Updated

Penn State coach Bill O'Brien will have a few more scholarships to offer when he hits the recruiting trail this week.

O'Brien is pleased that scholarships taken from Penn State as part of punishment over the Jerry Sandusky scandal have been restored. Five will be reinstated next year, and more will be phased in until the school reaches normal totals in 2016-17.

The NCAA announced the move Tuesday, crediting the university for making significant improvements to its athletics programs.

O'Brien is set to recruit this week because the Nittany Lions are off. He says the program is continuing to "try and do the right thing" every day.

O'Brien says it was "difficult" to deal with the reduced numbers. The amount will continue to increase until Penn State reaches the full allocation of 25 initial football scholarships in 2015-16 and 85 total in 2016-17.