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At 6-foot-6, 325 pounds, it might seem that the Penn State football team got a road-grading run-blocker when Khamrone Kolb of Burke, Va., Lake Braddock High School verbally committed to the Nittany Lions during his visit to University Park for the Minnesota game on Saturday.

However, Lake Braddock coach Jim Poythress thinks the Lions landed an offensive lineman who'll fit in well in their spread offense because of his versatility and polish.

"His pass protection ultimately is his greatest asset,'' Poythress said.

Lake Braddock, which has gotten off to a 5-2 start, is using a five-wide receiver alignment on offense this season. The Bruins have amassed about 2,600 yards, 1,400 of it coming through the air.

Kolb, Poythress said, has been a big reason why.

"He's been doing well. He's really coming into his own,'' Poythress said.

Kolb, the fourth offensive lineman to commit to Penn State in this class, came into his third year as a starter for the Bruins trying to rebound from knee surgery. However, it appears he hasn't been worse for the wear: although Poythress hasn't played him at running back as he did in four games last year, Kolb has blocked four extra points and played defensive tackle this season for the Lake Braddock, one of the 10 largest schools in Virginia.

Kolb was also a preseason Washington Post All-Met selection. He's ranked as the 14th-best prospect in Virginia by Rivals.com.

"The knee is good, everything is good with that," Kolb, who couldn't be reached by the Mirror's press deadline, said in a recent online interview with BlueWhite Illustrated. "I'm not starting both ways, but I get in there whenever they need me to on defense.''

In spite of the injured knee, Kolb had received 14 scholarship offers at the time of his commitment, choosing the Nittany Lions over UConn, Wisconsin and Virginia.

"I pretty much just felt that Penn State, educationally and football-wise, was the perfect fit for me," Kolb, who was also pursued by Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Illinois, Maryland and North Carolina State, told the Washington Post Sunday night. "I love the powerful feeling of the Big Ten as a conference and knew that I was wanted at Penn State. The entire football atmosphere of a place like Penn State is something that I also fell in love with and would love to be a part of the next five years."

Kolb joins an athletic group of offensive lineman that committed earlier to the Nittany Lions. Miles Dieffenbach, Tom Ricketts and Luke Graham also have basketball backgrounds. The Lions also have a commitment from defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, who some experts this will eventually wind up as an offensive guard.

Kolb should fit right in. He's been timed at 5.1 seconds in the 40-yard dash, prompting Poythress to use him at fullback a few games last season.

"He completed a pass last year, caught a pass,'' Poythress said. "He's so much bigger and faster than other high school kids.''

Kolb and Penn State's other 2010 verbal commitments add to a strong crop of offensive linemen that signed with Penn State earlier this year, including All-American Eric Shrive, Mark Arcidiacono and Adam Gress. Kolb is playing right tackle for the Bruins, but some recruiting analysts project to guard in college.

Kolb was scheduled to visit Wisconsin later this month and then UConn. However, he decided to commit to the Nittany Lions after making two visits to University Park in less than a month - he also attended the Temple game in late September.

Kolb told BlueWhite Illustrated he didn't come to the Minnesota game with the intention of committing, but, when he met up with Lion coach Joe Paterno shortly before his postgame interview "It just came out.''

"I just felt the right vibe.''

Kolb is Penn State's 20th commitment in this class. The Lions are expected to sign 22-24 players.