Back in July when the NCAA levied harsh and unprecedented sanctions on the Penn State football program following the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal, many thought that the Lions would struggle to recover-if ever.
Five months later on National Signing Day, the Nittany Lions landed 17 commitments, with eight of those coming after those sanctions were lowered on the program and a top-40 class according to Rivals.com. How did they do it? Easy, it was all about their coach Bill O’Brien, and an unlikely source: the recruits themselves.
O’Brien held the 2013 class together in part because he’s a terrific coach, and in part because players want to play for him in Happy Valley. It takes a special person to convince and persuade people to be innovators, groundbreakers-especially young kids. Bill O’Brien is one of those people.
After the sanctions were levied in July, Penn State’s cavalcade of prospective 2013 recruits flocked to State College for answers from O’Brien himself. He met with t...
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