Chris Ganter is going to get his chance to live his lifelong dream.

Ganter, a senior at State College High School, signed the letter of intent to come play football for the Nittany Lions.

While no Penn State coaches are allowed to speak about incoming freshmen, a source close to the program and Ganter's family said he was happy that Chris would be staying in State College.

Ganter, who quarterbacked the Little Lions for the past two seasons, was also accepted into Princeton.

He also visited Rutgers, Maryland, Miami, Pittsburgh, Duke, Illinois, N.C. State and Wake Forest before making his decision. Yet after all the visits the senior who spent his whole life watching his father Fran walk the sidelines of Beaver Stadium decided to join him.

"I think in the back of his mind Chris always wanted to play for Penn State," State College head coach Dave Lintal said. "Chris visited a lot of schools on official visits and unofficial visits, and every time he came back he would say he liked the school, but it just wasn't Penn State."

Encouraged to go elsewhere by both of his parents, Ganter went on a few more recruiting visits. One was to Princeton and that is where many thought he would end up.

"He loved Princeton," Lintal said. "He had been to Princeton many times since his brother John plays there, but when he took his official visit to Princeton and was around some of the other recruits he had a great time being there."

However, after coming back and discussing his options with his coaches and parents, Chris's heart belonged to one school.

"We're all very happy for him," Karen Ganter said. "He listened to us and visited a lot of schools. But he said that he wanted to come Penn State and play for them."

Ganter, who follows the steps of coaches' sons that played well at State College High School and found their way into a Penn State uniform, might face more scrutiny than some of the other coaches' sons before him.

Since Chris' father is the assistant coach and offensive coordinator for the Lions, several critics might be skeptical of Ganter seeing action at Penn State.

"His dad and I thought it would be too much for him," Karen Ganter said. "He knows about the things that could be said and he said he can handle them. A quarterback is a tough position to play and there is a lot of pressure placed on them."

Although the 6-foot-2-inch, 200-pound quarterback is considered to have played well in high school he is going to have to wait his turn before taking a snap as the starter here at Penn State.

Junior Matt Senneca is expected to be the Lions signal caller this season with redshirt freshmen Zac Mills and Zack Wasserman expected to back him up.

Ganter is not the only quarterback Penn State got in this year's recruiting class. He will face competition from Michael Robinson, who was expected to be the heir apparent to Michael Vick at Virginia Tech.

With all the quarterbacks in front of him, Ganter will likely spend some time in the shadows of Beaver Stadium before he has his number called.

"Chris spoke to his dad and coach Paterno and he realizes the situation he is going into," Karen Ganter said. "He's happy, which makes us all very happy for him."

While several freshmen will begin their college process in the fall, Chris is expected to start classes as full-time student next spring.