Penn State Scandal: What Interim Lions Coach Tom Bradley Said in the Postgame

To say that it was an emotional and somber day at Penn State would be an understatement.

For the first time since 1965 the Nittany Lions program would have a head coach on the sidelines not named Joe Paterno.

And for all that went on this past week, the implications of the Nebraska-Penn State football game were obviously quite small, and rightfully so, because athletics are only a part of life, not life all-together.

That being said, there was still a game to play and afterword Lions' interim head coach Tom Bradley would have to do a press conference.

Here are some of his quotes from a very different day at University Park, PA.

Note: Press conference quotes from Lions 247 Senior Writer Sean Fitz.

On Preparation

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"The practices were good this week, the kids didn't have to worry about anything but football there. They were happy to get out there and do what they do and not have the distractions."

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Everything that went on aside, that's a lot to take in for young football players a part of a traditional program.

Football is a tough enough game to prepare for in an of itself. But when there's something much, much bigger than football going on, such as life, it only makes preparing that much more difficult.

On the Team

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"I didn't do justice to the players who have worked their tails off, and I wasn't able to prepare like I would. I was awful proud, they didn't quit, they hung in there together."

 

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Going out and trying to stay focused during a time like this has to virtually be impossible. There's a lot more important things going on than just a football game at Penn State right now.

However, being able to almost come back from down 17-0 nothing against a good Nebraska team showed that the players in Penn State's program do have a lot of mental toughness.

On Jay Paterno

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"I was concerned about Jay. I met with him before the game, I wanted to make sure he was OK with what I was asking him to do. I think he had prepared well for the game I knew he was going to be emotional. I think he did a great job, and I appreciate the way that he prepared for the game. We're going to talk as a staff and see about him staying down on the sideline. We'll be a little bit better organized on Sunday."

 

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Can't be easy for anyone who's affiliated with Penn State right now to focus on football, especially Jay Paterno.

When you're the son of a college football icon (now debatable depending on who you talk to), there's added pressure. And it'll be interesting to see how Jay handles the situation as life and time move forward.

On the Healing Process

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"I felt today that maybe the healing process started to begin. I saw last night that the blue band made a beautiful sign that they had to hang up. When I got here today and saw the students show up. I got numerous calls from student groups, asking them if I would help them and I told them I would."

 

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It's a new era at Penn State and moving forward is all you can do. Time isn't going to stop and wait for the healing to start, so moving along with time is all that can really be done.

Coach Bradley has the right attitude to get involved with student groups on campus, so here's to the future and time during the healing process.

On the Future

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"I haven't thought about the future right now. All I've thought about is doing the best job that I can for these students. That's all I've been worried about."

 

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There's not much you can say about the future. The future is the unknown, but what you can control is the present.

That said, coach Bradley is in a tough position but has the right mindset for going forward.

Be sure to check out John on Bleacher Report. 

You can follow him on Twitter @ Sportswriter27.