Silas Redd

A decision is expected Monday from Penn State tailback Silas Redd that will impact the perception of the 2012 Nittany Lions tremendously. If Redd, who is considering transferring to Southern California, leaves, Penn State is left to pick up the pieces of an offense suddenly without a standout skill position player. If he stays, Penn State returns one of the nation's top running backs who can be a workhorse in Bill O'Brien's pro-style offense. Redd rushed for 1,241 yards and seven touchdowns last season as a sophomore starter.

The first domino has fallen. Now the most important piece appears close to tipping as well. Former starting quarterback Rob Bolden was reportedly released from his scholarship on Monday, making him the first Penn State football player to leave after the announcement of the NCAA sanctions against the school. Meanwhile, the team's best offensive player, running back Silas Redd, spent another day at the University of Southern California. A decision on where he'll play football in 2012 is expected within the next two days.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - On a day when the Penn State fan base sent a resounding message that its football program would not fall over and die, the Nittany Lions offense lost its heartbeat. Junior running back Silas Redd, who led the team with 1,241 rushing yards and seven touchdowns last season, announced Tuesday afternoon that he would transfer to the University of Southern California. After visiting Southern Cal on Monday, Redd met with Penn State coach Bill O'Brien in the Lasch Football Building on Tuesday to tell him he would not return to the Nittany Lions.

DAILY NEWS STAFF REPORT Silas Redd announced on Tuesday that he will transfer from Penn State to Southern California. Here is a statement he made to the media: This has obviously been a very busy, emotionally draining week for me and my family. As many of you know, playing football at Penn State has been a dream of mine since I was seven years old, and I will be forever grateful that this dream became a reality. This is the reason that the decision I have made is so difficult for me: I will transfer to USC to complete my education and my college football career, beginning in the 2012-2013 year.

Penn State weakside linebacker Gerald Hodges, a former Paulsboro High School standout, was named the Big Ten's co-defensive player of the week on Monday for his performance in the team's win at Northwestern on Saturday night. Hodges tallied a career-high 14 tackles (eight solo) and 11/2 sacks against the Wildcats. The junior also intercepted Dan Persa on a ball tipped by defensive tackle Jordan Hill and returned it 63 yards to Northwestern's 19-yard line. The play proved crucial as Silas Redd scored on the next play from scrimmage to give the Nittany Lions a 34-24 lead that would stand as the final.

Penn State's situation at running back since the end of spring practice has evolved in ways that no one, not even coach Bill O'Brien, could have predicted. The Nittany Lions adjourned for the summer with Silas Redd, a 1,000-yard rusher in 2011, being counted on to take most of the carries. Converted wide receiver Bill Belton was the top reserve, while 232-pound redshirt sophomore Zach Zwinak was on the fourth string. However, a tailback shuffle began when Redd transferred to Southern California after Penn State was hit by NCAA sanctions.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Anthony Fera kicked three field goals Saturday, and Matt McGloin connected with Derek Moye on a 74-yard touchdown pass to lift Penn State to a 16-10 victory over Indiana in the Big Ten opener for both teams. The Nittany Lions (4-1) moved the football, gaining 464 yards of total offense, but struggled in the red zone, committing two turnovers - an interception thrown by Rob Bolden that was picked off at the 1 and a fumble by Silas Redd at the 2. Fera bailed out the Lions three times with field goals of 22, 27, and 33 yards.

FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR defensive lineman Devon Still led a group of six Penn State players to earn Big Ten Conference individual honors in an awards show televised last night by the Big Ten Network. Still, a Camden native who played high school ball in Wilmington, Del., not only was a first-team all-conference selection by both the coaches and the media, he also won the Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year award, named for the late Bubba Smith, of Michigan State, and Penn State standout Courtney Brown.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - For a brief moment, the Southern California Trojans looked in trouble or at least wobbly, suddenly less than a touchdown ahead of Syracuse. Forget about a national title march if the Trojans couldn't get past this low hurdle. So, Southern Cal tailback Silas Redd was asked later about that brief moment, what were the Trojans thinking? "Fight on," Redd said outside the USC locker room. "Keep pushing. " Bittersweet words for Penn Staters? You hear your familiar mantra, part of "Fight On, State," but "Fight On" is the title of the Trojans' fight song, composed by a USC dental student in 1922.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Gerald Hodges says he never keeps track of tackles when he's on the field, that it's just a matter of running around and making plays and adding it all up at the end. Penn State's junior linebacker, the pride of Paulsboro, established a career high in tackles for the second straight week with 19, including a sack, and added a forced fumble for good measure. "When I get a chance to make a play, I decide to make it," said Hodges, the Nittany Lions' leading tackler on the season.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The first drill on the first day of Penn State's spring practice Monday was simple enough: Wide receivers took on a cornerback one-on-one. The quarterbacks threw. The entire team stood on the sideline watching. Three repetitions in, coach Bill O'Brien didn't like what he saw. So he blew his whistle and stormed across the field. His face turned red. His voice echoed through Holuba Hall, the Nittany Lions' 118,000-square-foot indoor practice facility. "I'm not taking that this year," O'Brien shouted.

