A lot of people said in the wake of the Penn State Scandal that any punishment is not fair because it only punishes players and coaches who had nothing to do with the scandal. I said that argument was bogus for a couple of reasons. One of those reasons is that Bill O'Brien knew it was a mess when he took over. Sure, he didn't know to the degrees that the scandal took place, but after seeing a legendary coach fired for not coming forward when a child rapist was around, he couldn't have thought everything was perfect in Happy Valley. The other argument was about the players being punished. Well, as I argued then, the players could transfer without penalty. It may be much better for some of them who would otherwise have to sit out a year. This gives them a free out if the disagreed with what their university did. You would have to assume that many would appreciate that free out. Some players took advantage of it.
Today, former backup QB Rob Bolden jumped ship. He went to a better conference and better team in LSU. Coach Les Miles said that Bolden would have every oppurtunity to compete. Can you imagine if Bolden somehow wins the job and is in the national championship picture at LSU. Penn State had 0 chance of being in the national picture this year, scandal or no scandal. Bolden made out like a bandit. He now gets to use his final two years @ LSU and go for the glory.
Junior linebacker Khairi Fortt also jumped ship. Fortt was scheduled to be a starter at middle linebacker for the Nittany Lions. He is headed to California to play for Jed Tedford and the Bears. Fortt should make an immediate impact on the Cal defense.
Redshirt freshman safety Tim Buckley has also left Penn State. Buckley was the 1st player to transfer from Penn State. This guy couldn't wait to leave that program. He wasn't really committed to Penn State and hadn't played in a game yet, so he wanted to go home. The Raleigh native will do just that as he has transferred to NC State. Buckley played runningback, safety, and linebacker at high school in Raleigh. He has 4 years of eligibility remaining and is like a blue-chip recruit for the Wolfpack.
Another freshman who was not redshirted is heading to Rutgers instead of Penn State. True freshman DT Jamil Pollard is on his way to Rutgers. Pollard was one of the prizes of Bill O'Brien's first recruiting class.
2013 commitment Ross Douglas, a 4 star prospect, has decommitted and is headed to Michigan next year now. Now he'll get to beat Penn State up to 4 times in his college career.
Ryan Nowicki a tackle who is not listed on Penn State's depth chart has announced that he will transfer, but not to which school yet. Nowicki is not expected to be a big loss for the Nittany Lions.
There are two more transfers that are even more important to me. Both could help their respective teams compete for a national championship.
First, we will go with who is considered the best player to leave Penn State so far. Silas Redd, Penn State's leading rusher, is leaving Penn State for the USC Trojans. The Trojans already considered a top title contender now have a dynamic runningback to add to their backfield. Redd has 2 years of eligibility remaining and will try to deliver a championship to the Trojans. USC fans have to be ecstatic. Redd had 1241 yards and 7 touchdowns last season for Penn State.
Finally, comes the news that affects all of us Seminole fans. We got one of the transfers as well. Penn State tight end Kevin Haplea is coming to FSU. Haplea played in every game and is a blocking specialist. He helped Redd reach his outstanding rushing totals. He caught 3 passes last year and had a touchdown as well. Expect Haplea in on many goal line situations. We had to move Dan Hicks over from defense to tight end after losing two last season and now we got a great blocking tight end. Haplea and Nick O'Leary should form an excellent tight end combo. The pieces are in place for a big season from the Seminoles.
Expect more transfers from Penn State in the near future. The exodus does not look finished, especially with Redd out of the picture.
In a slightly related and highly idiotic story, the NCAA has picked George Mitchell to serve as Penn State's athletic integrity monitor. Really, George Mitchell? Mitchell is the same guy that named David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez as player A and player B on his report because he was a Red Sox fan and didn't want them exposed. How can you possibly expect him to be fair and impartial? The guy basically was crucifying Petite and Clemens and let Ortiz walk scott free. It took years until Ortiz was exposed. Mitchell is a joke. Horrible decision NCAA.
-Noland
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