Last Saturday against Indiana, Penn State's starting right tackle, Chima Okoli, was benched after taking a false start penalty in the game against the Hoosiers. It appears Paterno plans on sticking with Okoli moving forward, however, noting he's been playing hurt much of the season.
"Chima should be one of the better tackles around," Paterno said. "He's really playing hurt. That's to his credit."
Michael Farrell replaced Okoli at right tackle after the penalty, and Paterno said he wants to get the junior on the field to "move him along." Don't expect him to supplant Okoli as the starter in the near future, though.
Overall, Paterno is pleased with his offensive line at the moment, noting that while it still has a lot of work to do, things are trending in the right direction for the team.
"I think we're making progress," Paterno said. "I thought we did some things [at practice] we had to do but we obviously have to get better."