Athlete Changes Mind on Penn State

Glenbard West's Tommy Schutt had signed on in August to play college football at Penn State, but recent sexual assault allegations made him reconsider

Glenbard West's Tommy Schutt had signed on in August to play college football at Penn State, but recent sexual assault allegations made him reconsider.

Instead of being a Nittany Lion next fall, Schutt says he'll proudly call himself a Buckeye.

"Penn State is a school I looked up to as a kid but now after all this I'm very excited to play for Ohio State," Schutt said Tuesday.

Schutt, a 301-pound defensive tackle ranked fifth in the nation made the cover of ESPN magazine's high school football edition this year and was recruited by former Penn State coach Joe Paterno to play football for the Nittany Lions.

But since he committed to Penn State after a visit to the campus, the landscape has changed dramatically. Paterno, head coach for 46 years, was fired along with the university's president after the arrest of Jerry Sandusky, one of Paterno's long-time assistant coaches.

Schutt refrained from commenting on the allegations that have marred the campus but admitted they weighed heavily on his mind.

"It's been stressfull, but I've been trying to stay out of it and kind of let things go and see how they play out and move on from there," he said.

Schutt said he feels his move to Ohio -- a decision made after a weekend visit to Buckeye country -- was a wise one.

"I think it all happened for  reason and I ended up at the right place," he said.

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