Group of players reaffirm commitment to PSU
- A group of 25 players led by Zordich and Mike Mauti reaffirmed their commitment to stay at Penn State this morning. Notably, Silas Redd was not present. It will be interesting to see if PSU brings Redd to B1G Media Days this week as originally planned.
Video of statement:
Arnd 2 dozen PennSt players make commitment to program this AM. RT @Ben_Jones88 Silas Redd was NOT one of players at the statement
EDIT #2:
-The previous report on Silas Redd is false. PSU is taking no players to Media Days. Commence Silas Redd speculation again.
No Penn State players will attend Big Ten media days. Silas Redd, John Urschel and Jordan Hill had been scheduled to attend.
- Also in other news, the Freeh Report has been updated to correct some errors. Doesn't really change anything in the report but will probably give more fuel to the more delusional segments of the PSU fanbase who continue to refuse to accept the facts contained within it.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/07/penn_state_freeh_report_update.html
the whole. I can understand that. I can also understand people feeling it is too soon. I also laughed at Shane Morris doing a photoshopped handstand where that statue used to stand.
The players and the new coaching staff had nothing to do with it and deserve to be treated like crap, just as we would treat any other respected foe.
If a video on a blog is going to bother them, wait until someone across the line of scrimmage starts in about the goings on in their locker room.
but that was hilarious. I nearly spit out my coffee onto my keyboard as I watched this.
Not saying I find humor in any way shape or form in this situation, but I bet you at least chuckled a bit.
good one! As a side note, I hope a lot of players stay....I always liked Penn State. (helped that we beat them a lot...)
(WFBlue, it's funny because that's the bball team being announced for March Madness)
Those who stay at PSU may not be champions on the field, but they will certainly have a stronger bond with each other than they otherwise would have.
Yes... they really have nothing to lose and no expectations... any win will be huge, and these kids will have gone through hell together, I can see a certain appeal to staying.
That's less than 30% of the team. Even if the other 65 aren't leaving (and I doubt they would), you've got to wonder how much time they're devoting to the upcoming season at this point. A lot of those guys are fielding calls from other coaches telling them how bad Penn State is likely to be, and every time they turn on ESPN it's more of the same. I'd be pretty down if I was in their shoes.
Man it was painful to hear those guys talk, good intentions but poor execution. Not sure if it would have been better for them to script that (which it really seemed they did) or to wing it. They won't be politicians one day, we know that at least.
Also remember that these kid have an open door to transfer at any time, so it might be interesting to see if any of these 25 have a change of heart after the end of this season...
I'm sure some guys are home for the summer, some have summer jobs and couldn't get off for a press appearance. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the fact that some guys weren't there. Just wait and see.
PSU's new JoePa Lite was on M&M this morning and was asked about coaches recruting his players. He mentioned the names of a few coaches (Ferentz was among them) who had contacted him to tell him they were interested in his guys and would be recruiting them. He also implied that he felt some other guys who had contacted his players were classless, since they had not contacted him to discuss it.
He did NOT mention Lane Kiffin among the coaches who had contacted him.
Also, at one point in the interview, when asked why a player would play at Penn State, O'Brien answered, "Where else can you play in front of 108,000 fans six or seven times a year?" To which I started screaming at the radio, "MICHIGAN! ONLY IT'S 110,000+!"
He was interviewed yesterday on the Dan Patrick show and he mentioned that several times as well. I understood the message he was going for come on, man. We were playing in front of 100,000+ crowds decades and decades before Penn State added their 15th expansion to go over the 100,000 mark.
Come on now.....they may have had 15 expansions to reach the 100k mark but you have to admit they were damn stylish expansions!
That stadium looks downright unstable. It's a good thing State College isn't in an earthquake zone.
He said it's maybe the best stadium in college football. I'm guessing he thought the Metrodome was maybe the best in baseball.
Say what you will about that stadium, they have a damn good home field advantage...those white outs are insane...
Wish we had that in us sometimes
Great crowd, ugly stadium.
It will be easy to remove the extra 60,000 seats they will have. I hope they didn't lose the little screw driver and wrench.
I wonder if PSU will actually have 108,000 fans in the stands for any games in the next few years. I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of empty seats.
I find it sad how Mlive has a poll up about what you would do if you were Zettle. I think the man deserves some space and privacy in terms of making a huge decision yet again on his future with college football.
I know they are considered amateurs because they are not paid, but when you consider the media attention and scrutiny these guys endure they are essentially professionals.
considered amateurs and essentially professionals. If I had a program of my own, classes on speaking to the media and other idiots would be a requirement. I think some kind of seminar might have helped here, but taken as part of the grand scheme of what has happened at PSU, what the players say is the least of their worries.
