Throughout his prep football days, there was a constant buzz surrounding Stephen Rivers on where he would continue his career.

Would he follow in his footsteps of his older brother — current San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers who played college football at North Carolina State— or would he chose his own path.

After months of unofficial visits and a summer spent full of football camps on campuses of some of the top programs in the country, the Athens High quarterback decided where he would call his new home in the fall of 2011. In August, he made a verbal commitment to play football for Les Miles and LSU.

Rivers’ decision has earned a spot on The News Courier’s list of top sports stories for 2010.

“I went down for a visit and was able to work with the coaches and really enjoyed it,” Rivers said this summer after making the announcement. “They’ve got top notch facilities and it was a place that jumped out at me. After they got back with me and made the offer, I decided it was the best place for me.”

Rivers chose LSU over a handful of other major college programs, including Arizona State, Florida State, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA and North Carolina State.

This season, he guided the Golden Eagles to a 6-6 record and a spot in the second-round of the Class 5A state playoffs, where they fell 28-21 to region rival Russellville.