Less than two weeks ago it was easy to read Ryan Grube. A smile, as broad as his shoulders, gave him away.
On that day, Media Day at Penn State, Grube was in his game uniform, minus the pads. You don't need pads on Media Day. Only smiles and a positive attitude.
Grube had the right combination. He smiled a lot and he talked so positively, not only about his position with the football team, but also about the team itself and its new, fresh approach.
"I'm pumped," said Grube, a senior leader who showed the enthusiasm of a kid who just arrived on campus. "I've been up here (at Penn State) all summer, working out and preparing for the season. I put on some weight ... I'm up to 242 pounds and I feel comfortable with it."
Those 242 pounds are stretched tightly over Grube's 6-4 frame. He looks the part of a tight end, a position he was asked to play in the spring of 1992. He came to Penn State from Northampton High School as a linebacker, but, he says, "I've been perfectly happy with the switch."
Grube's world crumbled last Wednesday in an intrasquad scrimmage. On the third play someone fell on his knee and "ripped it all up."
It probably means the end of the season, and, maybe, the end of a career.
"I knew right away that it was over," Grube said last night in a telephone conversation from Penn State. "I tried to feel my knee, but nothing was there ... and the swelling. It blew up like a balloon."
Grube is scheduled for surgery on his damaged right knee early next week at the Hershey Medial Center.
"It's a big blow to us, not only because of the position, but because of the person," is how Joe Paterno put it.
Grube's been in pain since the injury, but he says, "the mental part hasn't sunk in yet." Translated, he means that once the season gets started, he might be a little restless, just wishing that he could be playing.
The preseason depth chart had Grube the No. 1 tight end, a position he had earned late last season. He had replaced Kyle Brady, the Harrisburg area product who came to Penn State with All-American written all over him.
"With Ryan and Kyle, we looked at tight end as one of our strongest positions," Paterno said. "They are both big, strong kids, very suited to the position."
Grube's development at tight end had caught the eye of a number of NFL scouts last season and were expected to keep an even closer eye on the sturdy redhead this coming season.
"Sure, I'd like to give the pros a shot," said Grube. "I'm flattered that they had contacted me. That's something everybody who plays major college football looks forward to. If I get the chance, I'll try it ... if not, it won't be the end of the world."
Grube didn't have the pass-catching statistics that Brady or Troy Drayton had last year, but Paterno said repeatedly last year that "Ryan was our best all-around tight end."
Grube's total grasp of the position is what impressed Paterno. "He could carry out his blocking responsibilities," Paterno said.
Grube had been one of the senior players Paterno had tapped on the off-season to help restore team morale that dipped considerably with a 7-5 season.
"Those meetings were very positive," said Grube. "It was a give-and-take thing between the players and the coach."
Grube still figures to be part of the "leadership" corps. Paterno wants him to be a part of it.
The main thing now, however, is the rehab process. "I'm prepared for a long haul," said Grube, "but, hey, there are a lot of people in this world who are a lot worse off than I am."