Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Penn State linebacker Sean Lee goes after a loose ball against Akron's Tim Crouch Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Click photo for larger image. logo call goes here

Name the Penn State defense anything you like. That seemed to be the theme after its opening victory Saturday against Akron.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno referred to it as a 4-3. Akron coach J.D. Brookhart called it a 3-4. Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said you can call it either.

Whatever you want to refer to Penn State's defensive alignment -- in a nutshell, it's a four-linebacker set, but one of them is a stand-up defensive end -- know this about the premise behind it: Sean Lee forced the move, and Tim Shaw is making a personal sacrifice to make it work.

Lee, a 6-foot-2, 222-pound sophomore from Upper St. Clair, made the first start of his college career at outside linebacker against Akron, the first of what figures to be a long and decorated career.

Here's all you need to know about what the Penn State coaches think about Lee: They took Shaw, a senior and two-year starter at middle linebacker, and moved him to what basically amounts to a stand-up defensive end position.

Shaw is not your ordinary linebacker. At 6-1, 237 pounds, he is highly regarded by NFL scouts and is believed to be rated anywhere from a second- to fourth-round pick in the NFL draft in April.

"You want to get your best 11 on the field and they felt this was the best way to do that," Shaw said.

He is sacrificing for the team. Bradley and his teammates praised him for his selfless attitude afterward.

"That's the thing about Tim," linebacker Dan Connor said. "He'll take everything in stride. He's a good soldier. He'll take the order and just do it."

It's a big adjustment for Shaw. He is lined up over tackles or tight ends on almost every play and gives away weight in every encounter. As a linebacker, he was able to react and run to the football.

"It's a lot different," he said. "You're immediately engaged with somebody. You don't have that second to read and run. I know my responsibilities. I'm either going to hold the edge or rush."

Even though he made the transition look seamless Saturday -- he had two sacks and two pass breakups and generally was around the ball all day -- Shaw said it has been a trying couple of weeks learning on the job.

"It's been tough," he said. "I'm still learning. Any time you make a big adjustment like that, it's tough. We have great coaches. I'm just going to continue to learn every day."

Connor and Shaw played extremely well in the new alignment. Connor led the team with 13 tackles and also had two sacks.

"I'm not surprised at all," Shaw said. "We've been working at it, getting better at it."

"We can do more things with that alignment because of the versatility of a guy like Tim Shaw," Bradley said, explaining why the defense is being used.

Lee made six tackles, including 1¹/₂ for losses. He had been All-American Paul Posluszny's backup last season as a true freshman. But his play in practice and in the Orange Bowl against Florida State, in relief of Posluszny, convinced the coaches that he needed to be on the field.

"He played awesome," Connor said.

"He's a great player. I knew it last year. In the Orange Bowl, he got to step in there and we didn't miss a beat. Sean has a ton of talent. He is such a hard worker."

Lee was down after the game Saturday because he didn't believe he played all that well. But Bradley has absolutely no concerns about Lee and the way he fits into the defense.

"I thought Sean played really well in his first game," Bradley said. "I know a couple of times we got a little outflanked, on the one that went around him ... I think he was disappointed. But I never worry about Sean. I think he's his biggest critic. Sean is a guy if he doesn't play perfect he's mad at himself. If he played the best game ever, he'd still think he stunk."

The only linebacker who didn't stand out was Posluszny, who like Shaw, also switched positions. Posluszny has moved from the outside to the inside. He made seven tackles against Akron and had one pass breakup, but it was not a typical Posluszny game.

That's nitpicking. The defense was an unqualified success in its debut. Penn State intercepted two passes from Akron quarterback Luke Getsy, sacked him five times and held him to 160 yards. The rushing defense was impressive, too. Akron running back Dennis Kennedy had 59 yards on 25 carries.

Connor believes things will only get better. After all, the Lions have been playing the defense for only a few weeks and there still are kinks to work out.

"We worked a little 3-4 in the spring," Connor said. "It looked a lot different. It doesn't look like it does now. If I remember right, I think I was up on the line like Tim is. I really didn't understand it in the spring. Then [the coaches] really studied up on it and we put it in this camp.

"With each game, you build confidence and you get comfortable and you know you can make things happen. I think week to week, we'll start anticipating stuff and making big plays."

NOTES -- A couple of changes were made to the depth chart that was released yesterday. Senior Kevin Darling is listed as the starter at tight end ahead of Jordan Lyons and Pat Hall and Tim Shaw is now listed as the starter at left end ahead of sophomore Josh Gaines. Shaw had previously been listed as a linebacker.