CHICAGO (KDKA) — Penn State head football coach Bill O’Brien says he doesn’t know who is recruiting his Nittany Lions and says he doesn’t care.

At Big Ten Media Days in Chicago, he said he expects to keep his team together despite the NCAA’s sanctions on the football program.

“We refuse to accept the notion that the product on the field is going to worse – absolutely refuse,” O’Brien said. “We’re not genies, we can’t predict the future, but we know what we’re made of as men.”

If he was annoyed by other teams reportedly approaching his players now that they can transfer without penalty, he didn’t reveal it.

“The coaches are playing by the rules and we’re all playing under the same set of rules,” he said.

It was announced that his players would not be represented at the Big Ten Media Days so they could be with their families, but at the last minute, they showed up.

“We’re tired of getting kicked in – you guys don’t know what we’re going through right now, you don’t know what’s going on behind that door,” Penn State LB Michael Mauti said. “These people are trying to tear us apart.”

As for what the coach says about his team, “Kids that understand the mission of Penn State and if our fans and alums and letterman could watch them work right now, they’d be damn proud of them, so get on board and get ready to go.”

There’s also a possibility that Penn State’s uniforms could change possibly by adding players’ names.

“Time for a new era of Penn State football and like I’ve said for the last three days, it’s time to turn the page and you’ll have to come to the game on September 1 to see what those changes are,” O’Brien said.

Coach O’Brien has been telling his players that overcoming adversity defines a man. He’s also says he’s tired of hearing that Penn State is dead.

He says it’s alive.

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