With much of the football world telling him he is ruining his legacy by continuing to coach at Penn State, Paterno refuses to pay any heed to his critics. Onward he rolls as the Nittany Lions head coach.

He can still get the job done as a recruiter. Penn State appears to have the fourth-best class in the Big Ten -- behind Michigan, Iowa and Ohio State -- and Paterno appears to have picked up a few blue chippers in WR Derrick Williams, CB Justin King and LB Jerome Hayes.

Paterno enters his 40th season as Penn State's head coach feeling good about himself and his university. He is glad administrators didn't bow to any outside pressure. "I think that this is a credit to the university that they didn't panic and they had confidence in the staff," Paterno said in a telephone interview with the New York Times. "There was pressure on the administration from the talk shows and all the Internet chat boxes."

King is rated the best player at his position in the nation. At 6-0 and 180 pounds, he has a prototype build for the position. A lockdown CB with super speed, quickness, instincts, change of direction, burst and smarts. He has the speed to stay with the fastest of receivers, and the leaping ability and timing to outjump bigger wideouts.

Williams has the speed and hands to become an impact wideout, something that Penn State has needed for quite a while. Hayes can go sideline-to-sideline to make plays and he already packs a pretty good wallop. Look for the 6-2, 225-pounder to get even bigger during his stay at Penn State.

Hayes didn't announce his decision to come to Penn State until signing day, and many college scouts considered him a big addition to the recruiting class.

"Hayes was a big pickup for Penn State," said Rob Lichtenfels of Scout.com. "Jerome Hayes is real, real special."

WR Derrick Williams, Greenbelt, Md. -- Williams is an absolute burner who was timed at 4.24 in the 40. The fact that Penn State has struggled in recent years -- four losing seasons in the last five -- may have influenced him to come to Penn State so he can make an impact right away.

LB Jerome Hayes, Bayonne, N.J. -- A big-time hitter who has impressed the scouts. Not only does he move well, he has the kind of instincts Penn State linebackers used to be famous for.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We have all the ingredients. We've just got to put them to work now on the field. We're the type of kids that they haven't been getting in the past couple of years. Now, we're getting the same kinds of players that Michigan and those other schools are getting. We're not getting the short end anymore." -- King on the upgrade in talent that Penn State brought in during this recruiting season.

PRO POTENTIAL: FB Paul Jefferson -- A big, powerful blocker at 6-1 and 259 pounds. Jefferson is not going to carry the rock, but he can punish opponents and looks to be a sixth- or seventh-round draft pick.

LB Derek Wake -- He may also get a look at defensive end. Wake can get up the field and make plays, but he sometimes has a difficult time locating the ball. Once he does that, he can make plays sideline-to-sideline. A potential late-round pick.

INJURY IMPACT: Penn State returns 19 of 24 starters from the 2004 season finale (nine offense, nine defense, one specialist). ... The Nittany Lions should be relatively healthy when they start offseason workouts.