Brett Brackett has had a busy first season in the NFL. After an uneasy offseason in which he was left without a team because of the work stoppage, Brackett went to training camp with the Miami Dolphins, in process converting from collegiate wide receiver to professional tight end. After a hand injury, Brackett was released by the Dolphins and had a short stint on the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad in October before recovering more. Now, the New Brunswick, NJ, native finds himself as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad.
But on his first day at the NovaCare Complex, all anyone wants to talk about with Brackett is the ongoing scandal at Penn State, his alma mater. So the 6-foot-6 newcomer answered various questions from the media Wednesday, ranging from his initial reaction to news of the scandal to his thoughts on today's announcement that Joe Paterno, Brackett's head coach and the Penn State head coach since 1966, will retire at season's end.
"Well first and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to the families and victims," said Brackett. "It's just something that you can never imagine having to deal with. That's first and foremost. Beyond that, I've been busy trying to figure out what I'm doing here, trying to learn the playbook, things like that. I don't know much of the details, I don't much of what's going on. Obviously it's sad."
Regarding Paterno, Brackett was impressively thoughtful.
"Everybody has their time," he said. "My grandfather constantly says that nobody gets out of this world without ends. So whether it's the end to a career, end to your life, things like that, things come to an end. Obviously it'll be a sad day for that to happen, but it happens to everybody."
Brackett, who was a captain at Penn State last season, added that he feels for his former teammates who are preparing for their final home game as well.
"Like I've said, the past couple days have been pretty busy for me as well. So (my contact with them) has been pretty minimal," he said. "I think the guys there are pretty focused on the task at hand, this is really out of their hands. It's unfortunate for the student athletes to deal with this, but they have to focus on the task at hand while paying their respects as well."
As for his place with the Eagles, Brackett, who has replaced Anthony Hill, now a member of the Indianapolis Colts, believes his adjustment won't be too difficult.
"My role at Penn State as a receiver had some similiarities to what tight ends in an H-back role in the NFL do," said Brackett. "Whatever anybody wants me to do, I'm willing to do."
