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UNIVERSITY PARK – Kyle Carter smiled when reminded during Penn State’s annual football media day that he’s one of just six remaining fifth-year seniors in the program.
“In some ways,” he said, “I feel like a dad out here.”
Though just 22 years old, Carter is wise beyond his years.
He’s seen some highs – like the Nittany Lions’ wins over Michigan and Wisconsin in 2013, the scare of Ohio State last year and 2014’s bookend victories, UCF and Boston College – and having lived through the scandal, he’s sure experienced the lows.
Carter, defensive linemen Anthony Zettel and Carl Nassib, center Angelo Mangiro, tight end Ben Kline and receiver Matt Zanellato represent the lone remaining holdovers from the Joe Paterno Era.
They’ve endured three head coaches – four if you count interim Tom Bradley – plus double-digit coordinators and roughly 25 assistant coaches.
“I wasn’t expecting what happened to happen but things happen,” Carter said. “I think we’ve learned how to adapt to the environment, and me and my teammates have done a good job with that.”
Carter likes to tell the recruiting story at Penn State, when a Christmas party was held, and his mom danced with Paterno.
“I only was with him a couple months, but it was definitely an important couple months,” he said of his 2011 redshirt season.
The fifth-year seniors knew it was possible they would witness the end of Paterno’s tenure, but “we didn’t expect everything to go down the way it did,” Zettel said.
No one could have.
Still, the players were led to believe if and when Paterno retired, a nucleus of the staff would remain on board. That, of course, didn’t happen, either.
“We came in here expecting to have the same coaching staff until we left, and that didn’t just change once, it changed twice,” Carter said.
Despite the transition, and the heartache, the players learned so many valuable lessons – like how time waits for no one.
“Every time I walk through the weight room, it hits me,” Nassib said. “It’s like, ‘Wow – I love being part of Penn State football, and it’s gone by so fast.”
“It’s been quite an interesting ride,” Kline said. “There’s only a few of us left.”
Each feels they’re better for the experience – from being around the legend of Paterno, of being exposed, even for just two years, to the offensive wizardry and intensity of Bill O’Brien to the boyish enthusiasm and recruiting doggedness of James Franklin.
“We’ve been lucky enough to have three excellent head coaches, and we’ve gotten lessons from each of them,” Kline said. “We’ve been lucky enough to have really good assistant coaches and coordinators and strength coaches, too.”
Mangiro recalls a conversation with his AAU basketball coach, who encouraged him to accept change and “to just put tools in my toolbox. Everything I’ve learned from different coaches I’ve learned for my toolbox.”
To a man, the fifth-year guys take pride in how the team, the university and the Nittany Nation supported the players. Certainly, some hard feelings among the fans will always exist, but the bottom line is these players are performing in front of as many fans today as they were five years ago.
“Along with everybody else at Penn State, I think this whole institution has taken it in stride,” Nassib said. “A normal place couldn’t have taken the hits this place has. With the support of the fans and my teammates and the coaches, it’s been a really great time here.”
“We all rallied together,” Kline said.
Just as the Michael Mautis, Mike Zordiches, Derek Moyes and Drew Astorinos were left to pick up the pieces in 2011, the guys who were redshirting and wet behind the ears then willingly carried the torch through the sanctions.
“It’s been an interesting five years,” Zanellato said. “But one of things that hasn’t changed is the great core of guys on the team.”
“When I was recruited, I knew Coach Paterno probably wouldn’t be here five more year, but I knew Penn State had high character guys,” Zettel said.
Listeners as true freshmen, Zettel and his mates are now sought for their wisdom on how to handle team situations on and off the field.
“We always tell stories, and they have their ears open,” Zettel said. “Those guys were five years older so you looked up to them. It’s our job as older guys to set the standard on what is expected here. That’s what the older guys did with me, and it made a big impact.”
“Some kids ask me how was it when Joe was here, how was it when O’Brien was here,” Carter said. “I let them know it was and how it’s got to be. But basically it’s been the same throughout – we’ve got the same team, the same principles and the same ethics.”
They have the same challenges. The Lions, like the rest of the country, are looking up at Ohio State. There’s never been a Penn State football team that entered a season without a dose of optimism and this one, with scholarships restored and hope renewed, is no different.
“We’ve been through it all,” Carter said, “and the fact that we stayed here and we’re about to live out this last year and hopefully have a great year – the best year we’ve had since we’ve been here – definitely is something to look forward to.”
That’s especially true for the Nittany Lions’ six true survivors.