Jake Kiley was so overwhelmed at receiving a Penn State football scholarship offer, it left him at a loss for words.
"I was speechless for about five minutes. I just sat there. I didn't know what to say,'' Kiley said.
When he regained his voice, it didn't take Kiley long to act.
New Hampshire may not have an FBS program within its borders, but it does have a BCS recruit. Less than 24 hours after he was offered, Kiley, a 6-foot-1, 176-pound quarterback/cornerback from New Hampton School became the 13th recruit in the Nittany Lions' 2012 class on Tuesday afternoon.
Kiley, who said he has been timed at 4.52 seconds in the 40-yard dash, is being brought in as an athlete. However, it seems likely his future is in the secondary, where Penn State is thought to be have at least four slots allotted for a class expected to eventually number nearly 25 players.
"It didn't really take that long,'' Kiley, who got his offer at 5 p.m. Monday, said of his decision. "I decided that night. I just waited to put it out there. I called Coach [Bill Kenney] around lunch time to let him know.''
Penn State was the first FBS school to offer Kiley, but Boston College, Duke, Maryland, Virginia, Syracuse and UConn were among the other colleges showing interest. The Nittany Lions saw Kiley perform in person; he took part in Penn State's senior-only camp last month after coming to University Park for the Michigan State game last fall.
New Hampshire, an FCS program, also offered Kiley.
New Hampton is a private school with 310 students in grades 9-12 and its postgraduate program. The Huskies have played in the New England private school championship game the last two seasons, winning it in 2009 as Kiley picked off eight passes.
The Huskies were 7-2 last season, when Kiley ran for 14 touchdowns, threw for 10 more and made 47 tackles, four interceptions and three sacks en route to being named his league's player of the year and being selected to the all-New England private school team for the second year in a row.
"A lot of people don't realize the competition we play is pretty good. Division I kids come out of our league quite frequently,'' said Kiley's father, Ed, who is also New Hampton's coach. "He's athletic, his knowledge of the game is key and he loves to hit. Coach [Tom] Bradley told us he fits their philosophy.''
Kiley comes from an athletic background on both sides of his family - his mother owns a gymnastics center, where he sometimes works out. The younger Kiley began playing football in second grade, and he's also on the basketball and lacrosse teams at his school. He's played baseball and golf, as well.
Kiley has friends on his future team, too. He and Nittany Lion linebacker/safety commit Camren Williams of Massachusetts have known each other since they were 7. Williams father even captioned a photo of the two of them together "Future teammates?".
"It was amazing,'' the younger Williams said when he found out about Kiley's commitment. "I'm definitely excited to play with him at PSU. He's a great athlete who can throw, run, catch. He's rangy. He's just the total package and I can see why Penn State didn't want to miss out on him.
"It's just a great thing that happened not only for him, but for both of us.''
Kiley is also friends with Williams' high school teammate, cornerback Armani Reeves, who has Penn State and Notre Dame leading a long list of college suitors.
In other news, it will take the Nittany Lions a little longer to find out whether or not Youngstown running back Will Mahone will join Williams and Kiley in this class. Mahone had intended to announce his decision on Aug. 7 but has since backed off that date.
Penn State, Notre Dame and Pitt reportedly are Mahone's top three.
