"I liked Texas' uniforms because of their colors," he said, "but I can't say I had a favorite team.

"Things probably would have been easier if I did have a favorite team back then. I could have been saying all along, 'I know where I'm going.' "

Burnt orange. Scarlet red. At least color cousins.

Savage, a junior at Cardinal O'Hara High who weighs 217 pounds and stands just a shade under 6-5, yesterday convened a press conference at his school to confirm what had been widely rumored as the week wound down: His next stop will be Rutgers.

The event, well attended by media members, was scheduled for 2 o'clock, but was delayed for close to 20 minutes because guys coming down from New York were stuck in traffic.

Flanked on one side of the auditorium stage by coach Danny Algeo, and the other side by his parents, Linda and Tom, Savage read an opening statement, tugged on a Rutgers hat and then fielded questions.

As became evident, he's going to help the Scarlet Knights l-o-n-g before he fires a pass.

In fact, right now, the football program could make him an unofficial recruiter and/or public-relations specialist.

More than once he said he's already telling possible recruits, "If you want to build something special, come follow me."

Rutgers, of course, is hardly a longtime power. Nevertheless, Savage said he found the place appealing 2 years ago while attending a camp there and nothing that has happened since has altered that mind-set.

Algeo said Savage had 20-plus scholarship offers and that the number probably would have doubled if the process had been extended. An original plan was to narrow the field to five by Memorial Day and make a decision by the start of camp in mid-August.

Savage made a not-too-taxing trip to New Brunswick, N.J., on Tuesday and by Wednesday night was telling Algeo he was ready to commit to Greg Schiano University . . . oops, Rutgers.

But don't kid yourself. Schiano's presence is a major reason and Savage went so far as to say he would have considered joining the coach at his new school if he'd been lured away from Rutgers this past winter.

"I told him I want to play for him," Savage said. "He's a big part of what's going on at Rutgers. I feel he's building something special."

Mike Farrell, a national football recruiting analyst for rivals.com, said Savage is Schiano's "biggest out-of-state pull since he arrived, for many reasons."

He added: "To get a national top-25 player and top-five pro-style quarterback who had offers from Miami, FSU, Tennessee, Georgia, Penn State and other top programs with more tradition and bigger national coverage and fan bases shows Schiano's recruiting ability. Savage has NFL potential and is easily the best QB on paper Schiano has landed at Rutgers. And make no mistake about it, this was a Schiano recruiting job: He was the main reason for Savage's interest and commitment."

Savage entered O'Hara highly touted and shared the QB spot as a freshman with Anthony Walters, now a star defensive back at Delaware.

His career numbers are 190-for-426 for 2,547 yards and 20 touchdowns. He missed five games last season due to injury. His brother, Bryan, a product of Haverford School, is the starting QB at Hofstra and has one season of eligibility remaining. He first attended Wisconsin, then made an interim stop at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.

The distance from home became difficult for Bryan when things never clicked at Wisconsin. Although Tom said Rutgers' proximity to Philly was not a direct factor in his decision, he did add, "It's always better to be an hour-and-a-half away so I can come back and see my parents."

The other members of Savage's Final Five were Georgia, Miami, Tennessee and Louisville.

At Rutgers, he won't be expecting instant stardom.

"I know there's going to be competition there, just like at every top school," he said. "Talent's going to take over sooner or later. I'll just go there, put my head down and work hard. Whatever happens, happens."

Also yesterday, Algeo announced that Savage was selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, set for Jan. 3 in San Antonio, and that George Stratts, Algeo's predecessor at O'Hara and now the school's principal, will be inducted into the Pennsylvania Football Coaches Hall of Fame in connection with the Big 33 game, set for June 14 at Hersheypark Stadium.

Northeast receiver Je'Ron Stokes also was selected to play in the Jan. 3 game. *