Jarrin Wooten made a visit to Winston-Salem State University last Thursday and found a lot to his liking.

The Pinecrest football and basketball standout made an oral commitment to play football for the Division I Rams next fall under a full scholarship. He also learned during the visit that there would be a place for him on the basketball team.

The Patriot senior plans to seal the commitment by inking a national letter-of-intent on college football's official signing day, Feb. 4.

"They were actually the first team to talk to me in October while the season was still going on," Wooten said after Friday's home basketball game. "I saw the facilities and talked to some of the advisors about what I want to major in. I just thought it would be a good place to go."

Wooten earned all-conference honors as a junior in basketball, and is scoring at 16-point per game pace this season. A late bloomer in football, the 6-foot-5 athlete missed most of his freshman season because of an injury and did not play at all as a sophomore.

Starting at the wide receiver position for the first time as a senior, Wooten finished with 27 catches for 501 yards and five touchdowns. He caught five for 103 yards in a win over Scotland County. In the Patriots' playoff loss at Hoggard, he had three grabs for 98 yards, including one for 83 yards and a touchdown.

He was a member of a Patriot squad that finished with a record of 7-5, its most victories since 1987.

Wooten picked Winston-Salem State over a number of other schools that made offers, including the Naval Academy, Holy Cross, Liberty, Colgate, Lehigh, Lafayette and North Carolina Central.

"The recruiting for Jarrin really heated up," Pinecrest head football coach Chris Metzger said. "He was Winston's No. 1 prospect and I think that helps when a Division I college says you're our No. 1 guy.

"We're just ecstatic as a football staff and we're happy for his mom."

For more on this story, see Wednesday's print edition of The Pilot.