Blue White Illustrated

Logan Cramer III In his first season as a head coach, Bill O'Brien led Penn State to an 8-4 record and a 6-2 mark in the Big Ten. It was the winningest season by any first-year coach in the program's 126-year history, and the Nittany Lions' success in the face of myriad offthe-field challenges led to O'Brien's selection as Bear Bryant Coach of the Year, among other national and Big Ten honors. 0 Under different circumstances, those results might be viewed as the prelude to an even bigger 2013 season. But things aren't getting any easier for O'Brien, even though he's become one of the game's most prominent figures after just one year on the sideline. In fact, they're getting a lot harder. The Nittany Lions must rebuild a defense that was hit hard by graduation, and they have to hope that one of their two young quarterback prospects seizes the reins in preseason practice. Compounding their personnel problems are the NCAA sanctions, which are starting to erode the team's depth in several key spots even though the 65-player scholarship cap won't officially take effect until next year. 0 But despite the graduation losses and the NCAA-imposed challenges, there's a hopeful feeling in the air as Penn State enters year two of the O'Brien era. It's due not only to the team's strong finish last year and its recent recruiting successes, but to O'Brien himself. He's a straightforward, take-charge guy who has made the best of a difficult situation. 0 Blue White Illustrated's Nate Bauer recently caught up with the second-year head coach for an exclusive one-on-one interview about the Nittany Lions' off-season preparations and his approach to the 2013 campaign.

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