This afternoon over on Crystal Ball Run I joined in a discussion regarding the expectations for new Penn State football head coach Bill O’Brien. Here is a glimpse of what I had to say, when discussing O’Brien moving back and forth between Penn State and the New England Patriots and the impact it has on recruiting, if any…
I think the fact that O’Brien is handling Patriots and Penn State duties can be overblown. Penn State was already willing to sacrifice going all out in recruiting this season given the circumstances. And O’Brien has been making trips back to State College when he can and has already met with recruits. To some, O’Brien has already been a guy kids can warm up to and there are a couple kids who say they are excited about the future under O’Brien. It could just be words to throw out to guys covering recruiting but O’Brien seems to be handling this recruiting time as well as he can. And if he can bring a Super Bowl ring to his future recruiting trips, it could have some influence.
But it ultimately pales compared to what Urban Meyer can show off with a pair of BCS rings. This cannot be disputed. But does it carry more weight than what Paul Chryst bring at Pittsburgh and what Brady Hoke has to show off at Michigan? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. But one thing is for sure. As long as the Patriots are in the playoffs, recruits are getting a glimpse at the kind of offense O’Brien would like to install at Penn State. While there are no Tom Brady or Rob Gronkowski type players here, having your offense being on TV for another game or two when nobody else has that to work with could be a benefit moving forward.
Read the full conversation here.
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