Southern California was ranked No. 1 at the beginning of the season, and Matt Barkley was a strong contender for the Heisman Trophy. The year ended with Barkley on the sideline as the Trojans lost to Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. Tevin Washington threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score to lead the Yellow Jackets (7-7) to a 21-7 victory on Monday in front of a crowd of 47,922 at Sun Bowl Stadium. Barkley, the first three-time captain in team history, injured his right shoulder in a loss to UCLA and was not cleared to play.

Bill O'Brien, who took over a Penn State program that appeared headed to oblivion and steered the Nittany Lions to a surprisingly successful season, was named coach of the year Wednesday by the Maxwell Football Club. O'Brien, then the New England Patriots offensive coordinator, was hired as Joe Paterno's successor in January, two months after the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal broke and a month before Paterno's death. He took a demoralized team, diminished by harsh NCAA penalties and the transfers of several key players, and despite an 0-2 start transformed it into one of the Big Ten's best.

It was the Monday after the NCAA sanctions hit, and Tom Hailey had just arrived at a Christian convention. And then his phone started ringing. The first caller was a coach from Clemson. "Once my phone rang once, it rang five to seven more times right after that," said Hailey, the head football coach at Steelton-Highspire High School. "UMass, Connecticut - you name it. They all said, 'Once you hear anything, let me know.' " They were all inquiring about a former player of Hailey's: defensive tackle Jordan Hill, one of the Nittany Lions' top talents.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Penn State sophomore tailback Zach Zwinak had options if he wanted to transfer from Happy Valley last summer, after NCAA sanctions dropped on the Nittany Lions. The groundbreaking sanctions included immediate eligibility for anyone looking to go elsewhere. " All the kids had options," pointed out Penn State defensive coordinator Ted Roof, remembering last summer's feeding frenzy. The offensive star of Saturday's season-ender was fourth string coming out of spring ball.

ANYONE WHO considers Andy Reid's tenure a failure is too tangled up in this age of instant gratification. Of course, Reid hasn't had the ultimate success, but five NFC Championship appearances and a Super Bowl loss is hardly a failure. Marion Campbell going 17-29-1 from 1983-85, that was a failure. Doug Moe going 19-37 in half a season for the Sixers in 1992-93, that was a failure. But Reid's work in his first 10 seasons was laudable. It's the last two that've been laughable. Think the Buffalo Bills miss the Marv Levy years?

Penn State's situation at running back since the end of spring practice has evolved in ways that no one, not even coach Bill O'Brien, could have predicted. The Nittany Lions adjourned for the summer with Silas Redd, a 1,000-yard rusher in 2011, being counted on to take most of the carries. Converted wide receiver Bill Belton was the top reserve, while 232-pound redshirt sophomore Zach Zwinak was on the fourth string. However, a tailback shuffle began when Redd transferred to Southern California after Penn State was hit by NCAA sanctions.

A BLOWN CALL on a Matt Lehman touchdown will be the lasting image of Penn State's 32-23 loss to No. 16 Nebraska on Saturday in Memorial Stadium. The tight end reached the ball across the plane of the goal line and then lost control of it in the fourth quarter, but officials ruled the play a fumble. Replays showed the ball broke the plane of the goal line in Lehman's possession before he fumbled, but the call was not overturned. Nebraska recovered for a touchback, Penn State fans erupted in anger on Twitter, and the Cornhuskers didn't look back.