Wake up, people

This is getting out of hand. I understand that Terrelle Pryor is one of the most hyped recruits to come out of Pennsylvania in a long time, but will it be the absolute end of the world if Penn State doesn’t land him? Why would he want to come to Penn State anyway? We have three quarterbacks in line already—two starters in Clark and Devlin, and a solid career backup in Cianciolo. When was the last time Paterno started a TRUE freshman quarterback? That’s what I thought.

Some fans got excited about Joe, Jay, Tom and Mike going to visit Pryor this week. I didn’t. Now, reports are coming out that he wasn’t all that thrilled with Penn State or the thousands of cows that come with it. The biggest problem for Penn State isn’t really that Pryor may not come to Happy Valley, but that he’d end up in Ann Arbor or Columbus. (My guess is that he becomes a whore and gets the nod right away.)

You have to be a realist during recruiting season. You can’t hedge an entire season (or the next four years) on landing one recruit. Penn State has gotten its program back to the point where one single recruit won’t make a difference the way it did in 2005. Even then, it took two guys—Williams and King—to inject the kind of firepower that propelled the Nittany Lions to 11 wins and a BCS berth. If fans get caught up with the idea that this entire recruiting season was a waste, just because Penn State didn’t land Pryor, they will miss out on the bigger picture.

When was the last time Penn State gave out so few scholarships? It’s been a long time. (2003, I believe) So what can you expect in a class that size? It won’t be a top-25 group, and chances are that it won’t have all of the recruits desired. According to Rivals.com, Penn State’s average star ranking is 3.07, better than five top-25 classes ranked on that site. Scout.com has Penn State’s average star ranking at 3.47, better than 13 top-25 classes ranked on that site. Sure, it’s not exactly the class of 2005 or 2006 but it’s not as bad as everyone’s making it out to be.

I’ve used him before as an example, but take a look at Deon Butler. He came to Penn State as a preferred walk-on defensive back. You would be a liar by saying you knew he would be one of Penn State’s best wide receivers ever. How about Tony Hunt? Taking second fiddle to Austin Scott in the class of 2003, then emerging as the most reliable Nittany Lion in more than a decade is no small feat. But where was he rated coming out of high school? He was a three-star prospect by many.

So don’t get stressed out over the Pryor situation. If Penn State doesn’t get him, then Penn State doesn’t get him. We can only hope he shocks everyone as travels out west to Oregon. I wonder how things would have turned out if Joe Paterno rolled into Jeanette behind the wheel of a Z06?