Four hats all lined up in a row -- Florida, Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State.

And wouldn't you know, Justin King happened to pick up the one with the Nittany Lion logo emblazoned on it, flashing a broad grin when he announced he'd be coming to Happy Valley.

On the surface, even if you had been following King's recruiting saga, this one was a shocker.

What could have possibly caused one of arguably the best cornerbacks in the nation to choose a program mired in one the darkest eras of its history over Michigan, Florida, Ohio State or any of the other 50 schools that offered him a scholarship?

Florida may have cost itself the inside track when it fired head coach Ron Zook midway through the season. The recent allegations against Ohio State and its coach Jim Tressel certainly didn't help the Buckeyes case.

But Michigan -- here's a school likely headed to the Rose Bowl for a second straight season, adding another Big Ten title to its massive trophy case. The Wolverines have showcased their willingness to throw their talented true freshman skill players into the fire right away, as they did this season with Chad Henne and Mike Hart.

They also have landed some of the best players from Western Pennsylvania in past years, including King's friends Steve Breaston and Ryan Mundy from Woodland Hills.

None of that was enough in the end. King said his desire to help rebuild a program again -- like he did at Gateway, which will play for the WPIAL title Saturday night -- was why he picked the Lions.

But the credit here should go to Tom Bradley.

Penn State's defensive coordinator (and future head coach, if you believe things you hear on sports talk radio) and recruiting kingpin was last seen jumping for joy on the sideline last Saturday after a game-winning goal-line stand from his defense's solid effort against Indiana.

Bradley might have well done the same thing when King called him Monday night to give him the good news, after the superhuman effort he put forth into landing the prep phenom.

"He played a tremendous role," King said of Bradley at his pressconference. "He recruited me harder than any other coach ever recruited me."

Hyperbole? Not quite.

"The other day, I got 30 handwritten letters from him. In one day. It made an impression."

That line doesn't take too long to sink in. Thirty letters -- each "a good paragraph" long, according to King -- sounds difficult to do over the course of a week or a month, let alone in one day.

But this is the kind of effort Bradley has given for years while targeting the WPIAL breeding grounds, so maybe King's announcement shouldn't have been such a surprise. This is a guy, as he's joked before, who knows all the side entrances at Penn Hills, is on a first-name basis with the cafeteria ladies and janitors at North Hills and at this point could probably tell you how many tater tots they serve for lunch Mondays at Gateway.

Ask people at Pitt how they feel when they hear Bradley is paying visits to recruits in their backyard. WPIAL guys who have picked Penn State like Paul Posluszny, Tyler Reed and Andrew Richardson, all of whom have started this season. Then there's true freshmen Anthony Morelli, A.Q. Shipley, Tyrell Sales and Dontey Brown. Lavar Arrington and Brandon Short.

And now Justin King.

Oh, and he's also heading up what has turned into one of the most stubborn defenses in the country, too.

It's almost pointless to speculate about the future of Penn State football after Joe Paterno.

But, rumors notwithstanding, here's a vote for Bradley's consideration as Paterno's successor.

It's natural that after 55 years of Joe that there would be a yearning to go outside the program and land that big name or that young up-and-comer, but the best choice might be sitting here in the football offices.

Justin King would agree.