Jerry Sandusky Sex Scandal: Allegations Won't Sway Recruits from Penn State

Call me cynical if you'd like, but as horrific, terrifying, disgusting and unconscionable as the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal at Penn State is unfolding to be, it isn't likely to dissuade many, if any, recruits from playing their college football for Joe Paterno in Happy Valley.

Unless, of course, this whole fiasco comes to be the bale of hay that broke the 84-year-old camel's back.

That is, the only concern that any high school football player interested in signing with the Nittany Lions might have with this story is if it costs JoePa his job.

Short of that, it's tough to imagine any de-committing or committing elsewhere based solely on the sideshow that has consumed State College. The specter of Paterno's retirement, whether forced or by his own choice, has hung over the program for years, through good times and bad, in the coach's sickness and his health.

Through it all, Penn State has continued to recruit remarkably well and is on track to bring in yet another top 25-caliber class, according to Scout.com.

This, in a sport, like any other collegiate arena, wherein any given athlete's firmest commitment and attraction to a particular program revolves around the coach. For all intents and purposes, Joe Paterno is Penn State, so as long as he's there, he will continue to draw talent from all over the country.

Because what high school kid who plays linebacker at an elite level doesn't at least consider spending three, four or five years honing his craft at Linebacker U?

Chances are, most of these kids are not at all concerned with what JoePa does or doesn't do outside of his responsibilities as a football coach, and the ones who are would likely take Paterno at his word that he was not informed of the "very specific actions" that Sandusky engaged in with underage boys.

Whether you think Paterno's telling the whole truth or not and regardless of what your moral judgement of a teenager signing on with the program at this may be, it doesn't change the fact that kids will continue to flock to Happy Valley.

So long as Paterno is still there, and so long as the program doesn't come under fire from the NCAA.

Of course, that could all change rather quickly as new details come to light. It's quite possible that Paterno will hang 'em up after this season, using the success of this year's Nittany Lions team as an easy way to "go out on top," all the while shuffling under the rug the dust of the Sandusky case.

Even then, Penn State's recruiting isn't likely to slow down. At his age, Paterno isn't the one flying around the country from week to week, speaking to kids in their homes and reassuring their parents that State College is the place to be. That responsibility is borne most by his assistants, many of whom postdate Sandusky and will probably be around even after JoePa is gone.

And if anyone's worried about possible NCAA sanctions turning kids away, look no further than the success that troubled schools like USC and Miami have had on the recruiting trail of late.

Granted, the scandal in which Penn State currently finds itself knee-deep is far seedier and far more egregious by absolute moral standards—by leaps and bounds, in fact.

But as long as Penn State keeps winning, Joe Paterno keep stalking the sidelines and the NCAA steers clear, the pipelines of talent will continue to pump top-notch athletes to central Pennsylvania.