Penn State Football: Securing Jamil Pollard Doesn't Help Stigma Against PSU

For the first time since details surrounding the child sex scandal of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky came to light, Penn State has received a verbal commitment from a recruit. The Nittany Lions still have a long way to go when it comes to repairing their image, however.

According to ESPN.com, New Jersey defensive tackle Jamil Pollard committed to Penn State and chose it over Boston College. Pollard had committed in April, but his scholarship offer was pulled due to academic issues.

Seeing as Penn State has lost three commitments since the scandal came to the forefront it could be considered a win that Pollard was still interested in attending the school. Even so, it isn't as if Pollard is exactly an elite prospect who spurned a number of other top schools in order to go to Penn State.

ESPNU ranks Pollard as the No. 35 defensive tackle prospect nationally. While that may not mean much with regards to how he will perform in the future, it does mean that he wasn't being heavily pursued by some of the Nittany Lions' fiercest competition.

Even if Pollard turns out to be a star, it means little in terms of the Nittany Lions moving past the Sandusky scandal. The fact that this is the first commitment Penn State has gotten since the scandal broke speaks volumes as other high-profile Big Ten schools like Michigan and Ohio State have been raking in 4- and 5-star recruits as of late.

Securing Pollard may signal the fact that Penn State isn't completely out of the question for some recruits, but I think it will take a top prospect signing before we can truly say that Sandusky is a non-factor. Bringing in talents like Pollard is great, but it's going to take big, splashy commitments to compete with the Big Ten powers.

Penn State will eventually move past this scandal, just like so many other schools have moved past scandals of their own, but the best healer will be the passing of time. Nobody will ever forget about the Sandusky situation, but at some point the university will be so far removed from the scandal that it won't matter much anymore.

With shocking allegations still fresh in the mind of most, the Nittany Lions can't be expected to be major players in the recruiting process. That is exacerbated by the fact the team is in transition following the firing of legendary head coach Joe Paterno.

Perhaps when Penn State settles on Paterno's successor there will be a bit more movement on the recruiting front. Solid prospects like Pollard may not hesitate to come to Penn State, but I think it will be a while before we see can't-miss prospects putting on a Nittany Lions cap to signal their commitment.