One day after it was announced that Penn State will embark on a week long tour of Europe, the team suffered a crucial blow in the form of Associate Head Coach Eugene Burroughs leaving the program to return to Marist University, where he was an assistant coach from 2000-2004.

It had been speculated that Burroughs would leave the program, and the writing has apparently been on the wall for some time.

@standoutstar No worries. Burroughs left for personal reasons, we’ve been expecting for awhile. Still expect good things in 13-14.

— Brian Siegrist (@PSUSTRETCH) May 21, 2013

Losing Burroughs hurts the Lions in a variety of ways, perhaps none more than the loss of Burroughs as a recruiter. Burroughs oversaw day-to-day operations within the program, and was the team’s top recruiter. He will be an assistant under Jeff Bower, a former Penn State assistant from 1983-86 and a former GM/Interim Head Coach for the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets.