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Some Penn State related notes while the NFL takes center stage:
There is no offseason in college football anymore with personnel movement 12 months a year.
One of those moves happened Thursday night when news broke that former Nittany Lion head coach Bill O'Brien would be returning to Beaver Stadium next season -- as Ohio State's offensive coordinator.
After the NCAA sanctions in 2012, when he went 8-4, was the national coach of the year and posted a two-year record of 15-9 before leaving for the Houston Texans, O'Brien should be credited with saving the Penn State program.
But it's unlikely that he'll be introduced with appreciation on Nov. 2 when he's wearing red and gray, not to mention being sandwiched into the visitors' coaching booth in the press box.
Since his Penn State days, O'Brien led Houston to four AFC South titles before he was fired for wanting too much control over the roster.
That led him to stints as Alabama's offensive coordinator (two seasons) and the OC for New England last year, which did not go well for a myriad of reasons and contributed to the Patriots parting with Bill Belichick.
Now O'Brien is landing in Columbus, where the shine is off Ryan Day's crown, the Buckeyes have lost three straight to Michigan and, because he's under pressure, Day is surrendering the offensive playcalling.
It's not the most comfortable position, but Ohio State -- as usual -- has a ton of key offensive parts returning, and O'Brien has never been afraid of a challenge.
After all, he's been the OC under Belichick and Nick Saban and succeeded Joe Paterno.
Diaz void
It would have been interesting to see how Penn State's defense would have played if Manny Diaz coached in the Peach Bowl.
Because it obviously could not have gone worse as the Lions' looked ill-prepared under interim DC Anthony Poindexter and were overmatched by Ole Miss' passing game.
The young cornerbacks were exposed and couldn't hang with the Rebels' receivers man-to-man. Maybe Diaz would have adjusted quickly and played more zone, though the entire unit was compromised due to opt-outs.
Either way, incoming DC Tom Allen got an eyeful, and we'll see what kind of strategy he employs.
Of the six players arriving via the transfer portal, two are cornerbacks with SEC experience who are expected to challenge for starting berths.
Speaking of the portal, it's likely the Lions will endure some attrition in the spring when the depth chart begins to take shape.
Incoming Buckeye Julian Fleming is expected to be the leading candidate for the Lions' top receiver with plenty of opportunity for secondary options, which were never solved in 2023.
More staff turnover
Stacy Collins' move to Boise State after two seasons has cued the arrival of Justin Lustig, who previously was on the Vanderbilt staff (not under James Franklin).
Lustig will be State's fourth special teams coach since Charles Huff joined Joe Moorhead at Mississippi State as assistant head coach in 2018.
Since then, it's been Phil Galiano, Joe Lorig and Collins, a west coast native whose body of work at PSU was solid.
Whiteout candidate
The Lions' home schedule includes Ohio State and Washington, but they're both in November -- a little late for a whiteout game that probably will be played at night because it looks better.
I'm betting on Oct. 5 for UCLA's visit.
Campbell progress
It's nice to see Bellwood-Antis gem Alli Campbell finding her stride with the Lady Lions.
After two lost seasons due to knee injuries, Campbell has played 20-plus minutes in three straight games, including a pair of victories over Rutgers and Purdue, as Carolyn Kieger's program appears capable of landing in the NCAA Tournament.
Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.