STATE COLLEGE — Penn State landed the perfect complements for its quarterback of the future: a mammoth offensive tackle and a tall, speedy receiver.

Quarterback Kevin Newsome is already wearing blue and white, having enrolled at Penn State this semester after finishing high school early.

Come fall, he'll be joined by 6-foot-7 tackle prospect Eric Shrive and 6-foot-3 receiver Justin Brown — two of the high school seniors who cemented their commitments to the Nittany Lions on Wednesday, the first day that recruits can sign national letters of intent.

As of early Wednesday evening, Penn State's 27-man class was rated 10th-best in the country by Scout.com, and 25th by Rivals.com.

Apparently, 82-year-old Joe Paterno's health and uncertain contract status during much of the 2008 season didn't have that much of an effect on recruiting, said Mark Brennan, the editor of Fight on State, which covers Penn State recruiting for the Scout network.

With graduation losses affecting Penn State heavily at receiver and in the secondary, nabbing Brown and four-star defensive backs Gerald Hodges and Darrell Givens filled positions of need with guys who might be able to contribute as freshmen.

But the key to the class may be Newsome, a mobile, 6-foot-3 quarterback from Portsmouth, Va., who may enter his first year as the top backup to starter Daryll Clark.

Newsome and Clark are the only scholarship QBs on the Penn State roster after Pat Devlin left the program in December. Devlin signed with FCS school Delaware on Wednesday.