The sanctions levied against Penn State on Monday by the NCAA, including a massive fine, four-year bowl and postseason ban and losses of scholarships for four years, leave many elements of the football program in flux.
Among them is the status of Coach Bill O’Brien’s first recruiting class. Many members of the class, ranked No. 14 in the nation on July 19 by Rivals.com, won’t be able to compete in the postseason until their senior years (junior if they redshirt) which led to rampant speculation on Monday about who might decommit.
Ever since his commitment in March, Adam Breneman, a four-to-five star tight end, has been a very vocal supporter of Penn State. On Sunday, when the NCAA’s sanctions were looming, Breneman sent in a text message: “it’s gonna take a lot to get me to not go to Penn State.”
He was sincere.
After the NCAA hammered Penn State Monday, Breneman said in a statement emailed from his father, Brian, “Although I am still processing and discussing the impact of today's announcements with my family and coaches, I did speak with Coach O'Brien and his staff today and I remain committed to Penn State.”
Brian Breneman said things are being discussed as a family.
“There's certainly been a lot of information we've received that was somewhat shocking this morning, so I think we're processing that as a family with the coaches," Brian said.
Likewise, safety Neiko Robinson, who lives the farthest from Penn State of any Class of 2013 commits, also said he has not decommitted.
However, not all stayed on board. Shortly after the NCAA’s press conference had ended Monday morning, Scout.com reported that four-star cornerback commit Ross Douglas had decommitted.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Douglas, of Avon, Ohio, has offers from other universities like Mississippi, Nebraska, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin, according to his player page on Rivals.com.
Philadelphia running back David Williams, a prospect considering Penn State, said Monday he’s going to wait and see how things play out at Penn State before he makes a decision.
“I don’t know how things will be handled, so I’m still trying to figure out how that coaching staff is going to handle it,” Williams said.
Williams also noted that he didn’t think the sanctions given to Penn State were fair.
“I don’t think it was fair at all,” Williams said. “This coaching staff or those players have nothing to do with it. And it’s like they’re penalizing them for what happened in the past.”
Collegian Staff Writer Dan Norton contributed to this report.
