The Thomas Johnson senior has committed to play football at NCAA Division I Wake Forest University, headed there on a full athletic scholarship, but he won't join the team for at least another year.

Chase, a 6-foot-6 260-pound two-way end for the Patriots, said he will be what is termed a grey-shirt. "I won't be going to the campus until next January," he said.

In the meantime, Chase said he will begin his training next fall. He also said it's possible the Demon Deacons could still red-shirt him, but the grey-shirt status means he retains four full years of eligibility if that happens.

Chase explained the grey-shirt status is used in case an athlete was to attend a prep school between high school and college without affecting eligiblity. "But I won't be attending prep school," he said.

The plan Chase has is to bulk up in preparation for joining the college football ranks. "I'm still young, compared to some of those guys at Wake Forest," Chase, 17, said, adding some members of the team can be as old as 23.

Chase said he had looked at such schools as Rutgers, Vanderbilt, Penn State, Dartmouth and Brown. But he chose Wake Forest because he wanted to attend a school in the south, where the weather was warmer. "I wanted to get out of the cold," he said.

The idea of playing for a school in the ACC excites Chase. "I like ACC football a lot," he said. "I think it's also an underrated conference. They are two years removed from winning the ACC title and playing in a BCS Bowl Game."

"Now they are playing on national TV a lot," Chase said.

While Chase was a two-way end at TJ, he said he doesn't think that will be his position at Wake because he is too big for the position. He said he is thinking more on the lines of defensive back.

The campus and coaching staff at Wake Forest are other reasons while Chase chose the Deacons.

"I was looking for education value over football," Chase said. "I am going to get a good education at Wake Forest. The football program is very good too. They play in the ACC and have won 20 games in the last two years. That says a lot."

Greg Swatek contributed to this article.

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