Penn State Scandal: Why Current Players Are Only Saving Grace for Nittany Lions

Penn State is in the news for all the wrong reasons right now. This scandal is about as bad as it gets. 

In light of how serious these charges are, football seems irrelevant. In fact, football is irrelevant. That being said, the best way for Penn State to move on from this is to play the game and win. 

However, that's much easier said than done. 

ESPN's Jared Shanker has reported that recruit Jerry O'Connor has now backed off his commitment to Penn State. 

Shanker quoted O'Connor as saying: 

"

It was a definitely a decision I had to make...I just didn't know what would happen. The best interest for me now is to explore my options. The whole situation is tragic. My heart goes to the victims and families. They'll be in my thoughts and prayers.

"

Potential recruit Noah Spence had this to say via Twitter:

Monday November 7 at 3:11 p.m. EST

These are not going to be isolated incidents. More signed recruits will back off, while other potential recruits will look elsewhere.

If you're being recruited by Penn State, you have other options and probably high profile options. At this point, why would anyone want to go there?

They're in for some tough years. 

When the new coaches come in, they must make an immediate impact. The recruiting class for the next few years will not be good. Yes, that's just my opinion. However, if you really stop to think about it, there's no way that these classes will be any good.

The current players, juniors and younger, have a lot riding on them. It's not likely that they will leave, but it's certainly possible. When the new coaches come in, these players need to be great. 

Penn State's only chance at reviving its on-field reputation is to win. When that happens, some of these memories will begin to fade from future recruits and they will slowly start to come back.

However, if the current players can't bring that, then the Nittany Lions will be down for a very long time. 

There's very little chance that Penn State won't feel this in a big way on the field. Their current players are the only ones that can minimize how long that will be.