By Neil H. Devlin
Senior Writer
Denver Metro Area

They are getting younger and younger, these Division I recruits. And where it will stop no one knows.

While no one seems to agree on what started the process, it is known that the late Joe Paterno made it fashionable years ago to all but sew up classes of juniors in football for Penn State leading up to national signing day for seniors. Title IX also had a hand when it was mandated that colleges offer equal athletic opportunities for female and male participants. Even to this day, certain colleges struggle to find enough female participants to fill scholarship opportunities, which is quite the opposite in male sports, and offers have been flying off the shelves to young women even before they enrolled in high school.