JoePalogists avert your eyes. WYFF, out of Greenville, S.C., has a story about your beloved Coach Paterno that you don’t want to read.

The Upstate TV news outlet is reporting that Jerry Sandusky may have been actively recruiting players for Penn State as of last spring.

According to Greer High School star linebacker Adam Ah Ching, Sandusky came to scout out the player.

Ranked last year by ESPNU as the 26th linebacker prospect in the country, Ah Ching said he was paid a visit by Penn State’s former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky.

“He came to my last spring game going into my senior season. He liked how I moved, laterally, and how gifted I am,” said Ah Ching.

But days after Sandusky was charged with sexually abusing young boys, leading to the firing of football coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier, Ah Ching scratched Penn State off his list of where he’d continue his football career.

“It’s very devastating to have a top-tiered program and have them drop like that,” said Ah Ching. “That really did play a big impact on where I wanted to go.”

If what Ah Ching says is true, Coach Paterno allowed a man who he had good reason to believe was a pedophile to continue to be affiliated with Penn State.

Even worse: If Paterno was sending Sandusky to meet potential recruits like Ah Ching, the Penn State legend was in effect sending an alleged pedophile to meet underage boys.

All right, JoePalogists, you can open your eyes again. Open them real fucking wide.

Update
WYFF is reporting that they have contacted Penn State about Ah Ching’s claims. So far, they have received no reply. The station also notes that the current Greer High School coach is “not aware anyone representing Penn State attended a spring game,” while also pointing out that Ah Ching “stands by” his statements.

Thoughts on this developing story

We have a few different scenarios that could be unfolding here:

1. Ah Ching is telling the truth, lying and/or confused.

2. The Greer High coach is telling the truth, lying and/or confused.

3. The Greer High AD is telling the truth, lying and/or confused.

4. Sandusky could have been posing as a Penn State recruiter without being such.

5. Sandusky could have been acting as a Penn State recruiter officially but did not contact Greer High authorities yet he approached Ah Ching.

6. Sandusky could have been acting covertly as a Penn State recruiter and did not contact Greer High authorities but did approach Ah Ching anyway.

If the latter is the case, then Penn State could have problems with the NCAA.

That said, we follow this story as it develops.

Update
For more on Adam Ah Ching, go here.

Scout.com has him listed as the No. 57 middle linebacker in the country.

Here’s more from Scout.com:

Right now Ah Ching says that six schools have really put on the all out press as of late in regards to recruiting.

“Notre Dame, LSU, Alabama, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, and Michigan are recruiting me the hardest right now. I want to go see Notre Dame and Oregon this offseason and LSU too.”

The Greer standout says he holds verbal offers from BYU, Oregon, Utah, and Colorado currently.

Here’s an ESPN report on Ah Ching, indicating he has been recruited by Colorado, Utah, BYU, Nebraska, and Oregon State, with offers from Utah and BYU.

Update:

The AP is reporting that the reported encounter between Ah Ching and Sandusky occurred at a football camp for football players of Polynesian descent in Utah and not Greer, S.C.. Ah Ching is Polynesian.

Now, before you go thinking this sounds fucking nuts, let me tell you this: The Church of Latter Day Saints (aka the Mormons) has a very healthy presence in the South Pacific and counts a significant number of Pacific Islanders as followers.

Also, BYU has a sister campus on the island of Oahu and it runs the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu. Students from the South Pacific are recruited to work at the Polynesian Cultural Center, where they portray various islanders — Samoans, Fijians, Hawaiians, etc.

Here’s a bit more about the Pacific Islander presence in Utah and in Utah football.

And evidently, Ah Ching did attend a football camp for Pacific Islanders in Utah called the All Poly Camp.

The Deseret News, one of two dailies in Salt Lake City, had this to say about the All Poly Camp:

The 2011 All Poly Camp now hosts nearly 450 student athletes from around the United States with kids coming all the way from Florida. The camp includes coaches from nearly 30 colleges and represents conferences including the Pac-12, Mountain West, WAC, ACC, Big East, Big Sky, Conference USA as well as independent BYU.

The Salt Lake Tribune caught up with Ah Ching at this past year’s All Poly Camp in June:

Adam Ah Ching, a linebacker from Greer, S.C., has an offer from BYU, among others. A five-year veteran of the camp, Ah Ching knows the drill.

“I’m just trying to show what I can do,” he said. “Coming all the way from South Carolina, I’m not going to waste their time.”

For Ah Ching, the camp was just as much about getting together with fellow Polynesian players as it was performing for the men armed with scholarship power. For others, like Love, it was about getting better, yes, but mostly for turning heads. And then, there were players like Heim, the linebacker from Washington.

He is Polynesian and exulted in the brotherhood of the All Poly Camp. Still, he is entering his senior season and has only gotten “looks” from college coaches.

“No offers at the moment,” Heim said, as rain started to fall. “But that’s why I’m here.”

Update
I’ve left a voice mail with the All Poly Camp and sent them an email to see if Jerry Sandusky attended their camp at the same time as Adam Ah Ching. I’ll let you know as soon as I get a reply.

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