Top prospect Henne opts for Michigan

WYOMISSING, Pa. (AP) -- Chad Henne, one of the most highly sought high school quarterbacks in the nation, announced Thursday he was verbally committed to attend the University of Michigan next year.

Henne, with 5,342 yards and 55 touchdown passes in three years as a starter for Wilson High School in West Lawn, said a factor in his decision was the number of Michigan quarterbacks who have made it to the NFL.

"I like that I (decided) early, because now I can relax and have fun and hopefully take my team where we were last year and hopefully win it," said Henne, who will be a senior this year.

Wilson High School lost in the first round of the AAAA playoffs last season.

Henne, 6-foot-31/2 and 216 pounds, made the announcement at a late-morning news conference at the Body Zone Sports and Fitness Complex in his hometown of Wyomissing.

Henne is within about 1,900 yards of breaking the Pennsylvania high school record for career passing yards. Last season he threw for 2,093 yards, topping a mark held by New York Giants' QB Kerry Collins. He also ran for 551 yards.

Earlier this summer Henne narrowed his choices to Michigan, Penn State, Miami, Tennessee and Georgia, and made his final selection after a visit to the Ann Arbor, Mich., campus in June.

"Of course you want ... to go to Penn State, because I'm an in-state kid, but I just have to go where I feel is best for me," Henne said.