UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Grant Haley sat in the passenger seat of the rental car, looking out the window while his mother tried to get her bearings.
It was late on a chilly January night, mother and son driving on a winding road from the University Park airport to Penn State’s campus. Haley’s mom, who attended Penn State in the 1980s and watched games on TV since then, hadn’t been back to her alma mater in 20-plus years. Grant, a three-star cornerback from The Lovett School in Atlanta, Ga., had about 20 days to make his college decision.