Putting yourself in a current PSU player's situation, what would you do? I'm curious to hear people's thoughts. Assuming I played for the team I have loved my entire life (Mich), I can't possibly imagine going anywhere else and wearing another uniform other than the maize 'n blue.
If I was only a year in I'd leave, if I was looking to go pro I'd leave to get better exposure, if I wasn't a fan before I'd leave. Its a very personal decision obviously but those would be my first criteria
How are you going to get better "exposure" than playing at PennState the next two years? O'Brien is also tied into the NFL fairly well, so if I'm a Jr. or Sr. looking to go pro, I stay.
I think most will stay, especially seniors who have more to lose if they go. Younger players will consider leaving and they will certainly lose a bunch of their most talented younger players who have most of their careers ahead of them and want to compete for things, and win. That will likely result in PSU fielding a decent team this year and not again for a long while.
I would stay, and I think mose would (and will). Entering freshmen excepted, since they have virtually no investment in Penn State at all yet, there's a lot more to leaving a program than the football stuff. If you've been in college for a year or more, you have a lot of close friends you see every day. You have roommates, and a house/apartment/dorm you like. You might have a professor or advisor you've gotten comfortable with. You might have a girlfriend or love interest you've spent time pursuing (or multiple). You have your favorite restaurants, bars and maybe the place you get your haircut. You have a schedule that you're used to. You likely have a degree you're pursuing. And - you have this school spirit you've developed after about 20 minutes of living on campus that's hard to turn off.
Not every kid has all of these things, but they all have most of them. Point is, transfering schools is a lot bigger than bowl games and depth charts. For a few guys, those will trump the rest. But not for most.
Am I any good? Honestly, any good player that would definitely start for another major FBS team is probably stupid to stay. More marginal players are probably better off staying because they are going to get more playing time now than they would have otherwise.
"Putting yourself in a current PSU player's situation, what would you do?"- nickbob
If I have formed bonds, made friends and invested myself in the team and the school, I would stay, and I think that is part of the reason why these players made that video. This is the very question for which these players are providing an answer. Through all this, that team has probably bonded in a way that few groups ever do even in adverse situations, for they personally have nothing to hide and nothing to lose at this point. It would seem to me that - expectations gone - the only thing they really have now is their loyalty to the school. I think there's something to be said for expressing that loyalty in the most trying circumstances.
I think current players are likely to stay but I'm sure there will be some coaches who view this as college football's first free agency period. Personally I don't see how you can keep locker room morale up by going after PSU players but coaches have to make that decision themselves. Recruits are a whole other beast, I expect PSU to be left with a MAC level class for 2013.
I'd rather go to several MAC schools than Penn State at this point.
That assumes that a person will actually get a better education at PSU than a MAC school. That's not necessarily true. If we're being honest, the quality of education you get probably doesn't vary much from one university to the next. The real "difference" between schools is probably just the amount of prestige associated with having a degree from the school. In the case of PSU, that prestige has been tarnished by this scandal (which may be unfair, but it's reality).
If I'm an HR director looking through resumes and I see "Penn State University," I'm probably going to think of the scandal and the creepy cult of JoePa that exists there. It might well influence me not to hire that candidate. Even though it's unfair, our minds can make those kinds of snap judgments. The entire PSU alumni pool has to live with this albatross.
Do NOT read comments about the Freeh report corrections. You will regret it. I got to this and just had to close the browser window and berate myself for even wandering down this path:
"I am also tired about hearing about the victims. We all feel very bad for them but they had their victory in Court and will be paid large some of money. They sat silent for years."
The author had the name "PSUDAD"
Obviously written by Jerry Sandusky
I know the players can transfer and immediately become eligible, but is there a time limit for that? Can a guy transfer a year from now and play right away at his new school?
They can transfer and be immediately eligible until the 2013 season starts. They can even transfer during this season and immediately play for their new team as long as they hadn't appeared in any games.
this morning that Jordan Hill was intending on staying, can't remember where???/ SB Nation? just google "Jordan Hill transferring from Penn State..."
Meh. This is a team that barely beat Indiana and got crushed by Houston. Not liek they're going to win that many games this year anyways.
I bet Rodriguez is one of the coaches that isn't asking the PSU coach before he recruits his players. He sounded pretty pissed that they didn't show the respect to at least ask him first even though he can't say no.
why?
No Penn State players will attend Big Ten media days. Silas Redd, John Urschel and Jordan Hill had been scheduled to attend.
— Rittenberg/Bennett (@ESPN_BigTen) July 25, 2012