Gateway High School football star Justin King has decided on a college -- and the winner is Penn State.

King, a 6-foot, 180-pound senior running back-defensive back, made a verbal commitment to Penn State tonight. He chose the Nittany Lions over Michigan.

King was recruited by colleges across the country. His other two finalists were Florida and Ohio State. He was recruited to play defensive back, but also hopes to see time on offense at Penn State by his sophomore season. Some scouting services rank him the No. 1 defensive back in the country.

Michigan had landed some of Western Pennsylvania's best talent over the past few years, but couldn't get King. Receiver Steve Breaston (Woodland Hills High School), linebacker Scott McClintock (Belle Vernon), defensive back Ryan Mundy (Woodland Hills) and defensive back Marlin Jackson (Sharon) are all starters for Michigan.

King plans to graduate from Gateway in December and enroll at Penn State for the second semester in January. He will play in the WPIAL Class AAAA championship Saturday at Heinz Field against Central Catholic.