Six members of Penn State's 2013 recruiting class gave Nittany Lions football coach Bill O'Brien their full commitment Saturday afternoon.

The six recruits met throughout the day Saturday with O'Brien and his coaching staff, and spent time talking with each other about the NCAA sanctions imposed on the Nittany Lions' football program earlier in the week.

Cedar Cliff tight end Adam Breneman, Virginia quarterback Christian Hackenberg, Hershey offensive tackle Andrew Nelson, Philadelphia Roman Catholic wide receiver Will Fuller, New Jersey offensive lineman Brendan Mahon and New Jersey defensive end Garrett Sickels all pledged to stick to their earlier verbal declarations for Penn State.

“This was important for half of our recruiting class to get together and talk things over. Our class is really tight,” said Breneman, who plans to enroll early at Penn State after suffering a knee injury last month that ended his high school career.

“It was not only good to meet with the coaches, but to just around and talk things over with each other.”

According to Breneman, halfway through the day all six of the recruits marched up to O'Brien's office and informed the coach they were all going to stay committed to their earlier verbal declarations to Penn State.

“Who cares if we don't play in a bowl game? We didn't commit to Penn State just to play in a bowl game,” Breneman said. “Everything we committed to at Penn State is still here. And we all realized that today.”

Breneman and Hackenberg are the top two recruits in a 2013 class that was hovering around the top 15 according to most of the national rankings prior to Monday.

Getting the two big guns, along with four other players, to reaffirm their commitment to Penn State in the wake of the NCAA sanctions was a big step for O'Brien and his staff going forward.

“There's still a long tie before signing day, but Bill O'Brien has to be thrilled about the state of the 2013 class,” said Jared Shanker, who covers recruiting in the Big Ten and midwest for ESPN.com. “Nearly all of the top guys are remaining minus Ross Douglas. And, more importantly, guys like Breneman and Hackenberg are great leaders and recruiters in this class.

“The 2014 class is still going to be a tough sell, but they have some positive momentum following the sanctions.”

The six recruits came into the day with no goals or expectations. Breneman admitted he and the other five on campus Saturday were struggling with their decisions.

“Publicly we were saying the right things, but we were all having second thoughts including myself,” Breneman said. “Coach O'Brien addressed all the negatives with us, and we all talked about them. We all have offers from other big schools like Alabama, Auburn and other SEC schools. But we believe in coach O'Brien and his staff.

“We could go to those other big schools, or we could come here and help a community and a university heal. I can tell you Penn State should be proud of this 2013 class. It was an emotional day. We're so happy we all feel Penn State is the best place for us.”

On Monday the NCAA handed down some harsh sanctions on Penn State's football program. Starting with this season, the Nittany Lions can't play in a bowl game or for a Big Ten title the next four years. Plus each of the next four recruiting classes – staring with the 2013 class – loses 10 scholarships per season. And starting in 2014 the PSU roster must be down to 65 scholarship players instead of 85.

This group of six weighed all those limitations, and still chose to become student-athletes at Penn State.

“We're the kids who want to step up. It really defines a man when facing a situation like this. You can either run, or stay around and fight,” Breneman said. “We want to be some of the guys who help this community heal and move forward. We want to be part of that.

“This decision was not just about football. We have a chance to be part of something bigger than we can imagine. We have the chance to be part of something big for a community. And we're all very excited.”

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