Lake Fong, Post-Gazette McKeesport's Travis McBride will attend Penn State. Click photo for larger image. Previous Story: PIAA Class AAAA Championship: McKeesport beats up on Liberty

Travis McBride had said all along he would wait until after his senior football season to make a college decision. And he did.

He waited all of two days.

McBride, a standout running back-defensive back, won the PIAA Class AAAA championship Saturday night and made a verbal commitment to Penn State yesterday. McBride (6 feet 1, 200 pounds) is Penn State's first WPIAL recruit from the class of 2006. He is the Nittany Lions' 10th recruit overall.

McBride also had scholarship offers from West Virginia, Iowa and North Carolina State, among others. Penn State had been showing interest in McBride all along, but offered a scholarship last week.

"He called me [yesterday] and said he wanted to go to Penn State," McKeesport coach George Smith said. "I told him, 'Travis, you haven't even visited anywhere yet.' But he told me, 'I don't care. I want to play for Penn State.'

"So I just said, 'That's fine with me. Congratulations.' "

McBride was recruited by Penn State to play defensive back, most likely strong safety.

"He's so multitalented that he could play a lot of places," Smith said. "He's gifted. He's big. He's going to be 225 pounds before it's all said and done and he can run like the wind. He can cover anybody as a cornerback. He's a shut-down guy. Then he can come up and stop the run."

McBride, a Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 selection, intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown in the PIAA final Saturday against Bethlehem Liberty. On offense, he rushed for more than 3,000 career yards and averaged more than 10 yards per carry for his career. This season, he rushed for 1,638 yards on 149 carries.

In other Penn State recruiting news, Bishop McDevitt star running back LeSean McCoy will announce his college choice next week. Penn State, USC and Virginia Tech are his top three choices. But no matter what college McCoy chooses, he most likely will have to go to a prep school for a year to improve his academics.