Silas Redd may or may not be leaving Penn State for USC, but you won't get any clues from new Nittany Lions head coach Bill O'Brien.
Speaking at Big Ten Media Days on Thursday in Chicago, O'Brien confirmed that he had spoken to Redd - who was reported earlier on Thursday to be meeting with USC head coach Lane Kiffin - but didn't discuss the substance of their conversation.
"I'll keep the conversations between Silas and me between Silas and me," O'Brien said in a comment reported on Twitter by Scott Brown of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Reivew (@ScottBrown_Trib).
Redd was originally scheduled to represent Penn State at Big Ten Media Days, but it was reported on Wednesday that the Nittany Lions would not be sending any players to Chicago. That changed on Thursday, when senior defensive tackle Jordan Hill, senior linebacker Michael Mauti and redshirt junior guard John Urschel showed up at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, where the event is being held.
Hill, who rooms with Redd and had also been described as a transfer target, addressed the subject of a possible Redd transfer, saying, "He and his family have a tough decision to make."
Redd ran 1,241 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore, and is one of the top players considered as a transfer target by schools looking to recruit from Penn State in the wake of Monday's NCAA sanctions. The NCAA is allowing any Penn State player to transfer with immediate eligibility while the Nittany Lions face a four-year bowl ban and loss of scholarships.
O'Brien, however, expects to keep his team intact.
"I don't anticipate losing any good, core players," O'Brien said.
Meanwhile, another rumored transfer target, kicker Anthony Fera, had been reported by ESPN to be showing interest in Texas, and O'Brien said on Thursday that he had not yet spoken to Fera. Fera, a native of Cypress, Texas, became the first player in more than 35 years to start for Penn State as both place kicker and punter. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection at punter while connecting on all 20 extra-point attempts and 14 of 17 field goal attempts as a place kicker. The Longhorns graduated Justin Tucker this spring and are extremely young at kicker, while Duke grad student transfer Alex King is the only punter on the roster.
