Following a year of scandal, NCAA sanctions and coaching turmoil, the Penn State Nittany Lions will take to the football field for the first time against Ohio in the team's season opener on Saturday.
Coach Bill O'Brien takes the place of legendary head coach Joe Paterno, who was fired by the university after the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal was uncovered. Paterno was head coach of the team since 1965.
The team is set to play a season unlike any other in the university's history, after the NCAA imposed strict sanctions on the school, including a multi-million dollar fine as well as restrictions on bowl games and Big Ten titles for the next four years.
Coach O'Brien has stood strong in the wake of those sanctions, as well as the departure of key players, such as running back Silas Redd and Tim Buckley, who were allowed to transfer without penalty after the scandal came to light.
"You know, again, I've said this before, that there is a lot of this that is a little bit more than -- about a little bit more than football, and I understand that," O'Brien said to the Associate Press. "But as we head into this first game and we get out there on Saturday, it's about football."
The school has made numerous changes under O'Brien, including the removal of a Paterno statue at the stadium and the addition of player names to the team jerseys. For many years the team kept the same standard uniform, with just the number of each player on the back of the jersey.
The coach will also rely heavily on senior players that decided not to transfer, including starting quarterback Matt McGloin and linebacker Gerald Hodges. Many players as well as coach O'Brien have expressed relief that the focus will now turn to football rather than the sex scandal that made national headlines.
"I think if our guys can control their emotions and play within themselves and not try to be heroes and just play the way they've been playing in practice, then we'll have a shot to control those emotions early on," O'Brien said to the Associated Press. "But it's something that we have talked about and we'll continue to talk about."
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.