Fifth-year senior linebacker Michael Mauti said he sometimes receives a dozen calls a day from coaches at other schools. He said opposing coaches have been on campus, and the situation has become "no holds barred" recruiting of the Penn State roster.
"There are no rules," Mauti said at Big Ten media day. "So they are not breaking any rules. At the same time, for someone to tell me that they feel for us, but at the same time go after one of our guys, I have a problem with that.
"I am a competitor, and if the people I am playing against want to pull at and weaken our stability, then we are going to have problems ? We have all the motivation we need for two seasons, for three. We are starting from square one. This is a brand-new legacy."
O'Brien told USA TODAY Sports that his biggest challenge, among many, is keeping the core of the current team together as schools, some within the Big Ten, pursue his players. The NCAA will allow Penn State players to transfer without having to sit out a season.
Illinois coach Tim Beckman acknowledged he is "just following the rules of the NCAA" and has nothing to apologize for, refuting reports Wednesday that members of his staff were on campus. Beckman said Illinois provided Penn State with a list of the names of players it was interested in pursuing.
"We were in State College, but we did not go on campus," he said. "We went to two establishments outside campus and called some individuals and if they wanted to come by, it was their opportunity to come by."
Wisconsin's Bret Bielema said he made the decision that his staff would not actively recruit Penn State players.
"We play Penn State the last game of the season," he said. "I am going to be their biggest fan for every week of the year for the guys that stay there and stick it through. My hat's off to the coach and all the players staying strong."
Told the gist of Bielema's comments, O'Brien said, "That's why he is the coach he is."
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said he "has a problem" with coaches being able to solicit players from Penn State.
Told of Meyer's comments, O'Brien said, "That's why he's got two national championships. That's why he is the coach he is."
O'Brien said as of Thursday afternoon "none of our best core players" had informed him they were leaving.
During a more than 20-minute sit-down interview, O'Brien provided USA TODAY Sports with a glimpse into his thinking in the lead-up to Monday's NCAA announcement of unprecedented sanctions. He said he was never concerned that Penn State would not have a football program.
"I knew on Sunday that we were playing football," O'Brien said.
He said he was not told of the specific sanctions before Penn State President Rodney Erickson signed the NCAA consent agreement . Erickson told ESPN's Outside the Lines that if he had not agreed to the sanctions then the program would have been suspended for four years.
With the death penalty off the table, O'Brien most wanted to avoid a television ban.
"I had just asked that they let us play football on TV," O'Brien said. "That's what we're doing. We're playing football and we're on TV. That's what I asked them to fight for. If you can play, but not on TV, that's hard.
"But you are playing, and on TV, and you have six or seven home games a year in front of 100,000 fans. There's a lot to sell. I don't see the whole huge demise of Penn State football out there that everyone is talking about."
Monday morning, O'Brien retreated to his office with Jim Bernhardt, the team's special assistant to the head coach, to watch NCAA President Mark Emmert's news conference. That is when, O'Brien said, he first learned of the specific sanctions levied against his program.
As Emmert detailed the sanctions, O'Brien scribbled down page after page of hand-written notes with the specific numbers: $60 million fine, four-year postseason ban, massive scholarship losses. He said he was not shell-shocked by the severity of the sanctions because he knew they'd be harsh.
"Why waste time being angry?" O'Brien said. "I tried to digest it and figure it out. I was not shocked. I wanted to get in front of my team as quickly as possible."
In terms of moving forward, O'Brien has specific plans to build up the walk-on program.
He also said he plans to use, in addition to athletic scholarships, academic scholarships or need-based grants. O'Brien believes that those would not count against the limit of 65 (down from 85) that will be imposed in the coming years, but he is seeking further clarification.
"People think that this is just the demise of Penn State football, and they don't understand the type of people in that program right now," O'Brien said. "People don't understand all the creative ways we can come up with to field a competitive football team. They don't understand the type of guys we have there right now on the 2012 team. Hopefully we will prove them wrong. We sure as hell are going to try."
O'Brien also did not rule out changes to Penn State's famously nondescript uniforms. And he vowed on continued transparency in the Penn State football program as it looks to make over the athletic culture at the school.
"I think we all have to understand ? those that are fans, and those that are supporters ? that it's time for a new Penn State," O'Brien said. "It is time to turn the page and move on. Changes are good."
Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomCollegeSports-TopStories/~3/0kdtLJrQo_s/1
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