Top Recruit Picks Columbus Over Ann Arbor

JEANNETTE, Pa. — Oregon was too far away. Penn State was too rural. Michigan was a close second.

Terrelle Pryor, the highly touted western Pennsylvania prep quarterback, announced yesterday that he will play for Ohio State.

The 6-foot-6-inch, two-sport star — flanked by his parents, two younger siblings and some of his coaches — made the announcement on the auditorium stage at Jeannette Senior High School near Pittsburgh, where Pryor had one of the greatest prep careers in state history.

"If everyone's here," Pryor said to start the news conference, "University of Ohio State." He then unzipped his windbreaker to show an Ohio State T-shirt and donned an OSU hat.

Pryor, considered by many scouts to be the top-rated unsigned high school recruit in the country, said the car trip for his family to games in Columbus, Ohio, is shorter than the flights they would have to take to Oregon. Penn State was too "countryside." And despite a last-minute push by new Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, Pryor decided Ohio State is best for him, even though senior Todd Boeckman is the entrenched starter.