Bill O’Brien Restoring Purity in College Football
Posted 7:20 pm
Bill Belichick, Bill O'Brien, Christian Hackenberg, Daquan Worley, Lane Kiffin, Sandusky, Silas Redd, Troy Apke
Photo Courtesy of sportingnews.com
In today’s college football climate it’s no surprise when you see a coach jump ship for greener pastures. When Penn State die-hards turned on the television last summer and heard Mark Emmert’s sanctions against the university, everyone waited for the next press conference introducing the “new” head coach of the Blue and White. Surprisingly, there were no headlines of the new Penn State coach bolting for the NFL and leaving Happy Valley in the pile of blue and white rubble he joined months earlier.
Bill O’Brien immediately separated himself when he chose to stay at the university and fight through the chaos of rebuilding a program in turmoil. The day news broke that Penn State was getting hammered by the NCAA, opposing college coaches immediately began calling current players and recruits trying to entice them to join their programs, selling them the opportunity to win a national title. Leading rusher, Silas Redd, was one of the first to jump ship and took his talents to Hollywood with college football “choir boy” Lane Kiffin. Others followed, but O’Brien continued to show his perseverance and talked various top players to stay and build a new era of “Penn State Football”.
A year later, the Nittany Lions coming off an 8-4 season have fans optimistic about the future and Bill O’Brien has already written his name in Penn State history. When the head coach said, “I’m not one of those one and done guys” it was a breath of fresh air for all college football enthusiasts and guaranteed everyone in State College that the program was moving in the right direction. After the Belichick understudy deflected various offers from the NFL, he immediately hit the ground running on the recruiting trail.
Although some Class of 2013 recruits left for better opportunities, O’Brien did a surprisingly great job keeping a majority of his recruits, lead by All- American signal caller, Christian Hackenberg. What’s more impressive is that O’Brien continues to weather the storm and land top prospects in the Class of 2014. The Nittany Lions recently added Coatesville game-breaker Daquan Worley and sealed the deal with Western PA’s top pass-catcher Troy Apke a few months back.
Penn State still hasn’t fully recovered from the Sandusky Scandal, but fans should feel great about the man that was brought in to replace a legend. During a time where most coaches are more concerned about their wallets, rather than their commitment made to young men. More down to earth, genuine men like O’Brien, are needed to lead the young men and teach them how to fulfill their commitments.
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Bill Belichick, Bill O'Brien, Christian Hackenberg, Daquan Worley, Lane Kiffin, Sandusky, Silas Redd, Troy Apke
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