Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/79325
LAST WORD TIM OWEN | TOWEN@ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M A Grace under pressure s news of the NCAA sanctions settled in, the phones of Penn State's best players lit up. Michael Mauti received more than 100 emails and text messages, along with at least 40 phone calls the day after Mark Emmert's Monday morning news conference. Bill Bel- ton's high school coach fielded his first recruiting call Sunday night, more than 12 hours before the penal- ties were announced. Dozens of schools offered Mike Hull an immedi- ate starting opportunity. Akeel Lynch changed his phone number. The stories go on, and there are about 80 more. For a time, these student-athletes were the hottest commodity in college athletics, whether it was by the NCAA's design or not, and it put them in a situation few could have ever imagined. Some were downright enraged, in- cluding Mauti, probably the last Nit- tany Lion you would want to enrage. "It's an absolute joke," he said dur- ing an animated exchange with re- porters at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. "There have been coaches hounding our players – 10, 12 calls a day." Some of his teammates, however, decided to answer those calls. A few reached out on their own, taking into account the potential for playing time at various schools. Others were se- lective, responding only to a few high-profile schools – the Florida States, Oklahomas and Southern Cals of the world. Some – nine, to be exact – decided to take the NCAA up on its offer to let them leave without penalty. For them, the opportunity to change their circumstances was too tempting to resist. On the surface, it might appear that they bailed on their teammates in a time of adversity, or that they were scared off by the NCAA-crafted anchor attached to the program, or that they bought into some coach's "you're the missing piece of our championship puzzle" spiel. But that wasn't necessarily the case. Like most decisions in life, it wasn't black and white. Many other factors went into it, and when you're talking about 18- to 22- year-old college students, the factors weren't as obvious as Heisman tro- phies, national championships and immediate playing time. Friendships played into it. Families played into it. Girlfriends – former or current – played into it. Careers, aca- demics, ailing parents, and so much more played into the decisions. More than some of us can comprehend. Silas Redd called it a "business de- cision." Though the remark may have rubbed some Penn State fans the wrong way, Redd was only being honest. Of course, he's still a student, but let's be real. He's not taking an office job anytime soon. He'll be an NFL running back in a year or two, and if there were ever a place to prep for a career as an NFL running back, it's USC. For Redd and his family, it real- ly was a business decision. In Anthony Fera's case, he got the chance to play his last two years at home in Texas, close to his mother. When he decided to attend Penn State in high school, he didn't know his mother would soon be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and would no longer be able to attend most of his games. Things change, and if we've learned anything from the past eight months, it's that things change quickly, right before our eyes. Given that change, blame can't be placed on the kids who chose to transfer. This isn't the same Penn State they committed to as high school recruits. It's an in- jured Penn State. Blame the other coaches. Blame each scavenging coach who took ad- vantage of the NCAA's greasy rule, and especially blame the ones who used the "it's part of the rules" ex- cuse. Even more, blame Ohio State, which reached out to Akeel Lynch even after Urban Meyer publicly stat- ed he'd "have a problem" with coach- es recruiting Penn State players. Just don't let the blame spill over to the players who have departed. Rather, refocus that energy into a feeling of pride for the players who have stayed, resisting the temptation of change and the pressure of some of the nation's premier football coaches. The guys like Mauti, who ig- nored every one of those 40 phone calls and deleted each of those 100 or so texts and emails. Or the guys like Belton or Lynch, running backs who still saw Penn State as their best path to the NFL. Or the legacy play- ers like Hull, who, after visiting an- other in-state school, was reassured that Penn State was home. In fact, it was in his blood. Those are the guys who don't see their school as injured. They see it as healing. And they understand that they can play a part in its recovery. But it's a long road back, and these guys won't play for Penn State when it's fully cured, at least not from its five-year probation. The freshmen might never play in a bowl game dur- ing their entire four years, but right now, they, along with the rest of the current squad, plan to stick it out. They want to be part of Penn State's healing process. And for that, they need your sup- port.