In the end, and after a lot of huffing and puffing, it was much ado about nothing.
After a week that saw Robert Bolden expressing his desire to transfer from Penn State, and head coach Joe Paterno denying a release from his scholarship, the quarterback has decided to remain at the school.
Speaking to the school’s student newspaper, the Daily Collegian, Bolden’s high school quarterback coach said his former player is headed back to campus this weekend from his home in Michigan. And that he intends to remain there.
“He’ll be back at Penn State Sunday and in school Monday,” Don Buchanan said in a telephone interview. “He expects to compete for the starting quarterback job and will go through spring practices and everything.”
Bolden, who started the first seven games of the season as a true freshman before suffering a concussion and giving way to Matt McGloin for the remainder of the year, was reportedly very upset at the fact that he did not play in the Outback Bowl loss to Florida, even as McGloin was tossing five interceptions. Even more upset was his father, who reportedly was involved in a heated exchange with a Penn State assistant after the game.
That frustration led to a meeting with Paterno Tuesday. During the meeting in which Paterno refused the release, the legendary coach challenged Bolden to stay at the school and accept the challenge of fighting for the starting job in spring practice.
“I said, ‘That’s great,’” Buchanan said of the challenge issued by Paterno. “And I told him to keep your faith, keep your guidance and make sure that whatever he does, he goes at it at full speed.”
Buchanan added that Bolden will put this episode behind him and “give Coach Paterno and the rest of the team his best effort.”