The Penn Stater Magazine

Joe’s Staying, and Kevin’s On His Way

December 17, 2008 at 9:43 am Ryan Jones Leave a comment

Some news you’ve probably heard by now: Joe Paterno has agreed to a three-year contact extension to coach the Penn State football team. (Here’s an entertaining take from Phil Sheridan of the Philly Inquirer, and here’s some breathless analysis from some guy on ESPN.)

Some news you might not have heard: Within a couple hours of the announcement of Paterno’s new deal, highly rated prep quarterback Kevin Newsome of Virginia committed to play for Penn State. (You can find some grainy but impressive high school highlights of Newsome here.) Newsome (pictured) had originally committed to Michigan before changing his mind — a common occurrence in the recruiting game these days — and his commitment makes Pat Devlin’s transfer last week much easier for Nittany Lion fans to take.

In college football, as in life, there are no guarantees: The wording of the University’s press release seems to give both parties some wiggle room, and there have been plenty of “highly rated” recruits who never pan out. Future uncertainties aside, Tuesday afternoon was a good day to be a Penn State football fan.

Ryan Jones, senior editor

Entry filed under: Joe Paterno, Penn State football. Tags: ESPN, Joe Paterno, Kevin Newsome, Phil Sheridan, Philadelphia Inquirer, Recruiting.