Hiring O'Brien not deterring Penn State recruits

Penn State's recruiting class has been in limbo for two months, with many talented high school prospects waiting to learn the identity of the Nittany Lions' next head football coach.

With the hiring of New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, recruits considering Penn State may be close to some sort of closure.

But only one of the three local Penn State commits was still certain on Friday that he would play in Happy Valley in the fall.

Sources close to St. Joseph's Prep's Skyler Mornhinweg said he will decide early next week whether to go on more visits or stay committed to Penn State. Virginia Tech, Southern California, UCLA, and Baylor have expressed interest in the 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback.

He recently met at the Prep with Penn State interim coach Tom Bradley and recruiting coordinator Ron Vanderlinden. Mornhinweg orally committed to Penn State in July. He also took unofficial visits to Tennessee and Alabama. Miami, Illinois, and Florida State had also been in the running for his services at different times.

Prior to his sophomore year, Mornhinweg, who doubled as a free safety for the Hawks, orally committed to Stanford. He reopened the recruiting process when coach Jim Harbaugh left Stanford to take over the San Francisco 49ers.

Two other local players had varying degrees of commitment to Penn State.

"I'm happy that we got a good coach," said Jamil Pollard, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound defensive lineman from West Deptford High. "Hopefully, the tradition of Penn State doesn't change. I hope the recruiting class of 2012 and I can fit into [O'Brien's] plans for the future as well."

Asked if he was sticking with Penn State even if defensive line coach Larry Johnson is not retained, Pollard said: "I'm not going anywhere. I made a commitment."

Austin Johnson, a 6-5, 280-pound lineman from St. Augustine Prep, said he is "still committed" to Penn State but was a less emphatic than Pollard.

Johnson said he has scheduled a Jan. 14 official visit to Penn State and is looking forward to meeting with O'Brien.

"I'm glad they finally picked out a coach," Johnson said. As for sticking with the Lions if Larry Johnson is not retained as defensive line coach, Austin Johnson (no relation) said: "I'll have to think about it. If that happens, I'll have to think about it a lot."

As of Friday, Penn State's recruiting class consisted of 14 oral commitments, some more solid than others. Three recruits reneged on their commitments in wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal that led to Joe Paterno's firing.

The final recruiting push before national signing day on Feb. 1 begins Jan. 13. Interim Penn State athletic director Dave Joyner previously said it was important to get a coach in place to recruit during those final few weeks.

When Charlie Weis was hired as Notre Dame's head coach in 2004, he stayed on as the Patriots' offensive coordinator throughout the playoffs, which ended in a Super Bowl win over the Eagles. Like it appears O'Brien will have to do, Weis, now the coach at Kansas, balanced two jobs, at once.

"Billy will be able to do that," said Brown football coach Phil Estes, a close friend of O'Brien's. "I don't think that's the big Herculean task that he has. I think it's more convincing guys that, 'Hey, stay on, this is going to be something special, and you're going to be a part of it.' "