Penn State Scandal: New Recruiting Coordinator Won't Be Able to Save 2012 Class

Although Penn State University is in the middle of a scandal that has shocked the world and gave the program a black eye, the show must go on. While the judicial system will handle what happened between Jerry Sandusky and those children he allegedly molested, the Nittany Lions have the football side of things to take care of.

Recruiting coordinator Mike McQueary, the same guy who said he witnessed Sandusky molesting a child in the showers, is no longer an active part of Penn State. Interim head coach Tom Bradley has promoted graduate assistant Bill Kavanaugh to take over the duties of recruiting as well as become the wide receivers coach.

Kavanaugh has been a recruiting assistant under McQueary for the last year. 

Wide receiver Canaan Severin, who has several offers on the table, talks about Kavanaugh when he visited Penn State last season when they were playing the Michigan Wolverines.

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"When I got there Coach Kav ran up to me, I hadn't met him in person yet. We had talked a few times over the phone and he sent me a letter telling me to call him and stuff like that,"  Severin said. "Ever since then we've been pretty close. Then we finally met and it was kind of cool. He was really nice. He was saying a lot of positive stuff. They want to get me over there in the winter and the spring and they're going to come down to the school and stuff like that."

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It's good that Kavanaugh has experience in recruiting, and players feel comfortable with him. Right now the Penn State staff needs positive people around them, and from what Severin says, he is that guy. But regardless of who is helping the recruiting, it's going to take a hit while the program is in the middle of a sex scandal.

Penn State's top recruit, Noah Spence, has already said that he is going to have to think twice about joining the university. And while none of the verbal commitments have backed out yet according to Penn State, it's only a matter of time before things start to change.

It may not be this year, but any recruit that has ever considered joining the Penn State football team will think twice before signing the dotted line.

There's nothing McQueary, Bradley or Kavanaugh can do about that.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]

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