Senior linebacker Brandon Bell participated in Wednesday's practice. He has not seen game action since Week 2.

They're baa-aack.

Penn State starting linebackers Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda took reps in practice this week after missing the last month-plus due to differing injuries. Both veterans saw time at their respective strongside and middle linebacker positions as part of a rotation in the team's final session Wednesday, a weekly period the media is allowed to observe. Tuesday's practice was the first time Bell or Cabinda participated in live action since going down during the initial weeks of the season.

In turn, expectations for the duo's return against Ohio State on Saturday night are being tempered.

"They haven't been doing anything or about a month, so for us to expect that they're going to go in and start and play 60 plays a game, they won't," Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said. "But there's no doubt that the fact that they're back provides depth and leadership that we've been lacking."

Franklin joked that Cabinda, fiery by nature, had been itching so badly to see the field he was getting into fistfights with the doctors and trainers. Meanwhile, the ever even-keeled Bell stayed more steady in his recovery.

Their long absences from the field, however, yielded identical side effects on Tuesday.

"I thought yesterday Jason probably practiced at a higher level than we expected; Brandon, as well. But both of them, as the practice went on, you could tell they wore down," Franklin said. "They're just not used to practicing and going at that level and type of intensity. As much as you want them to do other things, it's just not the same.

"There's still some time, but again I don't see them playing 65, 70 plays in a game. We'll see."

Jason Cabinda returned to his familiar middle linebacker spot this week in practice.

Speaking with local media Wednesday morning, senior defensive end Evan Schwan said the return of either 'backer would have a ripple effect throughout the entire defense.

“It makes a huge difference," Schwan said. "Having them out there being able to delegate the defense and kind of just be leaders on the field, it just helps everything run a lot more smoothly and everyone can be on the same page.”

Intensity rises for Buckeyes

Ideally, every practice would run the same in James Franklin's eyes.

They would feature matching intensity, effort and execution each time the Lions took the field mid-week.

But, as he admits, there's human nature element at play on every snap. And that came to life in practice Wednesday via a greater energy, as the team obviously knows a big-time opponent lies ahead.

"The intensity should not have been higher this week. That naturally happens, but if your approach is right and your process is right, you should go out and practice every, single week with the same type of intensity because it's really not about your opponent. It's about the standards you have in your program," Franklin said.

"I did think there was a little extra intensity today in practice. I wouldn't necessarily say at this point it was the cleanest practice that we've had. But I thought the intensity was really good."

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