Three weeks ago, I wrote a column bemoaning the decline in Penn State's football recruiting, and expressed frustration at the Nittany Lions losing out to Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Michigan in the battle for blue-chip players.
What I didn't look at were the reasons why. So here are my top three theories as to why Penn State can't keep up with the Buckeyes and Wolverines, not to mention the USCs, Floridas and LSUs of the world.
• Except for the one season Michael Robinson was the starting quarterback, the offense has largely been lackluster in recent years.
Or, as my Sunday News colleague John McGonigle wrote me in an e-mail, "it's not boring, it's BORING."
I know the team is talking about running a spread offense next season, when Daryll Clark might be the new quarterback. That's also a direct appeal to the nation's consensus No. 1 recruit, Jeannette Senior High School signal-caller Terrelle Pryor, who still hasn't made up his mind.
I'll believe it when I see it, however.
If you were a highly sought-after skill player, would you want to go to PSU, when you could play in a pro-style offense at USC, for example?
Didn't think so.
• And if you don't get top-quality players, you don't compete for national championships.
The allure of playing for a program that seems to annually be in the hunt can't be overlooked.
Except for the year Robinson led the team to a No. 2 ranking in the final polls, PSU hasn't been a title contender for years.
On the other hand, Ohio State has made it to the BCS championship game two seasons in a row. Sure, they lost both times, but at least they got there.
Being a top program also allows you to expand your recruiting base. The Buckeyes are drawing players from as far as Texas and Florida, and USC has been raiding the entire country for blue-chippers for a while now. Former Trojans wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett, who was chosen in the second round last year by the Carolina Panthers, is from North Jersey.
Years ago, that was Penn State territory.
• Penn State also sends few offensive players to the NFL, compared to other big-time schools.
That fact certainly must give potential recruits pause.
Sure, there's the occasional standout offensive lineman, such as Levi Brown. And it's a decent offense to play in if you're a running back. Just ask Larry Johnson and Tony Hunt.
But when was the last time a PSU receiver or tight end made an impact in the NFL? Wideout Bryant Johnson got taken pretty high by the Arizona Cardinals several years ago, but he's overshadowed by the dazzling duo of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, and hardly registers on the radar.
Joe Jurevicius? Kyle Brady? Bobby Engram? The pickings are awfully slim.
Contrast that with, say, Michigan, which produces more NFL-quality receivers in a year than the Nittany Lions do in a decade. Continuing that tradition, the Wolverines' top two pass catchers this past season, juniors Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham, have declared for the draft and are considered top prospects.
And don't get me started on quarterbacks. The last Penn State signal-caller to make it in the NFL was Kerry Collins, who was drafted in the first round by the Carolina Panthers almost 13 years ago.
He'll probably be a grandfather by the time the next one comes along.
Paula Wolf, a sports enthusiast who uses a wheelchair because of rheumatoid arthritis, is a staff writer for the Sunday News. E-mail her at pwolf@lnpnews.com.
