Jamil Pollard, Regina Kelly Commit on National Signing Day

It took just a few seconds and a little bit of ink for Jamil Pollard and Regina Kelly to close out one chapter in their lives, as both seniors signed letters of intent first thing in the morning on National Signing Day Wednesday.

And while they were both committing themselves to college sports, the two moments couldn’t have been more different.

Pollard’s signing came with a vanguard of video cameras and a swarm of media attention, as he signed on to play football at Penn State as part of the first recruiting class in the post-Joe Paterno—and post-Jerry Sandusky scandal—era.

Kelly, meanwhile, had just one camera in her face as she officially committed to Lenoir-Rhyne University, a Division II school in North Carolina, where she’ll play soccer.

But the end result for both was relief, knowing they’d finally come to the end of the recruitment road.

“It’s what I’ve been waiting for since when I started soccer when I was six years old,” Kelly said of moving up to play college soccer.

Kelly’s parents, Lisa and Bernard, are no strangers to the process, having been through it when their son, Ryan, went through the recruiting process, and said Lenoir-Rhyne, a fairly small school, but perennial contender in women’s soccer, was the perfect fit for Regina.

“She loved the school, and really was excited about it,” Bernard Kelly said.

Likewise, for Pollard and his parents, Happy Valley was almost a foregone conclusion from the moment Penn State first showed interest.

“It was always Penn State,” James Pollard, his father, said, downplaying the role of the scandal.

Jamil Pollard was all grins after setting aside his pen in the high school’s gym and fielding a few questions from the assembled press.

“I’m finally a Lion,” he said.