STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Penn State's depth is being tested before the Nittany Lions even play a single snap.
Transfers in the aftermath of strict NCAA sanctions and other offseason departures have new coach Bill O'Brien focused not on who has departed, but who will step up in preseason practice.
The leader of this blue-and-white band of replacements might be sophomore Bill Belton, who figures to take over at tailback after 1,200-yard rusher Silas Redd dashed to Southern California.
Belton is a converted wideout who was a run-pass threat as a quarterback in high school.
He's relaying on his brief tenure as Redd's understudy - and tutelage from running backs coach Charles London - to get up to speed on the tailback position.
He better hurry. The season opener is Sept. 1 against Ohio.
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