Recruit No. 19 is a big one

Penn State's 2010 recruiting class continues to emerge as one of the top in the nation, as Stamford(CT)Stamford H.S. linebacker Khairi Fortt (☆☆☆☆Scout; ☆☆☆☆Rivals) followed through today on his anticipated commitment to play for the Nittany Lions.

With Fortt's commitment, Penn State has jumped to No. 2 nationally in Scout.com's team recruiting class rankings. The Rivals.com rankings have not been updated with Penn State's new addition, so expect a jump there by the end of the day. Penn State is currently No. 6 nationally.

Fortt was being heavily courted earlier this year by some pretty elite programs, including Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee and USC. But the past few weeks, it came down to Georgia and Penn State. Before news broke that Fortt would come to Happy Valley, an interesting storyline (H/T: BSD) was developing down south. You see, Georgia was ahead of Penn State in Fortt's mind for a while, and everything looked to be good for the Bulldogs. That is, until this happened...

"Fortt made his official visit to Georgia [on Sept. 12, and] said his mind changed when, on two different occasions, the players who were put in charge of showing him around abandoned him. On one instance, Fortt was left to wander the campus by himself early in the morning.

"Two guys left me," Fortt said. "I was left at a dorm party with people I didn't know. Once I was just walking alone in the streets. Georgia is a school in the south, in a top conference, the SEC, the weather is warm, I have a lot of family there and the academics are good. It was all how I connected with the players."

Dear Georgia,

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Penn State

Penn State's class is getting full now, with only a select few spots left for 2010. Who's next? This could be Penn State's highest-ranked recruiting class in decades, even higher than the famed bust of 2000.

For more on Penn State recruiting, check out the Recruiting Board.