STATE COLLEGE — Penn State's quarterback of the future might just have arrived in Happy Valley.

Just how soon either Paul Jones or Robert Bolden plays meaningful minutes for coach Joe Paterno remains to be seen.

While a freshman starting quarterback is a rarity in big-time college football, 2010 could be the year when a first-year player has as good a shot as any in recent Penn State history to get quality time with two-year starter Daryll Clark having graduated.

No wonder touted QB prospects Jones and Bolden signed on with JoePa as part of this year's 20-member recruiting class.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, Scout.com rated Penn State's class as the ninth-best in the country, while Rivals.com had the Nittany Lions at No. 12.

Paterno hauled in blue-chip recruits at linebacker in Western Pennsylvania's Mike Hull and Connecticut's Khairi Fortt — this is Linebacker U., after all.

But it's at quarterback where Penn State filled its top priority. The departure two years ago of Pat Devlin, who would have been in line to start in 2010, left Penn State with a hole on the depth chart.

"To me, this is as wide open a quarterback derby as they've had since joining the Big Ten" in 1993, said Mark Brennan, editor of FightOnState.com, which covers Penn State recruiting.