STATE COLLEGE, PA. Penn State hits in-state bonanza

Recruiting services describe this year's class as one of the school's best in years.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Penn State's reputation as "Linebacker U" could get a boost from this year's recruiting class, which includes a pair of highly touted linebackers along with a collection of desperately needed quarterbacks.
Pennsylvania natives Dan Connor, a linebacker from Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, and Anthony Morelli, a quarterback from Penn Hills High School in Pittsburgh, headline Penn State's recruiting list.
Already hailed as one of the Nittany Lions' best recruiting classes in years, the late addition of Morelli, who had originally committed to Pittsburgh, raised Penn State's ranking to No. 13 on the national recruiting Web site Rivals.com.
Already enrolled
The star of the class could be Connor, who enrolled at Penn State this semester and will participate in spring practices. Phil Grosz, publisher of the G & amp;W Recruiting Report and the Penn State fan newspaper Blue-White Illustrated, ranked Connor as the No. 2 recruit in Pennsylvania. Rivals.com ranked Connor the 24th-best recruit in the country and the No. 5 linebacker.
Grosz said another linebacker recruit might also turn heads -- Dontey Brown, of McKeesport. At 6-3, 252 pounds, Brown is a big linebacker who Grosz said has the potential to be as good as Brandon Short, another McKeesport prospect now playing with the NFL's New York Giants.
"I'm not saying he's that good right now, but he's got a lot of potential," Grosz said.
Although the linebacker recruits could bolster a Nittany Lions defense that has struggled for an identity in recent years, Penn State's most pressing need was at quarterback.
Zack Mills and Michael Robinson will be a senior and a junior, respectively, next fall when they fight for the starting spot; other than seldom-used junior Chris Ganter, there are no other quarterbacks on the Nittany Lions roster.
Instead, Penn State will get Morelli, the second-team quarterback -- behind Chad Henne -- on The Associated Press Class AAAA All-State list. He was ranked the fourth-best quarterback and 12th-best player overall -- just ahead of Henne -- by Rivals.com.
Clark in fold
Morelli was one of six quarterbacks to sign with the Nittany Lions, although at least half will likely move to other positions. Paul Cianciolo, of Fort Dorchester, S.C.; Daryll Clark, of Ursuline High; Adam DiMichele, of McKees Rocks; Jordan Lyons, of Atlanta; and Kevin Suhey, of State College, all eventually could compete with Morelli for a starting spot. Cianciolo and Lyons could move to tight end, and DiMichele and Suhey could switch to defense.
The one thing Penn State's class lacks is wide receiver depth, particularly with the loss of freshman Maurice Humphrey, who was charged with assaulting another student on campus last November. The Nittany Lions signed just one wide receiver prospect, Mark Rubin, of Buffalo, N.Y.