States like New Hampshire are often overlooked by college recruiters scouring the northeast. With a population of a little over 1.3 million (barely 14.5% of the population of New York City), the talent pool in the Granite State is as shallow as it gets when it comes to Division I football players. With so many other recruiting hotbeds in the region, college coaches just haven’t found a reason to stop in New Hampshire and thus the state and it’s prospects have largely fallen by the wayside.

That is, until recently.

Defensive back prospect Jake Kiley out of New Hampton Prep may very well have put the Granite State back on Penn State’s radar.

The New Hampton native committed to Bill Kenney and the Nittany Lions this afternoon, less than a day following his official offer from Penn State on Monday night. In fact, Kiley would have committed even sooner, but was unable to reach Penn State assistant coach Bill Kenney by phone.

“Penn State was my No. 1 school,” Kiley said. “It would have been crazy not to take the offer.”

He holds no other Division I offers, though that is probably the result of playing high school football in New Hampshire. In fact, national recruiting service Rivals only lists a total of seven 2012 prospects out of New Hampshire, none of whom except Kiley has been ranked, rated or analyzed, and Scout hasn’t even gotten around to rating the US Army All-American candidate altogether. He has even attended summer camps at UConn, Boston College, and Penn State and made numerous unofficial visits just to remain visible on the recruiting trail.

“[BC assistant coach] Sean Devine said if he had an outstanding junior year they’d probably offer him,” said Kiley’s father, Ed, who is also New Hampton’s head coach. “I just got a call from Syracuse. They’re starting to get in the mix now.

Yet Kiley might be the top prospect out of the Granite State. The 6’2″ 175 lb recruit plays both quarterback and defensive back for the New Hampton Huskies. He accounted for 24 touchdowns last season, 14 rushing and 10 passing. On defense he grabbed 47 tackles, four interceptions and three sacks.

The two-way athlete guided New Hampton to a 8-1 record his sophomore season and a 7-2 season in 2010 with back to back appearances in the Roke Bowl (New England Championship). A performance that earned him a US Army All-American nod as well as All-New England and Evergreen League’s Most Valuable Player honors as a junior.

But with New Hampshire largely overlooked by many college programs and recruiting services, Kiley remained largely under the Nittany Lions’ radar until his performance at the Penn State Rising Senior Camp in June where he impressed the staff enough to earn an extended camp offer. An offer that was formally extended Monday night. He joins fellow commits Austin Johnson and Derek Dowrey as members of the 2012 Class who earned their scholarship offers at Penn State’s Rising Senior Camp.

And though he has experience playing on both sides of the ball, Kiley is projected to be a defensive back at the next level. A position that will suit his height and reported 4.56 40-yard dash time well. It also fills a dire need in the defensive secondary for Penn State who has only picked up 2 defensive back recruits in the past 3 years. Given the depth of the secondary, Jake will actually have a shot at competing for playing time right away.

Ed Kiley, his dad who also happens to be the New Hampton Huskies’ head coach had this to say about Jake,

‘He has good hands, pretty quick feet and he can break on balls. Some 1-AA schools like him as a quarterback, but he knows he’s probably going to be a DB. He’s going to be recruited as an athlete.”

And who doesn’t love a kid who isn’t afraid of the spotlight,

“I really like Penn State. Just the thought of playing in front of that many people, I think that would be great.”

Videos and more after the jump…

Interview with Jake Kiley (The Ringer)