2012 Penn State Recruiting: Quarterbacks

So yesterday we explored how many scholarships Penn State will have to play with in the 2012 recruiting season. Today let's dive a little deeper and look at the quarterback position. Here is the list of scholarship quarterbacks currently on the roster.

Because Penn State opted not to pursue a quarterback in the 2011 class, taking one in 2012 is an absolute must. Keep in mind too that Newsome and Bolden nearly left the program after last season, so one or both of these guys may split after spring practice if they don't like their situation. If that happens, Penn State will need to take two quarterbacks in this class.

Now, on the surface it looks like things are pretty crowded at quarterback if everyone sticks around which is going to make it difficult to bring in some top notch talent, but actually this is a pretty attractive situation for a five-star stud to walk into even with all of the current quarterbacks on the roster. By the time any kid signed in the 2012 class steps on campus, Paul Jones will be a sophomore, and Robert Bolden will only have two years left. So any potential quarterback is looking at redshirting for a year, riding the bench for a year, and then if they can beat out Jones in 2014 they have an excellent chance at being a three year starter. And even if that doesn't work out, Jones is gone after the 2014 season leaving an excellent chance at being a three year starter.

Penn State is already hot on the trail for a few guys in this class. They have already extended a verbal offer to Zeke Pike from Kentucky. Pike already has dozens of offers to choose from so it's going to be tough to lure him to State College.

Staying local, Penn State may have a better shot at landing a local product like Brendan Nosovitch of Allentown Central Catholic or Blake Rankin of Bloomsburg. Larry Johnson is also said to be taking a serious look at Ian Fisher from Maryland as well.

Luckily, this is a year where Penn State's local recruiting ground is loaded with three or four top prospects. Look for Penn State to try to sign one or two of them.