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STANDING STRONG | Penn State players vow to stay, rebuild program
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Members of the Penn State football team flank senior fullback Michael Zordich, left foreground, and senior linebacker Michael Mauti, right foreground, as the pair made a statement of support for their team on Wednesday in State College, Pa. More than 30 players came together as Zordich, a Cardinal Mooney graduate, and Mauti announced to the world: “We’re going to see this thing through,” then they all walked off the field together and back into the building.
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Associated Press
The Penn State football players looked on stoically as two of their teammates announced to the world: “We’re going to see this thing through.”
There were no smiles or slaps on the back among the more than 30 Nittany Lions who huddled outside the school’s football facility Wednesday morning. After the statement was read, they turned around and walked back into the building.
“We want to let the nation know that we’re proud of who we are,” senior fullback and Cardinal Mooney graduate Michael Zordich said, flanked by his fellow players. “We’re the true Penn Staters, and we’re going to stick together through this. We’re going to see this thing through, and we’re going to do everything we can for the university. We know it’s not going to be easy, but we know what we’re made of.”
NCAA sanctions will keep the Nittany Lions out of a bowl game for the rest of these players’ careers, and college sports’ governing body is allowing any of them to transfer to another school and get on the field right away. But on Wednesday, at least 13 players listed as first-stringers on the preseason depth chart affirmed their commitment to staying in Happy Valley, including senior quarterback Matt McGloin.
Howland High graduate Anthony Stanko, an offensive guard from the 2012 recruiting class, tweeted Tuesday, “I’m staying, there’s way too much going for this university for me to leave over the loss of bowl games.” He then followed it up with a Facebook post saying “Penn State is still the best place for me even if we don’t get some bowl games.”
Neither Zordich nor senior linebacker Michael Mauti — both sons of former Penn State players — mentioned former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky by name during the impromptu news conference, where they didn’t take any questions after reading a statement.
“We take this as an opportunity to create our own legacy,” Mauti said. “This program was not built by one man and it’s sure as hell not going to get torn down by one man. This program was built on every alumni, every single player that came before us, built on their backs.”
The Nittany Lions can’t play in a bowl game until the 2016 season after an unprecedented child sex abuse scandal that shattered the program’s image as a place where “success with honor” was the rule. The scholarship reductions they’ll receive could make it difficult for new coach Bill O’Brien to field a competitive squad during the next few seasons.
That’s why support will be needed from fans and alumni more than ever, the players said.
“We’re going to do everything in our power to get this place back on track,” said Zordich, whose father Mike graduated from Chaney and later earned All-America honors at PSU. “I’m personally calling out every member of Nittany Nation — all the students, faculty, fans and family members, alumni, everything that there is. Please, please come support us through this, because we need you just as much as you need us. And together we’re going to get through this thing to the end.”
Mauti is expected to be a leader on the defensive side, while McGloin won the starting quarterback job during spring practice.
On Twitter, McGloin called the NCAA penalties “extremely harsh.”
“I am a Nittany Lion and will remain one,” he tweeted. “I believe in the core values I have learned in this program. It is not Nittany Lion Football. It is Nittany Lion family.”
But some players will weigh whether to transfer, with other schools wooing them. The biggest name is running back Silas Redd, who rushed for 1,241 yards as a sophomore last season. Redd has yet to reveal his plans.
Illinois spokesman Kent Brown confirmed that a group of assistant coaches traveled to State College on Wednesday to talk to some Nittany Lions players. Brown said Illini athletic director Mike Thomas informed Penn State of the trip and that it came after Nittany Lions players contacted the Illini.
Cornerback Stephon Morris, who attended Wednesday’s news conference, tweeted: “We have chosen to stay at PSU & other opposing coaches are outside our apartment. Was that the intentions of the NCAA.” He added the hashtags “LeaveUsAlone” and “WeAre.”
O’Brien told ESPN on Wednesday that while opposing coaches needed only to email or fax the compliance department to receive clearance to speak to players, he believed there was a protocol they should follow. O’Brien cited Central Florida’s George O’Leary, Syracuse’s Doug Marrone and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz as having reached out to him first.
Soon after the players spoke, Penn State announced that no players would be made available for Big Ten media days, which are today and Friday in Chicago.