“In my opinion, this is the greatest place on earth. The greatest place in college football. Once you get here, you don’t want to leave. Coach O’Brien came in, and what he’s done so far for this progr
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“In my opinion, this is the greatest place on earth. The greatest place in college football. Once you get here, you don’t want to leave. Coach O’Brien came in, and what he’s done so far for this program, what all the other coaching staff has done and what the fans have done – I don’t understand why you would want to leave. And that’s why I’ve remained so loyal to this place.”
—QB Matt McGloin
”For me, personally, I’ve been loyal to this place. I’ve got accustomed to this place. I felt like it was in my best interest for me, my family, education-wise for me to stay here. That’s the decision I made. I thought about it maybe for a minute or two, but after that I knew what I wanted to do based on the people I have around me here. Coach O’Brien and his experience at the next level, that kind of all put it in play for me.”
—SS Stephen Obeng-Agyapong
“I stayed at Penn State, obviously like everyone else, because we’re a team. But, specifically, I stayed here because this is where I always wanted to be. Being a senior, I’ve worked four years long and hard to get an opportunity to play here, and I’m not going to turn that away. The stuff that happened doesn’t affect or mean anything to me. I came here to play football in this stadium and nothing else. Nothing else affected by decision.”
—SS Jake Fagnano
”I’m basically here to still play football, still have a chance to play on national television, still have a chance to play for the NFL.”
—DE Deion Barnes
“When I looked that our defense was still intact, it was a very easy decision.”
—DE C.J. Olaniyan
“I’m from Pennsylvania, and it was always my aspiration to play here. I don’t want to go anywhere.”
—DT Tyrone Smith
”That’s not a question. You never ask why you stay when you get a chance to be a part of something that’s a healing process. You can’t say, in your life, that you’ve ever done anything as significant as we’re about to do. It’s easy for me to say this is where I want to stay.”
— Assistant coach Larry Johnson
“It wasn’t even a decision. Never came across my mind. I don’t see why you could leave this program.”
— CB Stephon Morris
”I didn’t look at it like just a stepping stone to the NFL. This is where I came to school. This is where I’m going to stay, and this is where I’m going to end my career at. I’m going to graduate in December. I’m not going anywhere. How could you leave and go somewhere else when every time you walk into this stadium people are cheering your name? People I never even met before. That’s just a great feeling.”
— LB Gerald Hodges
