STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Penn State backup safety Tim Buckley is the first Nittany Lion to transfer in the wake of the NCAA sanctions against the university.
North Carolina State released a statement Monday announcing Buckley, a North Carolina native, would join the Wolfpack for the team's first practice Tuesday. The former walk-on redshirted last season at Penn State, so he'll have four years of eligibility left.
The NCAA allowed Penn State players to seek immediate transfers after the sanctions against the school for the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Most of coach Bill O'Brien's players appear to be sticking with Penn State, though a handful of other players are, at least, considering a transfer.
The most notable name is star tailback Silas Redd, who visited Southern California this weekend. Redd, who ran for 1,241 yards last season, has been supportive of former coach Joe Paterno throughout the scandal, even as late as two weeks ago, just after the Freeh report was released.
"It has nothing to do with us," Redd said then about the findings.
Redd also said his opinion of Paterno, the coach that recruited him to Penn State, hadn't changed. He said Paterno, in his view, remained "the best college football coach of all time."
That said, Redd could be a fit in a USC offense that has big plans this season. The Trojans will be highly ranked and 1 of the favorites to win the Pac-12 Conference.
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