NEW! Click photo to view additional photos
	Photo by Travis Pratt Linganore’s Zach Zwinak, who ran for 1,447 yards in 2008, chose Penn State from a long list of college options. “He has worked his butt off for everything he’s done,” Lancers coach Rick Conner said.

The senior at Linganore High School was summoned to the office of football coach Rick Conner around 9 a.m. Monday morning because one of the most famous men in the history of college football wanted to speak with him.

Zwinak, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound running back and linebacker for the Lancers, had been sitting on some pretty significant news since Friday morning and here was his big chance to deliver it.

So, after slipping out of class, Zwinak took the phone from Conner and told Joe Paterno that he accepted his scholarship offer to play football at Penn State.

"He told me congratulations on my decision and we're happy to have you up here," Zwinak said.

Then, Paterno had to get back to his coaches meeting and Zwinak had to get back to class. So they exchanged a quick goodbye.

And so ended one of the most surreal five-minute periods of Zwinak's life.

"It's exciting. When you think of his legacy and everything that he is, having the chance to tell him something on the phone is unbelievable," Zwinak said of Paterno.

For the past year, Zwinak has been living the life of a highly touted recruit. In March, he fielded a call from Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis and most of the top programs in the country have been in touch to gauge his interest or offer a scholarship.

There is no real secret to the attraction. Aside from being big, Zwinak can run a 40-yard dash in about 4.5 seconds, a testament to the genes he inherited from his mother, Diane, and father, B.J.

Diane was a track star at Frederick High School, while B.J played football at Virginia Tech.

Some recruiting services even consider Zwinak to be the No. 1 fullback in the country, which is the position the Penn State staff envisions him playing even though he is also a standout linebacker for the Lancers.

"No doubt about it, Zach has earned it," Conner said. "He has worked his butt off for everything he's done. Zach just loves the game like not many kids."

But the process -- all of the phone calls, e-mails, letters and questions -- was gradually becoming more than Zwinak wanted to handle.

So, on Friday, hours before he would rush for 204 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 10 carries, Zwinak chose Penn State over his second choice, Virginia Tech.

"I don't know. It just felt right," he said. "Tech is a great school. My dad played there. I grew up rooting for them. That was my team for years. I couldn't even tell you what my deciding factor was. There was just something about (Penn State)."

Zwinak is the second player from Frederick County to commit to a high-profile Division I program in the last four months, joining Thomas Johnson's Nick Forbes, who committed to California.

Rob Havenstein, the massive left tackle at Linganore , is expected to make his decision in the coming weeks. He has narrowed his array of choices to five schools, including Penn State.

Havenstein has even joined Zwinak on a couple of trips to State College. The two attended the Nittany Lions' 46-17 victory over Michigan last season at Beaver Stadium.

"Our recruiting processes have kind of been independent," Havenstein said. "People have been asking me, 'Where is Zach going to go?' And I'm like, 'I don't really know.' I didn't even know until he told me the other day. I'm just really happy for him."

Zwinak is not the first county player to travel to Central Pennsylvania on a football scholarship.

Former Urbana quarterback Zach Mills and former Linganore lineman Mike Lucian made an impact playing at Penn State in recent years.

Zwinak feels he has a chance to do the same.

"Everybody is pretty excited for me. I am happy," he said. "It just feels like the right decision."