It was a commitment that Penn State fans thought they had in their back pocket for a long time, and on Monday, it finally came to fruition.  Kevin Haplea became the 14th commitment to the Nittany Lions class of 2010.

The 6’4, 230 pound Tight End comes to Penn State from the fertile recruiting grounds of New Jersey, and comes with plenty of hype.  Haplea is rated as a 4-star prospect by Scout (and as their #8 tight end prospect in the nation), while Rivals gives Haplea 3 stars and the designation of 24th best TE in the class.  Though he is ranked and recruited as a tight end, it seems Haplea’s best position in high school has been defensive end, where he 58 tackles and 12 sacks, as opposed to tight end, where Haplea made just 17 catches for 2 touchdowns.

ESPN’ Scout’s Inc. chimes in on Haplea with their usual in-depth reportage, rating him a 78 and saying:

Haplea is a tight end prospect who displays the tools to be a pretty productive and well-rounded player at the position in college. He is used in the passing game, but really shines as a blocker. Has experience playing as an inline blocker and can create some push in the run game. He makes good initial contact and does a good job getting placement and at times leverage with his hands. When he gets his hands inside and can lock on he is tough to beat. Displays the ability to generate power from his hips and move his feet to create a push. He displays good strength and some tenaciousness as a blocker. You would like to see him more quickly snap his hips at times and needs to watch his pad level. Does a solid job of climbing up to the second level and getting a piece of moving targets. He has solid size for the position and should be able to add more bulk with time in a college weight program. He is also a productive receiver. Displays solid speed for his size. Displays the ability to track the ball and make the over-the-shoulder grab and go up and get the ball. He tends to catch the ball into his body. Really seems best in the short-to-intermediate passing game. Runs hard with the ball and can be a guy that helps move the chains. Haplea is a good well-rounded prospect.

Either way, his list of scholarship offers prove what an impact player Haplea could be, as coaches from up and down the East Coast, from Syracuse to Miami and virtually everything in between.  Once again, Penn State beat out the likes of Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia to acquire the services of yet another promising prospect.

As both recruiting services edit their lists of top prospects, it’s interesting to note that all but one Penn State commitment is listed as a 4-star player or higher on either of the two, that being Levi Norwood, who has yet to be ranked on either.  As Haplea joins this incredibly talented recruiting class, which is almost certainly the best in Penn State history, it’s important that we as fans not get too caught up in the allure of recruiting rankings.  Sure, Derrick Williams was a 5-star guy, but so were Chris Bell and Antonio Logan-El.  Recruiting well is nice, but it’s no guarantee of future success.  Still, it can certainly be a source of pride, that Penn State and Joe Paterno can identify who they want and secure a commitment as well as any other team in the country.