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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Terrelle Pryor carried a state basketball championship trophy as he walked out of the locker room and was mobbed by reporters. But the question hovering around Happy Valley had nothing to do with hoops.
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The talented Jeannette High School senior said he will decide within a week where he will go to college and play football. It's the latest twist in the saga of one of the most hotly recruited Pennsylvania high school football players in years.
"Next week, I'm going to say the school I'm going to, sign it and get it over with," Pryor said after scoring 23 points and grabbing eight rebounds to lead his team to a 76-72 overtime win over Strawberry Mansion in the Class AA title game.
The contest was played before 6,000-plus fans at the Bryce Jordan Center on the campus of Penn State, one of the finalists for Pryor's considerable services. He has said that Ohio State, Michigan and Oregon were also in the mix.
On Saturday, he said he was down to two schools, but declined to name them.
"I can't tell you that," said Pryor, the only Pennsylvania player to rush for more than 4,000 yards and pass for 4,000 in his career. He's rated the nation's No. 1 player by a couple of recruiting services.
At a news conference last month, Pryor said he had felt comfortable with Ohio State the night before, only to change his mind after waking up that morning. He then said he wanted to make an official visit to Penn State and coach Joe Paterno. Pryor's father, Craig, has received numerous visits from Penn State coaches and apparently wants his son to play there.
Asked his impressions of the State College area, Pryor initially didn't sound too thrilled, but he later called Penn State a good school with "good coaches." He said he felt comfortable with Penn State because he had already made many personal trips and unofficial visits to town.
Pryor's high school basketball coach, Jim Nesser, praised the dedication of his star, who said he wanted to hold off on official football recruiting visits until after basketball season was over. Nesser said he did not know whether Pryor would play basketball in college.
"I know he loves the game. I'm just going to tell you, I don't know if some of you guys realize the commitment that he's made to our basketball team," Nesser said. "So the kid's made a lot of sacrifices for our team. ... I have great respect for Terrelle Pryor."
Given the choice, Pryor said he would have started considering his college choices earlier in his high school career.
"Getting to know all these college coaches, I mean the relationships with them ..." he said, his voice trailing off. "It's hard to tell them no. That's how I am. It's hard to tell them no. Eventually I got to do it."
His decision to wait is unusual, as most top players have long committed by signing day in early February. Pryor, though, doesn't have to sign with any school until April 1.
