Blue White Illustrated

just wake up every single morning, max- imize that day." At Penn State, though, maybe more than many of its college football brethren, the big picture has been unmistakably present for the past three years. From the Jerry Sandusky scandal and its devastating fallout, to Louis Freeh's commissioned report, to Mark Emmert and the NCAA's sanctions, to the subse- quent in1ghting of Penn State's board of trustees and administration, to the con- tinuing legal wrangling on multiple fronts, decisions and events that have a far-reach- ing e3ect have been a seemingly constant presence. So it was Sept. 8 when, for the second time in 12 months, Penn State athletics integrity monitor Sen. George Mitchell recommended a further reduction of the NCAA's sanctions against the football program. Only two years a4er levying some of the harshest penalties against any program in its history, the NCAA again relented, restoring bowl eligibility and eliminating all remaining scholarship re- strictions. E3ectively, all penalties directly a3ecting Penn State's current football student- athletes had been li4ed. Publicly and privately de1ant toward the NCAA's decision – most notably with the Michael Mauti and Michael Zordich led statement delivered in July 2012 on the Lasch practice 1elds – players at PSU met the news with jubilation. It had been more than two years since some players were pushed to abandon teammates and transfer to other programs at no cost to their eligibility. An overwhelming number stayed, however, despite losing opportunity to compete for a championship and losing some of their most talented team members. Now the perseverance has come full cir- cle. "The whole thing has been kind of a roller coaster ride, a lot of ups and downs," senior linebacker Mike Hull said. "It was kind of tough initially. As soon as the sanctions were put on us, I was expecting to ride it out just how it was. Just play for each other and play for the Penn State community. "Fortunately, [the sanctions] were re- duced and I think a lot of the guys, es- pecially the seniors, are really excited about that." Really, really excited, according to the photos, videos and comments from players that were shared via social media and press conferences following the NCAA's decision. Hull, 2anked by senior teammates Jesse STAYING POWER After the NCAA's an- nouncement, Franklin honored the 49 players who stayed committed to PSU throughout the sanction period, includ- ing Christian Hacken- berg and C.J. Olaniyan, at a team meeting. Photo by Kelsie Netzer

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