Penn State recruiting: JUCO QB Jake Waters picks Kansas State over Nittany Lions

Jake Waters, a top JUCO recruit at quarterback, announced at a press conference that he would commit to Kansas State over Penn State Thursday morning.

Bill O'Brien was hoping to land the prospect, considered the No. 1 junior college quarterback in the nation this season, but the Wildcats won out, landing the 6-foot-2 signal-caller with two years of eligibility remaining. Unlike incoming freshmen, Waters never would have been able to play at Penn State before the end of sanctions that keep them bowl ineligible for the next three seasons. Instead, he'll replace Collin Klein in Manhattan.

Waters led Iowa Western to an NJCAA national championship this season, throwing for 3,501 touchdowns and 39 touchdowns against only three picks. He also broke Cam Newton's record for completion percentage in a season at a junior college, connecting on 73.3 percent of his passes.

Despite losing out on Waters, Penn State still has talent at the quarterback position, with four-star recruit Christian Hackenberg coming in. Sophomore Steven Bench appears in line to be the starter for the Nittany Lions with Matt McGloin graduating, although the highly-touted Hackenberg will likely make a run for the position. Penn State has a relatively strong recruiting class coming in despite the sanctions placed on them by the NCAA, with 16 recruits in the fold already.