Northeast's Barnes to announce college choice Thursday

Northeast football standout Deion Barnes will continue to wear black-and-red jerseys, or switch to white and blue.

On Thursday, his 18th birthday, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound defensive end will choose Georgia or Penn State at a news conference scheduled for 8 a.m. in Northeast's auditorium.

"A lot of people think I'm going to Penn State, but I don't pay any mind to that," he said. "They don't know what's going on in my mind."

Barnes had narrowed his list to five schools, with Pittsburgh, Michigan, and South Carolina being the other finalists. He said he ruled out Pitt and Michigan after Pitt administrators forced coach Dave Wannstedt to resign last month and Michigan fired coach Rich Rodriguez earlier this month.

Barnes, who last season helped lead Northeast to a 9-3 record and its first Public League championship since 1983, visited Georgia last weekend.

"They jumped in, and they've been fighting hard," Vikings coach Chris Riley said.

Of Georgia, coming off a disappointing 6-7 season and guided by 10-year boss Mark Richt, Barnes said, "I had a good visit. I enjoyed myself. I can't say any more than that right now."

Barnes visited Penn State last month. He fully realizes that legendary coach Joe Paterno, 84, could soon decide to call it quits.

"I do care about the head-coaching situation," the 17-year-old said, "but it's not the only thing to look at when it comes to this. Most of the time, I'll be working with the team's defensive-line coach or defensive coordinator."

At Georgia, where he is projected to be an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme, Todd Grantham is the defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach.

For the Nittany Lions, where he is expected to be an end, Larry Johnson directs the defensive linemen and Tom Bradley is the coordinator.

Is Barnes tempted to choose the Bulldogs because of the warmer climate?

"The weather doesn't mean a thing to me," he said matter-of-factly.