Preseason practice is less than a week old and Penn State linebacker Dan Connor already misses his longtime sidekick, Paul Posluszny.

"Paul and I were great friends," Connor said. "When we were teammates, we were like brothers. The big difference now is that he has a lot more money.

	John Beale, Post-Gazette Penn State linebacker Dan Connor's 112 tackles last season ranked second on the team, topped only by Paul Posluszny. Click photo for larger image.

"He's got a couple of million in his bank account, and I've got about 50 cents."

Posluszny, a two-time All-American from Aliquippa, was a second-round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills in April's NFL draft. His four-year deal included $2.55 million in guaranteed money and could be worth more than $5 million overall.

Posluszny moved from outside to inside linebacker before his senior season with the Nittany Lions in 2006.

Connor made the same move this spring. The preseason All-American candidate from Wallingford, Pa., is hoping to duplicate Posluszny's spectacular senior season.

"He just has to play like Dan Connor and not anybody else," coach Joe Paterno said.

Connor was a finalist for the Bednarik Award last year, which Posluszny won for the second year in a row as the nation's top defensive player.

Connor briefly considered foregoing his final year to enter the NFL draft after earning first-team All-America honors from The Sporting News and a second-team berth on The Associated Press team.

His 113 tackles ranked second on the team, topped only by Posluszny's 116. Connor has 274 career tackles, 98 shy of Posluszny's school record.

"You can't really compare me with Paul," Connor said. "Our styles of play are a little different and our attitudes are different. Paul's a great guy, a straight shooter. He's honest, straight-edged. I'm a little more laid back."

Even so, Connor and Posluszny will be forever linked.

The two star linebackers squared off against each other in the 2002 PIAA Class AAA championship game. Posluszny, then a senior, led Hopewell High School to a 21-10 victory against Connor's Strath Haven team.

Posluszny later served as Connor's host for his official visit to Penn State.

Both broke into the starting lineup as freshmen at Penn State, albeit a year apart.

"If you ask me, I'd say Paul's better," Connor said. "If you ask him, he'd probably say the opposite."

Connor was suspended for the first three games of the 2005 season after participating in a series of prank phone calls to former Penn State assistant Joe Sarra.

But Connor has managed to stay out of Paterno's doghouse since that incident. Now Paterno is counting on Connor for his leadership.

The Nittany Lions return 15 starters, including six on defense.

Connor, however, is the lone senior on a unit that should rank among the elite in the Big Ten.

"He's going to have to be a leader," Paterno said. "I was just telling some people that Dan's the only real senior that's going to be a big player. And we've talked about, 'You've got to be a leader, and you're a guy that's been around the block, been in some trouble yourself, know how you got in it, and maybe haven't been that serious. You've got to step in there once in a while.'

"But on the other hand, I don't want him to think he's got to carry the football team. Then he starts to do things that are not Dan Connor. Some of the other guys have to step up to the plate."

Connor, who is 6 feet 3, played at 225 pounds last season. He has bulked up to 239.

He believes he can put up bigger numbers now that he is the man in the middle at the school that has re-established itself as "Linebacker U."

"I feel good running and moving around," Connor said. "Hopefully, it'll give me some extra pop on my hits this season."