For a majority of recruits the process of choosing a school begins far in advance when football programs begin presenting them with offers either in their sophomore or junior years of high school. Sometimes it’s even earlier.

For Pittsburgh 3-star cornerback Daequan Hardy, however, his choice boiled down to just one day.

this for all my people gone but not forgotten fly high 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/blDSwvVBvc — DaeDae ‼️(3🌟) (@DaequanHardy) February 6, 2019

On Tuesday, one day prior to National Signing Day, Penn State officially offered Hardy, who’d been on campus for multiple visits including the final weekend in January, when he took his official visit without holding an offer from the Nittany Lions.

Hours later, around 9 p.m. on Tuesday night, Hardy announced his commitment on Twitter, officially becoming the 22nd member of Penn State’s 2019 class.

Ranked as the No. 144 cornerback in the class and the No. 32 player in Pennsylvania, according to 247Sports, Hardy’s lower ranking comes from his size — or lack thereof.

Standing 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds, his size is one of the main reasons Hardy only had 10 offers on the table, including teams suchas Michigan, Nebraska, Michigan State, Buffalo and Kent State.

The PIAA Class 5A State Player of the Year has plenty of talent, however, helping Penn Hills to a state championship in December.

In the state finals at Hershey Park Stadium, Hardy scored four touchdowns, adding three interceptions on defense.

Hardy joins a pair of 4-star Keystone state cornerbacks in Keaton Ellis and Joey Porter Jr. in Penn State’s class along with Connecticut 3-star CB Marquis Wilson.