Matt Stankiewitch centered and offense that was a force in Big Ten play in 2012. Photo by Mark Selders/Penn State Athletic Communications.

Time will be the ultimate judge of how well the senior class of Penn State’s football team handled themselves, not to mention the fabled football program in a season of crisis no other team in the history of college sports has had to endure.

The Nittany Lions’ players were all innocent bystanders in a sex abuse case that not only rocked all of college athletics but an entire nation.

It is fair to say this group will be remembered for its class and dignity, even greatness, in the face of heartbreak after heartbreaking scenarios that has been documented to the point that it does not need to be rehashed here.

Nine players transferred. No one complained. Enough talented players stayed, and along with a new and inspired coach in Bill O’Brien, forged and 8-4 record that featured an emotional overtime win over Wisconsin in the season finale on Senior Day at Beaver Stadium.

One player who stayed was senior center Matt Stankiewitch.

Stankiewitch said he has looked back on the season and is still finding ways to digest what he just went through.

“It was a season of incredible ups and downs,” the 6-foot-3, 301-pounder said in a recent phone interview. “Looking back on it, it’s kind of unbelievable how low we started, going 0-2 then finishing with a storybook ending. You couldn’t write that kind of story. I couldn’t think of a better way to go out. It was really amazing and I am glad I got to be part of it.”

After that 0-2 start Penn State went on to win eight of its last 10 games including a five-game winning streak. As the wins piled up, college football fans all over the country started pulling for the Nittany Lions. Stankiewitch he could feel the love but had to stay on target mentally.

“I tried to stay very focused,” said Stankiewitch, who is from Orwigsburg, PA (just north of Reading). “I focused on my job, in and out of each week, for the full season. It went by so quick. You have to stay mentally focused on the whole season. So when I saw from week to week we were gathering more publicity and more popularity, of course you feel that. But we couldn’t let that distract us from what our job was. My job was to be the best center I could be on the football team. Now I am starting to look back and see what I accomplished and what the team accomplished. But when you are playing you have to stay focused or a little thing could hinder a play and the outcome of a game. What our team did was keep an eye on the main picture, the main goal and we finished the season on a high note.”

Stankiewitch started the season without too much fanfare. Not too much was expected him or his team. But after the season Penn State enjoyed, his stock is rising.

Just last week Stankiewitch was named one of six finalists for the Rimington Trophy, presented to the nation’s top center. A starter in all 25 games the past two seasons, Stankiewitch was one of six finalists from the list of 50 candidates. Joining Stankiewitch as finalists were Mario Benavides (Louisville), Braxston Cave (Notre Dame), Dalton Freeman (Clemson), Khaled Holmes (USC) and Barrett Jones (Alabama.) Jones won the award but Stankiewitch’s marquee value is still shining brightly.

He was invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game to be held Jan. 19 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.

A Blue Mountain graduate, Stankiewitch received the invitation December 3rd. Stankiewitch was named to the All-Big Ten first-team and picked his agents, choosing former Penn State players Eddie Johnson and Rich Rosa to represent him.

He is a lock to be invited to the NFL combine. Still his pro ranking by several draft pundits do not have Stankiewitch rated higher than the seventh round pick.

“I’ve never even met these people who are ranking people,” Stankiewitch said with a bit of a laugh. “What matters is what GMs and the NFL think of me. It’s not what people think what matters behind a computer screen. I respect everyone’s opinion, but what matters is what you do when you get on the field. You have to take the worst case scenario and the best case scenario and focus on what I can control and what I can control is my training. I am training my hardest from sunrise to sundown, working to be the best football player I can be.”

His rise in stature went hand in hand with quarterback Matt McGloin (Scranton) who was honored as the winner of the Burlsworth Trophy, presented to the nation’s outstanding college football player who began his career as a walk-on.

O’Brien’s influence was obvious.

Stankiewitch didn’t seem all that surprised at the season McGloin enjoyed.

“The thing about Matt is he really utilized his intelligence to his benefit this year,” Stankiewitch said. “He capitalized on the fact that he can think very quickly on his feet. His arm was always good. He has to know where to throw the ball and how t5o throw it and what type of coverage’s are on the wide receivers. There were meetings where Coach O’Brien was showing Matt various coverage’s – and I’d be in there too learning – and Matt was so quick at it. You could just tell his confidence and how much better he had gotten at quarterback than he had in previous years. He posted some great stats.”

Stankiewitch talked about the impact O’Brien had on Penn State this year and the impact he feels this new staff will have in the immediate future regardless of the remain three years of sanctions that include no Bowls games and loss of scholarships.

“I had no idea who the coach was going to be,” Stankiewitch recalled. “The only thing I knew about Coach O’Brien was that he coached Tom Brady before this and that he got into a fight with Brady on the sideline…it was the only thing I knew about him.

“But when he came in, that first squad meeting, he really established who he was to our team,” Stankiewitch continued. “That first squad meeting, that first night, the first words he said were very important. We could tell every word he said…he meant. We could tell Coach O’Brien was a real person, he really means what he says and the same with his actions. You want to follow a leader who is successful at everything he says and everything he does…it’s contagious. You want to follow a great leader like that. I don’t think there could have been a better pick. I think Penn State did a fantastic job in recruiting a great coach and I think there are going to be seasons of great success here.”

Does Stankiewitch believe O’Brien and his staff are in it for the long haul?

“I hope Coach O’Brien can take Penn State to a national championship,” Stankiewitch said. “I will be a proud alumni, hopefully I will get to see them win a national championship. I feel that Coach O’Brien and the staff he has now, they could definitely propel the team to the step necessary to do that.”

So does every Penn State fan alive.