It is Ty's time.

When Penn State opened its 2007 football season Saturday afternoon at home against Florida International, Butler graduate Tyrell Sales was scheduled to be in the starting lineup at outside linebacker.

This isn't the first time Sales has started a game for the Blue and White. He started three games at middle linebacker as a redshirt freshman in 2005 when a teammate was sitting out a suspension.

Now Sales is starting because the outside linebacker spot is

his position. He earned it by beating out a strong push by Navarro Bowman in training camp.Sales will be playing alongside two stellar linebackers in Butkus Award candidate Dan Connor in the middle and Sean Lee on the other side. Connor had 113 tackles a year ago and Lee contributed 90.By design, Nittany Lion linebackers make a lot of tackles.So is it really Ty's time?One can only hope so. He's earned it.Sales may have been the best athlete in the WPIALin recent years who never went to the playoffs. He led the Golden Tornado in tackles while he played for Butler, had numerous quarterback sacks and tackles for loss, returned two interceptions for touchdowns, yet he never reached the postseason.He scored more than 1,200 points for the basketball team, giving the Tornado a dominant presence inside on both offense and defense, piling up double-digit rebound totals every night and blocking a few shots.Again, no playoff appearance to show for his efforts.When he accepted a scholarship from Penn State, some critics believed he would never play there — then he got on the field his freshman year.This summer, he was among a few Penn State players allegedly involved in a scuffle at an off-campus party. Charges were filed against him and Sales' doubters resurfaced — but he was exonerated of any wrongdoing by the courts.Through it all, Sales has achieved Academic All-Big Ten honors the past two years as a marketing major.Now he's realizing a dream, starting for one of the best defenses in major college football and a team ranked among the Top 20 in the nation. He's playing for coach Joe Paterno during the season JoePa is breaking Amos Alonzo Stagg's record of 41 years at the helm of the same program.This is Paterno's 42nd season as Nittany Lions' head coach.Penn State's defense allowed only 9.28 points per game over the final seven contests last year. Six starters return from that unit, but Connor is the only senior starter.Sales is part of a defense that will be back in full force for his senior year.Some might say Sales was destined to become a Nittany Lion. He was born Jan. 1, 1986, the day unbeaten Penn State faced Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.Is he destined to become part of Penn State's Linebacker U legacy?He knows the question. This weekend, it's Ty's time to start answering.John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle.