Sayreville star Myles Hartsfield chose Penn State over Rutgers.

Myles Hartsfield, Sayreville (Parlin, N.J.) standout and the No. 16 recruit in the NJ.com Top 50, committed to Penn State while camping at the school this past weekend.

The 6-1, 185-pound junior running back/ defensive back selected Penn State over Rutgers – his other finalist – as well as Pitt, Syracuse, West Virginia, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Purdue and Old Dominion.

Hartsfield alluded to his final decision last Monday, prior to his visit to Happy Valley.

"(I'm leaning a little) more towards Penn State," Hartsfield said at the time. "The reason is because of the recruiting class that they are having right now, and I would be included in the first class for coach (James) Franklin coming in – and just the coaching staff in general. So, it would be a great thing."

Hartsfield had this to say to PennLive.com reporter Audrey Snyder following his commitment:

"Coach Franklin, he said once you commit to me we're engaged. So I'm engaged, right now. It's great. He said once you shake my hand all the recruiting is over. So I shook his hand, I'm a man of my word and it's over. I'm just so happy to be a part of the We Are family."

Although he also admitted to the Scarlet Knights not being "that much behind", ultimately, they weren't able to catch the Nittany Lions in time for Hartsfield's decision.

Hartsfield is an explosive talent on both sides of the football and projects to multiple positions at the next level.

"He's a tremendous athlete with so many different skill-sets that he creates mismatches on both sides of the football," said Sayreville head coach George Najjar. "I think his instincts are great, I think his speed and acceleration are special and he has all the gifts of a complete football player."

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In 2013, Hartsfield rushed for 1,586 yards on 118 carries (13.4-yard average was No. 2 in state) and 24 TDs and had 258 receiving yards and three more scores. Ultimately, he generated 2,289 all-purpose yards.

Defensively, he accumulated 44 tackles, seven pass break-ups and four INTs (one returned for a TD). He also blocked three field goals.

Hartsfield led the Bombers (8-3, 6-2) to the NJSIAA Central Group 5 playoff semifinals where they fell to the Manalapan (Englishtown, N.J.) Braves (11-2, 6-0), 34-7.

He was awarded Third Team All-State, First Team All-Group 5 and First Team All-Middlesex County honors via the Star-Ledger.

The Scarlet Knights also missed out on South Brunswick (Monmouth Junction, N.J.) junior Dontae Strickland, also a player who, at one point, held the Scarlet Knights in high regard. Strickland committed to Syracuse Saturday while on his second visit to the school in three weeks.

Hartsfield and Strickland discussed playing together at Rutgers as recently as two months ago.

Hartsfield is the fourth top 20 recruit from New Jersey to commit to Penn State's recruiting class of 2015, ranked third in the country by 247Sports.com.

Photos of the NJ.com Top 50:

NJ.com Top 50, July 27 Update 51 Gallery: NJ.com Top 50, July 27 Update