and Jack Ham became stars playing under JoePa.

Lee could have been the marquee linebacker this year if not for the injury in spring practice. He's walking around now but won't see the field until 2009.

"He thinks it's harder coaching than it is playing," defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said of Lee, known for his fiery on-field demeanor.

Besides Sales, sophomore Bani Gbadyu and junior Josh Hull top the depth chart at the other two linebacker spots. Two other sophomores, Navorro Bowman and Chris Colasanti, also saw playing time last year and look to be the future of the position, and there are a stable of promising freshmen behind them, too.

But none of them have the credentials that Connor or Lee had.

"What I've tried to emphasize to a lot of the young guys is to be detailed at practice," Lee said. "You have to be focused on every little detail, because when it comes to the game, you practice how you play."