In a somewhat remarkable turn of events, four-star defensive tackle prospect Jamil Pollard has recommitted to Penn State, a program still without a full-time head coach, according to Scout's Bob Lichtenfels. He becomes the first recruit to give his verbal to Penn State since Joe Paterno was fired on Nov. 9.
Pollard, a 6-foot-5, 280-pounder from Westville, N.J. originally committed to the Nittany Lions and then-head coach Paterno on April 10, but lost his scholarship offer on July 17 when Penn State found out his grades weren't up to par
With Paterno gone, though, he's apparently received another scholarship offer and, even in the face of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal and ongoing coaching search, decided that Penn State is still the place for him. In choosing the Lions, he turns down offers from Alabama, Boston College, East Carolina, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina and Rutgers.
Pollard is ranked No. 23 at his position nationally and No. 7 overall in the state of New Jersey according to his Rivals profile.
Obviously, this is quite the development for Penn State's 2012 recruiting class, which many were expecting be a casualty of the scandal and coaching transition. Now, fellow four-star defensive tackle prospects switch of commitment from Penn State to Ohio State a couple of weeks ago doesn't hurt the Lions nearly as much.
After the jump, you can check out Pollard's highlight video.