Success with Hyperlinking is Turning the Calendar

They Like Us, They Really Like Us! Penn State's 2013 recruiting class is now finalized (although, for all intents and purposes, it had been weeks ago), and the reviews are in--and they're unanimous: Penn State hauled in about as good a class as could possibly be expected. From the mothership:

Objectively, Penn State's class is no better than a B. But given the unprecedented sanctions that saddle the program, the job done by Bill O'Brien and his staff is excellent. Keeping Hackenberg and Brenneman in the fold is huge, and Penn State has also done a very good job of scouting.

The Pains of Being Bert at Heart: After ditching Wisconsin for the SEC, Bret Bielema pulled in a pretty nice recruiting class: Rivals ranks Arkansas at #31, while Scout's got the Hogs at #34. But that would've been even higher if one of the biggest prospects in Bielema's recruiting class had double checked with his mom to make sure she was cool with his college choice:

"The papers are not there. I've been told by two different sources that Alex Collins' mom confiscated the papers and took off and ran with them. They are looking for her currently. From what I understand, Alex is not at the school right now, he is looking for his mom. She was quite torn up about him leaving."

BOB Goes Hollywood: Bill O'Brien did the rounds yesterday to promote his recruiting haul--he showed up on ESPN, ESPNU, and the Big Ten Network--and here's video of one of his appearances on tWWL. He also did an extensive Q&A with Rittenberg. Here's a teaser, about the run-on program:

It's huge for us. It's really big. What I've found about that is that there are many, many guys, especially in the state of Pennsylvania but also in the surrounding states, that have grown up dreaming of playing at Penn State, and who maybe even have scholarship offers to other great schools, but who want to have the chance to play at Penn State. And that's what they're doing. We feel really good about the direction of that run-on program.

Assorted errata: That home-and-home with UCF? It's official--the Knights will come to Penn State next year, and the two schools are looking to find a return date in 2014 or 2015. ... ESPN says Matt McGloin was the 14th best player in the Big Ten last year. If you had that before the season, you are Matt McGloin. In which case, thanks for reading, Matt! ... Christian Hackenberg sat down for a series of videos with the Patriot-News, in one of which his dad paraphrases Spider-Man ... Previously winless TCU just beat Kansas (yes, in basketball), so hold out hope that Pat Chambers' boys can win one this year ... Oh, and Tiger Woods and Michael Vick have higher approval ratings than Manti Te'o. ... Eight days til THON!