Penn St. Linebacker Khairi Fortt Joins the Bears

I wanted to wait on this until after we all got some official word, but it looks like it's pretty final at this point. Penn State Linebacker Khairi Fortt has decided that he will transfer from Penn State and join the Bears immediately.

In the wake of the horrific Jerry Sandusky scandal and the ensuing coverup by the coaches and administration, Penn State was hit by massive NCAA sanctions which include: a $60 million sanction, a four-year football postseason ban and a vacation of all wins dating to 1998, and a reduction of 10 initial and 20 total scholarships each year for a four-year period.

Players were then given the option by the NCAA to leave the school while still maintaining eligibility for the 2012 season.

Khairi Fortt, a starting middle linebacker for the Nittany Lions has decided to take advantage of the opportunity by joining the Golden Bears. This is not the first time Fortt has interacted with the Bears, with Cal having been one of Fortt's finalists for colleges during his All-American high school recruiting season.

Fortt was considered the 5th best linebacker in the nation by Rivals, and the 2nd best linebacker in the nation by ESPN. As a true freshman, Fortt made 17 tackles, including one for loss, recording the most hits among true freshmen. Fortt made his first career start and responded with a season-high 11 tackles, including one for a loss.

During his sophomore campaign, Fortt played in every game and recorded 6.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks among his 33 tackles.

Needless to say, Fortt should contend for immediate playing time. Fortt is still recovering from a knee injury and could redshirt, but otherwise he could contribute right away. The inside linebacking corps has now suddenly been bolstered with the presence of four prep All-Americans (Dave Wilkerson, Nick Forbes, Jason Gibson, Khairi Fortt) and some veteran players in Robert Mullins and JP Hurrell.

This is a huge get for the Bears, and suddenly the Bears' linebacking corps is looking very, very interesting.

The Bears' outside linebacking corps was got a big time boost yesterday with the news that Cecil Whiteside had been reinstated to the team. Whiteside had been dismissed for undisclosed reasons but had apparently done enough during the summer to show that he was ready to make things right and turn things around.

Whiteside joins a bevy of other former All-Americans in Chris McCain and Brennan Scarlett. While Whiteside is unlikely to unseat McCain for a starting spot, he'll get plenty of opportunity to show off his playmaking abilities. In his limited time last year, Whiteside registered 17 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, one pass breakup and a team-high-tying two forced fumbles.

After a number of question marks, the Bears have suddenly emerged with the talent to have one of the most dominant linebacking corps in the conference.