ONE THING we know for certain: Penn State's "quarterback of the future" already is on campus and is readying for the beginning of spring practice on Monday. The starter for the Nittany Lions' Aug. 30 opener against Coastal Carolina at Beaver Stadium, taking over for the departed Anthony Morelli, will be either senior Daryll Clark or redshirt sophomore Pat Devlin, who combined to throw 10 passes in 2007.

But intrigue is where you find it and, well, there's suddenly lots of it in not-so-Happy Valley. That thud you heard was the sound of the other shoe dropping as Terrelle Pryor, maybe the most-hyped high school football player ever in Pennsylvania, yesterday announced his college choice: Ohio State.

For Penn State fans who had fervently hoped Pryor - the 6-6, 230-pound star of PIAA Class AA championship teams in two sports at Jeannette High - would bring his electrifying talents to State College, the revelation that he would not become a Lion was hardly a shock. It had been assumed since the Feb. 6 national signing date came and went that Pryor ultimately would choose either Ohio State or Michigan, with the Buckeyes widely believed to have had the inside track.

"I just feel comfortable with coach [Jim] Tressel," Pryor said in a nationally televised press conference in Jeannette that ended months of speculation. "They've got a couple of good receivers coming in, a good defense coming back."

But it wasn't so much Pryor's opting to leave the commonwealth to play for one of Penn State's Big Ten archrivals that was tantamount to a cold slap in the face to members of Nittany Nation. Penn State coach Joe Paterno and his staff have lost homegrown blue-chippers before. It was Pryor's dismissive comments that raised eyebrows.

"Penn State was in it," he said of his drawn-out narrowing of a list of finalists that at one point included 11 colleges. "I had a close bond with coach [Tom] Bradley [the Lions' defensive coordinator]. But Penn State is not the right place for me."

Someone asked Pryor why Penn State wasn't the place for him.

"It's just not," he said.

Pressed to elaborate, Pryor - who never took an official visit to Penn State - described State College as "too country" to suit his tastes and, although he said, "I love Tom Bradley," he added that, "I don't like the area. I just don't like that place."

Added Jeannette coach Ray Reitz about Pryor's interest in Penn State: "I could tell Penn State was not a serious consideration," he told the Daily News. "Terrelle would have made an effort to visit there, and he never did. Sure, he's visited the campus, when none of the coaches or students were around, during the state [basketball] championship weekend. But he never followed up on the offer to visit the school from the Penn State coaching staff.

"It was down to Ohio State and Michigan, and I have a feeling it was always down to Ohio State and Michigan. Terrelle may have said he was considering Penn State publicly, and it sounded good because his dad was really impressed with coach Paterno, but Penn State, it seems, was never close to Michigan or Ohio State."

Pryor's comments no doubt will stamp him as Public Enemy No. 1 when Ohio State next visits Beaver Stadium on Nov. 7, 2009. But other than the seeming absurdity of a kid from Jeannette - a burg 25 miles east of Pittsburgh with a population of 10,654 (according to the 2000 census) - describing State College as too small and rural, Pryor's take on the situation inadvertently addressed an area of immediate and pressing concern.

Although four- and five-star linebackers continue to roll into Penn State like waves at high tide, the pipeline of quarterbacks of any pedigree seemingly has dried up.

Maybe the 6-2, 232-pound Clark, who has the body type of a fullback, can approximate the success the similarly proportioned Michael Robinson enjoyed in the magical 2005 season, when the Lions went 11-1, beat Florida State in the Orange Bowl and finished third in the national rankings. Perhaps Devlin, an all-stater at Downingtown East, will live up to his pile of press clippings and have a more successful college career than Pryor.

"I think he has a chance to do some special things," Scouts.com's Bob Lichtenfels said of Devlin. "I expect Pat to maybe be one of the best quarterbacks Penn State has since Kerry Collins."

But Clark or Collins is going to have to step up, big-time, given the dearth of attractive options behind them. Devlin - who reneged on a verbal commitment to Miami after two offensive coaches were fired - was one of two quarterbacks to sign with Penn State in 2006; the other, Brett Brackett, was moved to wide receiver.

Either by design or default, Penn State did not sign a quarterback in 2007. Now no quarterback has been signed in 2008 either, with Pryor's decision to say hello, Columbus.

The rumbling already has begun that star players at football's most important position are bypassing Penn State because of an aversion to the Lions' old-school, meat-and-potatoes offense, or because they're unsure if Paterno, 81, will be around for the duration of their college careers.

As for that comparatively conservative offense, quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno, Joe's son, insists that some jazzy innovations are in the works. He told the Associated Press in January that he calls the revamped scheme "Spread HD.''

"It's not a philosophical shift, but more of a personnel shift,'' said Jay, who thinks the Lions can average 200 yards rushing and 200 passing. "It's a different system than people have seen the last couple of years, but the whole idea is to give us the best chance to win.''

Said Reitz: "Terrelle wanted to play in the same spread system we run here, and it's something [coach Rich] Rodriguez runs at Michigan, and something Ohio State used to run when Troy Smith was there. It's an offense Penn State doesn't run."

Systems rise or fail depending upon the productivity of the players on the field, but even that basic truth might be overshadowed by the uncertainty of Joe Paterno's long-term future at a school where he has coached since 1950, as head coach since 1966.

JoePa's contract only runs through the upcoming season, and although he has twice met with PSU president Graham Spanier and athletic director Tim Curley in recent weeks, there has been no joint announcement concerning an extension or the implementation of a plan in which Paterno's successor would be identified.

It has been theorized that the loyal and patient Bradley, who is entering his 30th season on Paterno's staff, eventually will be the living legend's replacement if Spanier and Curley decide to stay in-house. But nothing has been decided or, if it has, no one is talking. And that only serves as a deterrent to recruiting.

Hearing for Sales

Tyrell Sales, a fifth-year senior who started at outside linebacker last season and had three sacks and a fumble recovery, faces a preliminary hearing today after being charged with disorderly conduct and defiant trespass for his role in a Saturday night disturbance at a Pittsburgh nightspot. *

Joseph Santoliquito contributed to this report.