PSR SHOWDOWN
Who is the best local recruiter?
By Neil Rudel,
Altoona Mirror

Tom Bradley

Tom Bradley is not only the best local college football recruiter, but he's been the best for as long as any of the current recruits have been alive.

No geographic region has meant more to the Nittany Lions than Pittsburgh, especially during Bradley's rise as one of the nation's top recruiters.

Penn State has consistently pulled the top players out of Pittsburgh and lured them to Happy Valley.

Consider this list: LaVar Arrington, Brandon Short, Paul Posluszny, Sean Lee, Brian Gelzheiser, Tim Manoa, Justin Kurpeikis. All are from the Pittsburgh area. All were recruited by Tom Bradley.

A 1979 PSU graduate, Bradley not only can sell, he can identify. He drove up Route 219 in a snowstorm to Freeport, N.Y. and was sold on Shane Conlan, whose only big-time scholarship offer was from Penn State.

A recent conquest includes Justin King - in part because of Bradley's ties to Gateway coach Terry Smith, who Bradley also recruited.

And although Penn Hills quarterback Anthony Morelli didn't develop-or maybe more accurately WASN'T developed-to his potential at Penn State, he still had verbally committed to Pitt before Bradley convinced him he could fill the Lions' needs.

Just the fact that Penn State hasn't been fully eliminated by Terrelle Pryor, at least as of this writing, speaks to Bradley's personality and doggedness.

The Nittany Nation has no idea how long Joe Paterno can last, but the Lions remained in Pryor's top five throughout recruiting. That's a credit to Bradley, who hung in there selling uncertainty while Jim Tressel and Rich Rodriguez were selling a defined future.

The term "succession plan" is becoming a buzz phrase throughout football, college and pro, these days. Florida State, Purdue and Kentucky have announced. Ditto the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts.

Once this recruiting season is over, Penn State may even follow suit.

If Joe Paterno's successor-in-waiting is Tom Bradley, he'll have earned it.

If not, and Bradley eventually leaves Penn State, the Nittany Lions likely will have lost their recruiting edge in western Pennsylvania.