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Penn State Pat

In what has been a very difficult process, Exton (Pa.) Dowington East quarterback Pat Devlin has come full circle so to speak. With family ties to Penn State, the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder is now committed to Nittany Lions after his de-commitment from Miami.
"This has been very difficult for Pat because he had a great relationship with Dan Werner and Art Kehoe at Miami," said Downington East head coach Mike Matta. "He certainly didn't like to see them get fired and it confused things for him. But being the poised individual that he is, he went back to the drawing board and started over. He found that Penn State had everything he wanted so he committed late Monday night."
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Devlin had committed to Miami back in July and was set to be a Hurricane until Werner, the quarterbacks coach, and Kehoe, the offensive coordinator, were fired by Miami following the team's 40-3 drubbing by LSU in the Peach Bowl.
"Pat had developed that relationship with coach Werner having worked with him at many camps," Matta said. "He and coach Kehoe were a big reason why he liked Miami. Pat wanted a school with good academics, he wanted to play in a high profile conference and he wanted to feel comfortable with the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. He's found that in Penn State."
The family connection to Penn State is obvious. Devlin's father, Mark, is a 1982 graduate of Penn State while his mother, Connie, attended Penn State as an undergrad and grad student.
Devlin joins New Jersey quarterback Brett Brackett in the 2006 class for Penn State. Reached before Devlin's decision was announced, Brackett was pulling for him.
"If Pat commits that will be great, it will make our class that much better," said Brackett, a 6-foot-6, 232-pounder. "I'm hoping he does because the more talent we get at Penn State the better we'll be."
For Miami, this is the second big-time quarterback to de-commit in the month of Janaury over the last two years. Derek Shaw committed to Miami only to change his mind and pick Arizona State instead last year.
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