Terrelle Pryor's recruiting saga had many bizarre twists and turns -- right up until the final hour.

It was less than two hours until the star high school quarterback let the world know his college choice was Ohio State, and Mr. Pryor was nowhere to be found.

He did not show up for classes yesterday morning at Jeannette High School. Athletic director Bob Murphy couldn't get him on the phone. Guidance counselor Rick Klimchock was starting to get nervous as members of the media were arriving for a noon news conference.

Never mind wanting to know where Mr. Pryor was going to college. Jeannette officials simply wanted to know where he was. Forty-two days earlier, Mr. Pryor called a news conference -- to announce he hadn't made a college decision.

"Not again," Mr. Klimchock muttered yesterday morning.

Mr. Pryor eventually arrived at school, an hour before the news conference. But he was still being coy. Fifteen minutes before the announcement, Jeannette football coach Ray Reitz emerged from a meeting with Mr. Pryor and said, "He's still not telling us yet."

Mr. Pryor eventually meandered down two hallways to the auditorium. Then, with his family and football coaches by his side, he sat at a table on a stage in the auditorium, put on an Ohio State cap, took off a jacket and showed an Ohio State T-shirt.

"It's the University of Ohio State," Mr. Pryor said, a slip-up reminiscent of quarterback Anthony Morelli's declaration years ago that he would attend "the University of Penn State."

The correct name of Mr. Pryor's choice is The Ohio State University. But no matter Mr. Pryor's choice of words, they marked the end of one of the most talked-about and highly publicized recruiting battles in college football history.

"I've never seen a recruiting story quite like it," said Allen Wallace, longtime publisher of Super Prep, a national scouting service in California.

Mr. Pryor said he chose Ohio State over Michigan. Next in line were Penn State and Oregon. He said he wasn't totally sure about Ohio State until yesterday morning, giving strong consideration to Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez and the Wolverines' spread option offense. Mr. Pryor ran a similar offense at Jeannette.

Mr. Pryor also had high praise for Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley, who recruited him. During the news conference, Mr. Pryor said he "loved" Mr. Bradley. After the news conference, he said, "I would've had Penn State higher and would've considered them more if I knew coach Bradley was going to be the head coach when Joe Paterno retires."

But some friends, teammates and acquaintances said Ohio State was Mr. Pryor's top choice for a long time. He had become close with other Ohio State recruits and Mr. Pryor said Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was one of the main reasons he chose the Buckeyes.

Mr. Pryor's size (6 feet 6, 225 pounds) and football talents made him the No. 1 high school player in the country this season, according to many scouting services. He is considered one of the best players ever from Western Pennsylvania. He was the first player in Pennsylvania history to rush for more than 4,000 career yards and pass for more than 4,000.

Mr. Pryor was featured in Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine, and was recruited by colleges across the country, in both football and basketball. Just last week, University of Southern California coach Tim Floyd called Mr. Pryor to tell him the Trojans still wanted him for basketball.

He enlisted Steelers backup quarterback Charlie Batch as an adviser the past few months, and Mr. Pryor was all set to announce for Ohio State Feb. 6, the first day high school players could sign a binding letter of intent with a college. But the night before the news conference, Mr. Pryor's father, Craig, persuaded his son to take a better look at other colleges, especially Penn State.

It is rare for a heavily recruited high school senior not to sign with a college in February. But Mr. Pryor chose to delay the decision. Meanwhile, he was leading the Jeannette basketball team to a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AA championship. He also led Jeannette's football team to a PIAA title in December.

Mr. Pryor had until April 1 to sign a letter of intent with a college. But he didn't have to sign. A letter of intent binds an athlete to a school and ensures a scholarship. But Mr. Pryor could have made a decision after April 1 and still received a scholarship.

Mr. Pryor and Jeannette officials decided Tuesday to have the news conference the next day. He was supposed to meet with a newspaper reporter early yesterday morning upon arriving at school. But Mr. Pryor canceled the meeting, saying his father wanted to speak with him.

"Uh-oh," Mr. Klimchock said with a laugh when told of the father-son chat. "We know what happened last time he talked with his father."

Mr. Pryor said he didn't choose Penn State "because I don't like the area." In the past, he had called the State College area "too country."

Craig Pryor said he supports his son's decision to attend Ohio State, but laughed at the comments concerning Penn State.

"He's never been in the city anyhow," Craig Pryor said. "State College is probably a little bigger than Jeannette."

The young quarterback said if he had to go through the recruiting process again, he would not have waited so long to make a decision.

"Just so you don't get relationships with the [college] coaches," Terrelle Pryor said. "Because it gets hard to say no."