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point if either one signed somewhere else. And while the Lions missed out on junior college quarterback Jake Waters, who chose Kansas State in early December, the coaching staff immediately regrouped, landing California juco prospect Tyler Ferguson. Ferguson completed 55.6 percent of his passes and averaged 261.4 yards per game with 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for the College of the Sequoias. The addition of Hackenberg and Ferguson should give a boost to the thinnest position on the team. As of mid-December, the only scholarship quarterback set to take part in spring practice was sophomore Steven Bench. A lot of people thought Penn State would have a tough time selling itself to this year's senior class. The high school players Penn State is recruiting right now will only be eligible to play in two bowl games during their careers, and that's only if they redshirt at some point in their college careers. With the Lions having to pare their roster down to 65 players by 2014, it's likely they will need most of those prospects to come in and be ready to play early in their careers. As soon as the 2013 class signs its letters in February, attention will turn to 2014. (The incoming recruits are not eligible for the NCAA's transfer waiver; once they sign with Penn State, they are committed and will need to sit out a year should they opt to transfer.) With all but a few of their 15 scholarships accounted for months ago, the Lions have been planning ahead and have been making inroads with a number of solid prospects. A lot of people wrote Penn State off following the announcement of the NCAA sanctions, contending that it would be years, maybe decades, before the school would be able to once again recruit the kind of blue-chip kids it was accustomed to recruiting under the previous coaching staff. It would be naïve to think that the sanctions won't have any impact on the quality of the prospects Penn State signs. They will certainly impact the quantity. But it's looking more and more as though the predictions of a long downturn in the school's recruiting were overstated. QUARTERBACK Matt McGloin was a revelation in his final season with the Lions. From his junior to his senior year, his completion percentage went from 54.1 to 60.5, his yardage total from 1,571 to 3,271 and his touchdown-interception ratio from 8-5 to 24-5. Credit Bill O'Brien and Charlie Fisher, but mostly credit McGloin himself. Absorbing a complicated offensive scheme in a matter of months, the brash senior proved what he'd been saying all along: that he's a damn good college quarterback. GRADE A RUNNING BACK This had the look of a disaster area early in the season following injuries to Bill Belton and Derek Day. Then came Zach Zwinak and everything changed. Buried on the depth chart last year, Zwinak was arguably the season's biggest surprise, finishing with 1,000 yards and ranking eighth in the Big Ten in yards per game (83.3). He's no speedster, and ball-security was an issue all year, but he carried the running game on his shoulders late in the season. GRADE B RECEIVER Aside from McGloin, no one benefitted more from O'Brien's overhaul than Allen Robinson. After finishing with three catches as a freshman, he had a school-record 77 as a sophomore. The tight ends also made a quantum leap, combining for 83 caches, including 36 by Kyle Carter. GRADE A OFFENSIVE LINE Considering that it fielded four new starters and that the backfield lacked a true breakaway threat, Penn State's rushing averages – 143.9 yards per game, 3.6 per carry – look pretty respectable. The Lions gave up 21 sacks, but they also did a lot more passing than in previous seasons. GRADE B DEFENSIVE LINE Jordan Hill was a force in his final season, making 4.5 sacks and 64 tackles overall. Redshirt freshman Deion Barnes showed he was ready to become Penn State's next great pass rusher, finishing with six sacks and claiming Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Thanks largely to Barnes, the Lions led the league in sacks during the regular season with 34. All in all, another fine season by Larry Johnson's crew. GRADE B+ LINEBACKER What's left to say about Michael Mauti? He was second on the team in tackles with 95, had a team-high three interceptions and provided the Lions with tremendous leadership even after suffering a knee injury in their next-to-last game. Gerald Hodges showed he made a smart decision returning for his senior season, finishing with a team-best 109 tackles. Glenn Carson was one of the squad's unsung heroes. GRADE A DEFENSIVE BACK After Ohio's Tyler Tettleton lit up Penn State on opening day, it looked as though this was going to be the Lions' Achilles heel – just as all the pundits had predicted before the season. But despite lacking depth, the secondary held up nicely. Adrian Amos shined at cornerback, while Stephon Morris and Stephen Obeng-Agypong also came on strong. It helped that Penn State stayed injury-free for the most part. It also helped that the Big Ten was not blessed with a lot of great passers. GRADE B SPECIAL TEAMS Sam Ficken was one of the team's feel-good stories, bouncing back from a dreadful afternoon at Virginia to make 14 of 21 field goal attempts, including the winner against Wisconsin. Jesse Della Valle stabilized a shaky punt-return game after the ill-fated Gerald Hodges experiment on opening day. And while the Lions finished the regular season ranked ninth in the Big Ten in punt returns (6.1 yards per attempt) and 12th in kickoff returns (18.1), the kicking game overall did not turn out to be the glaring liability it appeared it might be early in the season. GRADE C+ COACHING This will surely go down as the most memorable 8-4 season in school history. The Lions lost their top returning running back and receiver, as well as their place kicker, yet they boosted their scoring output by nearly 10 points per game from 2011. O'Brien was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, and deservedly so. Considering the headwinds this program was facing coming into the season, it was quite an accomplishment. GRADE A

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