Penn State Football Video: Players Take Charge in Fight to Keep Team Together

Penn State has a burgeoning crisis on its hands: how to keep as much of its team together with crippling sanctions looming on the horizon. This is a task of inestimable importance, as a large enough exodus could threaten the very viability of the team for as long as sanctions persist.

To Penn State's credit, only one player has decided to transfer as of noon on Wednesday (though that number will doubtlessly rise in the coming days), and on Wednesday morning, a group of committed Penn State players decided to increase the heat and make a public stand for their program.

Watch the video of the statement by seniors Michael Zordich and Mike Mauti, via the official Penn State athletics YouTube channel, here:

Now, it's worth noting that star tailback Silas Redd was nowhere to be found in that group of over two dozen Penn State players that gathered. Redd had been rumored as a possible transfer, and with schools like USC interested in bringing him in, it's understandable that he might at least entertain the possibility.

It's also worth noting that Redd was still scheduled to attend the Big Ten Media Days at that point (though the Penn State players' appearances have all since been canceled, per ESPN), so to just assume Redd's gone based on his non-presence at the statement is, to say the least, presumptuous.

Moreover, you know who else was missing from that group statement? About 60 other scholarship players. Barring an utter horror show over the next few days, most of those absent players will be back for the 2012 season as well.

How many of them exactly will be back, though? Not even they know at this point.