Getting Close to Crunch Time

Evan Royster was more than polite as he excused himself for a brief moment. At a time when most top high school athletes are focused solely on bettering themselves in the athletic arena, The Post's All-Met Offensive Player of the Year had to take time out from a phone interview to answer the other line at Centreville Tire and Auto.

In a few seconds, though, the Westfield High running back was back on the line to talk about the announcement that he had finally chosen a scholarship offer from Penn State.

"I just felt something at Penn State I didn't feel at other places," Royster said.

As the Feb. 1 beginning of the signing period nears, more and more players are making their college choices. Some do it because it is getting close to crunch time, when perhaps a scholarship will no longer be available because other players accept offers sooner. Some make the choice now for quirky reasons. Churchill defensive back Matt Leemhuis, a second-team All-Met, might fit into both of these categories; he said he chose Virginia this past Monday because it was his 19th birthday.

Then there are instances such as Royster, who previously had taken official visits to Nebraska and Oklahoma. Those trips "weren't real different" from his visit to State College this past weekend, Royster said, but once he arrived on campus it took him little time to figure out where he belonged.

The deal was sealed this past Tuesday, when Coach Joe Paterno and assistant Larry Johnson traveled to Virginia and met with Royster and the running back's family.

"They did a very impressive job presenting the school to us and the program," said Royster's mother, Dawna. "We loved it. It's the perfect fit for Evan. It's one of those things, after our visit, everything fell into place and it was the right thing to do."

Royster became the sixth Washington-area player to accept a scholarship from Penn State.

Previously, three All-Mets had accepted scholarships: Lackey lineman J.B. Walton, Quince Orchard linebacker Bani Gbadyu and McDonough defensive back A.J. Wallace. Mount Hebron lineman Aaron Maybin also committed to the Nittany Lions. Suitland linebacker Navorro Bowman, an All-Met in 2004 who was hampered by a shoulder injury this past season, graduated from high school after the first semester and enrolled at Penn State for the spring semester.

That group could get more additions soon with two more All-Mets.

Gwynn Park lineman Phillip Taylor and Forestville lineman Antonio Logan-El are expected to make their choices publicly known by the end of the month. Both are also considering Maryland. Logan-El committed to Maryland before his junior year before later opening the process, while word among local high school coaches is that Taylor already has committed to Penn State but is holding off on an announcement.

As for Leemhuis, he had visited Virginia during the fall and took an official visit to California the first weekend of January. He returned home and had yet to make up his mind, all the while getting recruiting updates from Virginia's assistant coaches.

"Virginia was always calling and saying, 'We had another guy commit today, we had another guy commit today,' which was true; I would read about it on the Internet," Leemhuis said. "The [scholarship availability] was getting smaller and smaller. I figured why not do it now. Doing it on my birthday, that would be nice to get it over with."

Leemhuis, a three-year starter, averaged 10 tackles per game and had three interceptions this past season. He had seven interceptions last season.

"One of the things that happened is he had gotten offers from several other schools before Virginia offered," Churchill Coach Jamie Collins said, noting that Central Florida, Indiana, New Mexico State, Temple and Navy had offers on the table before Virginia. "In a way, I don't want to say it turned him off, but he has all these other schools and Virginia just says, 'You're in our plans.' "

Also making a commitment this week was Robinson fullback Kevin Campbell, who chose Navy.