July 24, 2012
By Tony Mancuso
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Head coach Bill O'Brien has conducted two team meetings with the members of the Nittany Lion football squad since Monday morning, and his message was clear on both occasions.
"It's a place that combines great academics with good, tough football. None of that has changed," Coach O'Brien said on Tuesday.
O'Brien took the head coaching position at Penn State University because it provides an opportunity to mentor and teach high character student-athletes in the game of football while they work towards and receive a world-class degree in one of the more than 100 different academic programs on the University Park campus.
He said that both meetings were very positive, and that the team is built with a collection of high character student-athletes.
"I feel good about this team. They care about this University and this football team," O'Brien said.
The program will face challenging days in the coming seasons, but O'Brien is leading the Nittany Lions into the future by moving forward with a positive attitude.
"The way you travel through life is how you handle adversity," he said. "You can't dwell on the past. You've got to move forward. That's what we're doing," O'Brien said.
O'Brien added that in coaching you are always taught to be prepared for anything that is thrown at you.
The Nittany Lion faithful will play an integral part in the process of helping O'Brien and the student-athletes move forward into the next chapter of Penn State football. The undying support of Penn State fans has never been more important to the program than it is today and throughout the future.
As Coach O'Brien said on Tuesday, Penn State's players will compete in seven bowl games each season inside the 108,000-seat home of Nittany Lion football. The fans, supporters, alumni and lettermen can certainly do their part in ensuring that the stadium is full each Saturday throughout the fall.
"Move forward. Renew your tickets. Jump on board with a new era of Penn State football," O'Brien encouraged Penn State fans.
Coach O'Brien is going to fight every day to ensure that the Penn State football program and its players are performing at the highest possible level on the field and in the classroom. From the moment he stepped on campus, the leader of Penn State football has never backed away from a challenge.
"You have a team here that is really close to each other, and it has a lot of fight in it," O'Brien said. "Just like its head coach. We have resolve."
O'Brien's actions and response to how the program will move forward after the hand it was dealt on Monday is no different than his original message when he accepted the job on Jan. 6.
"I'm here to do the best job that I can for Penn State and for these kids on the team and this coaching staff," said O'Brien.
Coach O'Brien and the Nittany Lions kick off practice on Aug. 6. The season-opener against Frank Solich and the Ohio Bobcats is 38 days away in Beaver Stadium.
"We get to start our season on Sept. 1 in front of 108,000 strong and I couldn't feel better about that," O'Brien said.
