BETHLEHEM - Not far away from the sound of the slot machines, Penn State head football coach Bill O'Brien and head women's basketball coach Coquese Washington told the media, alumni and Penn State fans how lucky they are to be part of the Nittany Lions athletic program during the 8th stop on the Coaches Caravan at the Sands Hotel. It is making it's way through part of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York in the next two weeks.

O'Brien expressed how great it was to be accepted by the Penn State family from the first day he accepted the job as the predecessor to long time head coach Joe Paterno."Obviously, to be here, in this athletic department, with coaches like Coquese, golf coach Greg Nye, men's basketball coach Pat Chambers, track and field coach Beth Alfred-Sullivan, field hockey coach Char Morett, women's volleyball coach Russ Rose and wrestling coach Cael Sanderson and all of those people that have reached out to me, I just think it's a great place and I definitely feel a part of it," O'Brien said as he, along with Washington, met the media prior to the event. "And that's just what I am, a part of it."Washington seemed to agree that since everything that went down in November, the entire Penn State coaching community has become one tight knit group.We're just trying to be one team," added Washington. "When women's basketball wins, we all win. When football wins, we all win. If we can just make sure that we're not 31 different corporations and we're just one team, I think at the end of the day that will prove to be a successful formula for Penn State."O'Brien is also impressed by how much his entire family has been accepted since it moved to State College."My family moved here a month ago, and I can't say enough about the school and the people in my neighborhood, the people in the town that I live in and the people of State College who have been so welcoming," he said. "It's really pretty unique to be a part of it."Things aren't surprising so much as they are impressive. There have been many things that have been impressive to me.The student body at Penn State is one of them. How many student bodies are there where you drive down the middle of the campus and almost every student is dressed head-to-toe in Penn State gear? They have such a pride in their school, and many of them have stopped by my office to see me and welcome me and that's pretty neat."I'm really impressed with our players. I give a lot of credit to Coach Paterno and his staff for the guys they recruited. Really high-character guys on the majority of the roster who care about class and care about good football. That's been impressive. The other coaches and the athletic department, that's been impressive."When asked if there has been any changes to report since the Blue-White game, O'Brien said not too much."Those guys went from the Blue-White Game, just like students at Penn State, right to final exams," he mentioned. "So they finished up final exams last week, and they're just kind of waiting for their grade reports and things like that. Most of them will be back on May 14 to start their summer conditioning program."He did comment on the status of Devon Smith, the wide receiver, who was charged with marijuana possession."Again, he was charged with a misdemeanor and he's got a court date set," said O'Brien. "Like I've said all along, I believe in Devon. And he's got his side of the story, and we'll let the process play out. Anything I do with Devon Smith, punishment-wise, will be between Devon and I. He's a good kid and he's done everything I've asked him to do to this point, so we'll let the process play out."O'Brien has not only received the support of Penn State alumni, as was evident by the crowd of over 400 that showed up to greet the Coaches Caravan at its Lehigh Valley stop, but of the entire Penn State coaching staff."Since his arrival, it seems that our athletic department has certainly become closer, definitely has become a very close-knit coaching fraternity, sorority community, and it's been good for us as coaches," said Washington. "I think it's been good for our campus and our community, and this caravan is just one more step in what we're doing to move forward in the next era of Penn State athletics."