Seven Penn Staters; defensive end Jack Crawford, cornerback D’Anton Lynn, receiver Derek Moye, cornerback Chaz Powell, defensive tackle Devon Still, linebacker Nate Stupar and guard Johnnie Troutman have been invited to the NFL Combine Feb. 22-28 in Indianapolis.

Penn State‘s seven players is tied for fourth in the nation, surpassed only by Alabama (9), LSU (8) and Wisconsin (8). Oklahoma, Oregon, USC, and Iowa also will have seven participants.

Crawford, Lynn, Powell, Still and Stupar were major contributors to a Penn State defense that ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten and fifth nationally in scoring defense and 20th in the NCAA in total defense.

Crawford, a defensive end, led the Nittany Lions in sacks in 2011 with 6.5, earning second team all-Big Ten honors.

Lynn anchored one of the cornerback spots for Penn State for the last three seasons, starting 30 consecutive games at one point.

Powell made the transition from receiver to cornerback during the 2010 season and became a mainstay in the defensive backfield for the remainder of his career.

Still emerged as one the nation’s most dominant forces from his defensive tackle position in 2011. In addition to being selected as the Big Ten’s Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year and the Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year, the team co-captain earned a spot on 10 All-America teams.

Stupar returned to the starting lineup as Big Ten play began and had a productive season as a member of one the conference’s top linebacking corps.

Moye, a 2011 co-captain, finished his standout career as one of the program’s top all-time receivers.

Troutman became a pillar along Penn State’s offensive line the past two seasons, starting 24 consecutive games and a total of 32 for his career.

When Tom Brady’s Hail Mary pass in the Super Bowl fell incomplete Sunday night, Bill O’Brien’s role as Patriots offensive coordinator ended and he could begin to turn his full attention to running the Penn State football program.

That is not to say that Bill O’Brien has not already started to make his mark on the program even from afar.

There have been some subtle changes; mustaches and beards are now OK, as are hats inside the building, a no-no from the Paterno regime and some not so subtle ones.

O’Brien and new strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald have changed the way that Penn State lifts. Gone are the machine based exercises favored by Paterno’s staff, and instead Fitzgerald has installed a new offseason workout system based on free weights, Olympic-style lifting and squats.

The Olympic lifting program is a good fit is you want to build a more physical group, especially on the line of scrimmage.

“When you pair [Olympic lifting] exercises, you’re going to get a complete, total athlete,” said Scott Gadeken, the head of physical conditioning at the IMG Performance Institute in Bradenton, Fla. “Not only are they going to be strong, they’re going to be fast and explosive.”

Penn State running back Silas Redd says of Fitzgerald:

“He’s one intense guy. He’s ready to work. I think he actually works out before we start, and we start at 5:30 in the morning.”

The biggest difference between Penn State in 2011 and Penn State in 2012 is going to be the offense that the Lions will run. Penn State starting quarterback Matt McGloin recently got a copy of a quarterback manual and what he described as the beginnings of a playbook from O’Brien.

“It’s big. It’s definitely going to be tough to go through,” McGloin said about the playbook. “At the same time, that’s what you want. You want something different.”

GoPSUsports.com talks with Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin about his health, offseason workouts and the mood around the football team:

GoPSUsports.com talks with senior linebacker Michael Mauti about his offseason workouts and the mood around the Penn State football program:

Listen in as GoPSUsports.com’s Tony Mancuso talks with new Penn State Offensive Line Coach Mac McWhorter.

The first recruiting class of Bill O’Brien is now in the books as 19 players today signed National Letters of Intent to attend Penn Stare. The class includes 10 offensive players and nine defensive players.

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the assistant coaches, especially Larry Johnson, who I asked to oversee the (recruiting) transition period here,” said O’Brien. “As evidenced by today, he did a great job of keeping it rolling. The other guys came in there and hit the ground running. One of the things we talked about right off the bat as far as a Penn State football player is concerned, is a smart, tough, instinctive player, with mental toughness and physical toughness, is going to come in there and do the right thing on and off the field,” stated O’Brien. “He’s going to go to class. He’s going to work hard in the classroom. He’s going to come into that building and work very hard to be the best football player he can be. He’s going to be a guy that accepts whatever role we ask him to accept and put the team first. To me we’ve identified these guys in this class as those types of guys and, again, we’re excited about the class.”

GoPSUsports.com talks with Charles London (Running Backs Coach/Recruiting Coordinator), Larry Johnson (Defensive Line Coach) and Stan Hixon (Assistant Head Coach/ Wide Receivers Coach) on 2012 National Signing Day.

GoPSUsports.com’s Tony Mancuso sits down with Penn State football defensive coordinator Ted Roof.

New Penn State coach Bill O’Brien has added two more staffers in special assistant Jim Bernhardt and director of strength and conditioning Craig Fitzgerald.

O’Brien, announced Jan. 7 as Penn State’s coach, is currently working with the New England Patriots as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach as they get ready for Sunday’s Super Bowl against the New York Giants in Indianapolis.

Bernhardt, also director of player development, coached O’Brien when he played at Brown. Bernhardt, who was defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Bears, has also worked at Central Florida.

Fitzgerald has spent the past three years in charge of South Carolina’s strength and conditioning, where he worked with new Penn State secondary coach John Butler. Fitzgerald was on staff at Maryland in 2003-4 with O’Brien. He has also worked at Catholic University, Arizona State and Harvard.

As of today, this is what the Penn State class of 2012 looks like:

By position, the commitments break down as follows: QB – 2, RB – 1, WR – 4 (Malik Golden is being looked at here by the Penn State staff, but a switch to DB is entirely possible), TE – 2, OL – 2, DL – 4, LB – 1, DB – 3. Certain positions have been stocked well (WR, DL), but there are still needs in this class.

Another offensive lineman would be a plus, as well as at least one more defensive back. A second running back would be nice, but unlikely. With only Derek Moye leaving the receiving corps, there is a good possibility that at least one of the four wide receivers in the class will move to the secondary.