Nits' O'Brien expects butterflies

STATE COLLEGE - Bill O'Brien told it like it is.

"I will certainly have butterflies before this game," Penn State's first-year head coach said Tuesday at the news conference to discuss Saturday's season opener against visiting Ohio. "I mean, I'd be crazy to tell you otherwise."

After all, O'Brien's first real game at a stadium that holds more than 106,000 people is this weekend, and it comes after the most eventful summer Penn State has ever seen.

But when game time actually rolls around after a summer of fielding all sorts of non-football questions, O'Brien will be ready.

"As soon as you kick it off, and for me, as soon as we start calling plays on offense and get the thing going, then obviously you're focused on the game and the butterflies go away," O'Brien said. "That's just the way it's been for me my whole career."

Technically, the Nittany Lions haven't won a game since the 1997 season, because the NCAA vacated their wins from 1998 through last season as part of unprecedented sanctions against the program this summer in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal.

As such, emotions are running high right now for the White and Blue. All summer, players have stressed their excitement to finally take the field for a real game. Now, that moment is only 3 days away.

On that day, it's O'Brien's responsibility to get the new season, and era, started on the right foot. He noted that an important step toward doing that is to keep the emotions of his guys in check and making sure they're not trying to be heroes.

"I definitely will address throughout the week the emotions at the beginning of the game, because for everybody involved it'll be, just like most college football teams in the country, a very emotional time when you run out there for the first time and it's your first game," O'Brien said.

Tuesday topics

Redshirt sophomore Paul Jones still is the backup to starting quarterback Matt McGloin even though the depth chart says it is Jones "or" true freshman Steven Bench.

"Paul Jones is still the No. 2 quarterback, but I will say that Steven Bench has come in here and closed the gap," O'Brien said.

Senior safety Jake Fagnano will play Saturday, O'Brien said. He was dealing with a hamstring injury for a good deal of training camp, but the fact that he can play should help a thin secondary.

O'Brien expects redshirt senior defensive end Pete Massaro to play Saturday. Massaro, a Marple Newtown High product, has missed two seasons with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in each knee.

O'Brien spoke about his decision to place the players' names on their jerseys and blue ribbons on their helmets. He said the decision was made so that people outside the program can recognize the players who stayed.

"I have respect for all the traditions that have gone on before I came here. What I decided to do was not put my own stamp on the program, but just put our own philosophy as a staff into place," O'Brien said. "When we decided to put the names on the backs of the jerseys, I felt it was important for the people out there to really know who these kids were that stuck with this program, that stuck with this university, that are going to help - just help, not lead, just help - this community moving forward."

Contact Tim Gilbert at gilbert@phillynews.com.