NCAA Football

Like Vultures Circling A Plane Crash, Opposing College Coaches Are Staking Out Penn State

by Dan Fogarty | 4:14 pm, July 25th, 2012

A group of roughly 30 Penn State players today walked out of the school’s football building, stood in front of the assembled media, and announced their intention to stay in the pile of flaming wreckage that is the Nittany Lions’ football program.

The announcement was about as orchestrated as something like this can be, and PSU’s official Twitter account made sure that as many people as possible knew about it; there was, after all, supposed to be a mass exodus from the program in the days following the NCAA’s decision to dispense punishments that will cripple the program for the foreseeable future. This was meant to show the world — fans, writers, and potential recruits — that no such large-scale desertion was taking place.

This display of solidarity was a bit misleading, however. Many of the players that were present were the ones least likely to leave — a senior running back here, a fifth-year linebacker with two torn ACLs there — and their decision to ride this thing out isn’t necessarily surprising.

It’s the guys like starting running back Silas Redd that the program should be worried about losing. Redd, who was not one of the 30 who pledged their commitment to stay (and is arguably the team’s best player) has drawn interest from USC. Trojans head coach Lane Kiffin, widely perceived to be one of the most underhanded slicksters in a profession that’s full of underhanded slicksters, pretty much openly recruited Redd during yesterday’s Pac-12 media day. This, despite the fact that Kiffin repeatedly complained about NCAA sanctions allowing his players to leave freely — the same types of sanctions that he’s currently taking advantage of.

Then, there’s this tweet from Penn State safety Adrian Amos, which kind of outlines the current level of creepiness befalling a football team that’s already seen its fair share of creepiness:

We have chosen to stay at Penn State and opposing coaches are outside our apartment, was that the intention of the NCAA? #comeonman

— Adrian Amos (@PSU_Amos_4) July 25, 2012