From a dog named Brutus to daily tweets suggesting he was leaning one way or another to endless speculation as writers and fans tried to get inside the mind of one of the nation’s most confounding high schoolers, Micah Parsons’ drawn-out and thorough recruitment process turned attention circus came to a close Wednesday.

After playing the field for eight months, five-star defensive end Micah Parsons made his long-awaited announcement that he would, in fact, attend Penn State, as he originally intended to do almost two years ago. Parsons previously spent 14 months committed to Penn State before decommitting following Blue-White Weekend.

The No. 4 player in the country and No. 1 recruit in Pennsylvania recorded 267 tackles and 43.5 sacks with Harrisburg and Central Dauphin, in addition to being a bruising running back who accumulated 2,098 total yards and 33 touchdowns.

Parsons is the 21st commit in James Franklin 2018 class and first since Aeneas Hawkins announced his pledge back in August. Parsons is a valuable reinforcement for a class that has shrunk dramatically following Dorian Hardy’s pulled scholarship, Isheem Young’s arrest, and Antwan Reed’s decommitment.

In the coming weeks, Parsons could be joined on the defensive line by a pair of four-star talents Jayson Oweh and Tyreke Smith, who will both announce their commitments on January 1 during the Army All-American Game, as well as offensive lineman. Four-star offensive lineman Rasheed Walker has also yet to commit and is also favored to choose the Nittany Lions.