UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State has bid adieu to a trio of wide receivers that combined for 498 career catches, 6,529 yards and 44 touchdowns.

Major losses, indeed.

The top four replacements for Deon Butler, Derrick Williams and Jordan Norwood have only 31 receptions for 466 yards and four touchdowns.

Redshirt junior Brett Brackett was recruited as a quarterback in the same class as Pat Devlin, who has since transferred to Delaware. Graham Zug, another redshirt junior, was a walk-on until earning a scholarship last season.

And redshirt sophomore speedsters Chaz Powell and Derek Moye of Rochester High School had only five catches between them last season.

It's a tall order for Brackett (6 feet 6), Moye (6-5), Zug (6-2) and Powell (6-1), even though they represent an upgrade in size over Butler, Williams and Norwood, who were all in the 5-11 range.

There were no players or coaches made available after yesterday's controlled scrimmage in front of a few hundred high school coaches at Holuba Hall, but there were several highlights and observations made during the 100-minute session:

• The Lions have five starters back on offense, including senior quarterback Daryll Clark, redshirt junior tailback Evan Royster, junior center Stefen Wisniewski, senior right tackle Dennis Landolt and senior tight end Mickey Shuler.

Joining the first-team offense yesterday were redshirt freshman left guard Matt Stankiewitch, redshirt junior right guard Lou Eliades, sophomore left tackle DeOn'tae Pannell and Brackett, Powell and Zug at receiver. Redshirt sophomore Joe Suhey is the fullback in the two-receiver set.

• Four starters return on a defense that stole the show yesterday, led by senior right tackle Jared Odrick, redshirt junior left tackle Ollie Ogbu, senior middle linebacker Josh Hull and redshirt junior outside linebacker Navorro Bowman. Linebacker Sean Lee, a fifth-year senior from Upper St. Clair who is being held out of contact drills this spring after missing last year with a torn ACL, is expected to replace Hull in the middle come fall.

• Several Western Pennsylvania players are on the three-deep depth chart. Redshirt sophomore Jon Ditto (Gateway) is a third-team outside linebacker; redshirt freshman Mike Farrell (Shady Side Academy) is a third-team offensive right tackle; redshirt freshman Mike Yancich (Trinity) is a third-team outside linebacker; senior Larry Federoff (Hopewell) is a third-team fullback; and redshirt sophomore Nick Sukay (Greensburg Central Catholic) is a second-team strong safety.

There was some other major news swirling around yesterday.

Quarterback Paul Jones from Sto-Rox, considered the early prize of Penn State's 2010 recruiting class, has informed the Lions' coaching staff that he has had a change of heart and plans to visit other schools. Jones, who gave a verbal commitment to Penn State in January, is rated a five-star recruit by Scout.com, as well as the country's No. 3 quarterback prospect.

He already has visited Ohio State and Pitt and plans to consider West Virginia as well.