“It has nothing to do with us,” Redd had said about the findings. Penn State later handed the results of Freeh’s investigation to the NCAA.
Redd had also said his opinion of Paterno, the coach that recruited him to Penn State, hadn’t changed. He said Paterno, in his view, remained “the best college football coach of all time.”
Since then, the NCAA instituted its four-year postseason ban on Penn State that would cover the last two years of Redd’s eligibility. College sports’ governing body is allowing Redd and all other Nittany Lions to transfer to another school and get on the field right away.
The only restriction is they cannot practice or play with Penn State this year and still play for another school this season, meaning the Penn State roster should finally be set once training camp starts in a week. But the process has set up a college version of NFL free agency, in which other schools have been busy trying to cherry-pick Nittany Lions.
USC appears to be the landing spot if Redd decides to leave. With an offense led by quarterback Matt Barkley, the Trojans will be highly ranked and one of the favorites to win the Pac-12 Conference. A person familiar with Redd’s decision said the running back was returning from California on Monday and could make his decision as early as Tuesday. The person requested anonymity because no one was authorized to speak for Redd.
If Redd is back in State College by early Tuesday, he might find a bevy of fans urging him to stay.
Most downtown businesses are displaying “Proud to Support Penn State Football” signs on windows. Some stores have started selling shirts with the slogan “Billeave,” playing off of the first name of O'Brien, the former New England Patriots offensive coordinator.
Penn State fans and students have also started a Twitter campaign to sway Redd with the hashtag “StaySilas.”
“With Silas Redd, or without Silas Redd, I would not discount Coach O'Brien’s ability to make an offense and put points on the board,” said Sweeney, who also heads the Penn State football Lettermen’s Club, a group of former players.
Members of the football alumni group also plan to speak with players at a team meeting later Tuesday. Sweeney said he hopes hundreds of lettermen attend the meeting that O'Brien asked they attend.
Penn State spokesman Jeff Nelson said any plans by players to transfer would come from the players themselves or his new school, not Penn State.
It’s unclear if Bolden has settled on a new school. He was the starting quarterback to open the last two seasons before losing the job to Matt McGloin each year. There appears to be an interest from LSU in Bolden.
This spring, McGloin was tabbed the outright starter by O'Brien, while Bolden was demoted to the third team.
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Follow Genaro Armas at http://twitter.com/GArmasAP
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