Russ Brandon drafted Maybin.
Right before the 09 draft Brandon was at the peak of his power, having been formally given the GM title. Maybin was another step in the Russ Brandon regionalization plan. Look East: Training camp in Rochester. Look North: The Toronto series. Where else to market? Northern Pa. I'm sure everyone remembers how quickly that corny video of Poz hamming it up with Maybin went up after the draft. I'm sure a lot of other players were in the mix with Maybin, but his Penn State connection tipped the balance in his favor. There are over 100,000 fans that flock to every Penn State home game from Northern and Western PA, and the Southern tier, a fact not overlooked by the organization and Brandon in particular.