The football team is 3-7 around these parts, but a casual observer sure couldn't tell from how things have been these past few days.

What started as a feel-good win last Saturday, even if it was over Big Ten doormat Indiana, snowballed into outright optimism Monday night when Gateway High School cornerback Justin King verbally committed to the Nittany Lions.

King's announcement gave way to another verbal, this time from Lydell Sargeant, a transplanted Pennsylvania native playing out in California and childhood friend of King's who could figure to play any number of positions, including wide receiver.

And Joe Paterno hinted at his weekly press conference that there's more where that came from.

"We are going to have a great recruiting year," Paterno said of this season's recruiting class, which will sign in early February. "There are a couple of kids that I have said, one may announce [Tuesday] and one may announce [Wednesday], that are some of the best people in the country."

Sargeant may have been one of the unannounced players to whom Paterno alluded Tuesday, but with King, one of the top-rated cornerbacks in the country, coming into the fold, speculation is rampant.

With optimism being the highest it's been in months, it's only natural that speculation be directed toward Derrick Williams, a projected wide receiver who is ranked by many recruiting services as the top prospect in the nation. Williams dropped in for an official visit to Penn State on Halloween after the Lions got back from a trip to Ohio State.

Though NCAA rules prohibit Paterno from mentioning recruits by name before national letter of intent day, he has made references to both King and Williams as guys "who could step right in and play" on several occasions. Though not normally known as a coach who discusses recruiting matters openly, Paterno has been the opposite for much of this season, often letting recruits like King and Williams know how important they are to his program through the media.

But how does one pitch a program that has just two Big Ten wins in the past 15 games, both against Indiana?

Well, you tell them the truth.

"You have to be honest with them," Paterno said. "I have always told kids that recruiting is like getting married -- you can only tell your wife so many lies because sooner or later you have to live with her. When recruits come in, sooner or later they have to live with me. If I tell them a lot of lies, when I stand up there and preach a sermon, they are not going to pay any attention to me."

That philosophy starts at the top with Paterno and trickles down to his players. One of the most vital parts of the whole process comes when a recruit takes his official visit and is hosted by one of the current players.

Naturally the prospect has a lot of questions -- sometimes difficult ones about a team that is just 25-33 over the last four-plus seasons -- but Paterno's instructions are simple.

"Joe doesn't want us to lie to any recruits," fullback Paul Jefferson said. "He tells us to say whatever you feel. He doesn't want anyone coming in here with any misinterpretations or disillusions. They didn't lie to me when I came in and I haven't met anyone here who's been lied to before they came in."

This has been the standard procedure for Penn State for years. Recruits come in for their official visits and sleep in the dorms and generally get a semi-realistic glimpse at what college life at Penn State is like.

Current players like Scott Paxson remain honest with the recruits they host, telling them that he's been "pretty depressed" with how this season has gone, but also that the Lions have a chance to be something special next season.

That type of candor has struck a chord with eight prep players now who have given verbal commitments to Penn State. After a slow start in which the Lions remained at the bottom of the Big Ten in number of commitments, they've caught up pretty quickly.

And the optimism is starting to catch on.

"We are going to have a great recruiting year," Paterno said. "That is because the squad here, when the kids have come up to visit, have been guys that felt proud to be part of the Penn State program and proud of the way we want to do things around here."