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know what Penn State stands for, both on and off the field," he said. "I had a feel for that. I think the last time I was here was 1987 or 1988, and you just come in and you play, and you win or you lose, and you leave. But coming back and being around here and get- ting a feel for really what Penn State is about, it's a very unique place, and I think very special. I think there are about seven or eight places in college football that are really like 'wow' places, and this is one of those places." The other challenge, of course, was to answer the questions that arose in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scan- dal. Recruits and their families had concerns, and it was up to the new coaches to assure them that the pro- gram was in good hands. "They wanted to know how we were going to move forward, what the vision was for the future," London said. "There were very few questions about the past. 'Where is this program going to go? What can you do for our son ac- ademically?' " For decades, Penn State had the most reassuring answers in all of col- lege sports. Its graduation rate was consistently among the highest in the nation, and Joe Paterno used to de- light in telling recruits that every player who had used all of his eligibil- ity at Penn State had either played on an undefeated team or played for a na- tional championship. As the years went on and his career entered its fifth decade, Paterno was no longer able to make that claim. The Lions slipped a bit on the field (though not in the classroom), and eventually Paterno scaled back his involvement in the team's recruiting, preferring to meet with recruits on campus or via video conferencing. But Paterno had built an institution, not a personal empire, and when the school's new coaches met with recruits, they talked about the educational values that their legendary predeces- sor had instilled in the program, val- ues that they said they were deter- mined to uphold. "This is a very special place," London said, "and it takes a special type of kid to go here. We just conveyed that mes- sage. Your son can go here and be a part of something special. He can be a building block for the future." W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M NATE BAUER N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M O'Brien makes a welcome return to PSU P enn State players had been waiting for this day. Of course, many of them wished new head coach Bill O'Brien had returned to State College on Feb. 7 with some new jewelry. Still, either way, he's back. When O'Brien returned for his first full day as the Nittany Lions' new head coach, free of his re- sponsibilities to the New England Patriots, players were admittedly excited. Said one team source, "We were all hoping he would come back with a Super Bowl ring, obvious- ly. But selfishly, we're just happy to get him back and start prepar- ing. We want him to get us ready to play and learn our new sys- tem." For players, the weeks following O'Brien's appointment as head coach were, if anything, even more difficult than the tumul- tuous 2011 season. It was hard enough coping with Joe Paterno's dismissal in November and the upheaval that followed; it was even harder to come to terms with his passing in January. "It took a toll on a lot of us," junior running back Silas Redd said earlier this month. "Almost everybody did the honor guard those two or three days his casket was still on display, and all of us went to the memorial. It was a hard time around here for a little bit." The emotions of many Nittany Lions are hard to put into words. Though many team sources would be willing to acknowledge, off the record, that Paterno's hip injury last August limited him this past season – just as other ail- ments had done in recent years – none wished to show any disre- spect by expressing the sentiment that Paterno's effectiveness as M A R C H 2 , 2 0 1 2 27 head coach had probably dimin- ished. Quite the opposite, in fact. No matter how much of an icon Paterno had become to the public in the final years of his life, to many of Penn State's current players, he was still identified as their coach. Paterno's influence, though maybe not as intensely personal as in the past, was still great. So when asked by this reporter recently about the impact of Pa- terno's passing on the team's ef- forts to move forward, Redd of- fered a heartfelt response that came as little surprise. "Now that we know that he's at peace, I think we can – not turn the corner – but just move on a little bit and embrace everything that's going on around here now with the new coaches and Coach O'Brien and workouts and things like that." At this point, the opportunity to focus once again on football is welcome. The overwhelming sentiment from within the walls of the Lasch Building is of support for the Nit- tany Lions' new head coach, and maybe more important, the step toward normalcy his presence represents.

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