Perrysburg senior wrestler Marcus Blaze, the nation’s most coveted college recruiting target, will continue his career at Penn State next fall.
Blaze, 17, who will look to become Ohio’s 34th four-time state champion this coming season, brings a superb 157-2 career record into his final high school season.
He announced his college decision at a signing-day gathering in the Perrysburg High School gym on Wednesday morning.
Blaze had also listed Purdue and Ohio State among his final three potential schools.
His older brother, Joey Blaze, is in his second season competing for Purdue after winning three state titles with the Yellow Jackets. Marcus has worked out regularly at the Ohio State wrestling facility during his prep career.
But it was the powerhouse Penn State program that won out in landing the nation’s No. 1 overall wrestling recruit from the Class of 2025.
“There were a lot of factors and I don’t think I could really narrow it down to one that made it so much better,” Blaze said of picking the Nittany Lions over Purdue and OSU. “You had tradition [at Penn State], you had my brother [at Purdue], and you had the home-state Ohio State, which has great coaches and great everything.