Former Desert Vista High (Ariz.) quarterback John Rattay has decided the University of Tennessee isn't the place for him after all.

Rattay, a 6-foot-4 left-hander who passed for 2,231 yards in 1999 and led Desert Vista to the Class 5A state title in 1998, reported to Tennessee in January after graduating from high school six months early. But he has since left Knoxville and narrowed his list of possible destinations to Stanford, Arizona and Oregon.

"It was a great first semester," Jim Rattay, John's father and former coach at Desert Vista, told SchoolSports.com Monday. "But then Tim got drafted and we talked a little, I said things were going to be different."

Originally, Rattay's older brother, Tim, a former quarterback at Louisiana Tech, convinced him that enrolling early would make the transition from high school to college smoother. Tim, still close by in Louisiana, was there to lean on when his little brother needed him. But when Tim was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in April, that situation changed.

"John wants to be closer to his family in Arizona," said Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer. "I appreciate the honest way John communicated with the coaches and me regarding this matter. He is an outstanding young man and will be a fine player someday."

Also playing a part in the decision was the fact that Rattay, who couldn't be reached for comment, probably had no chance of starting until either his junior or senior season, depending on whether or not he was redshirted.

"Joey Matthews was named the starter and he has three years of eligibility left," said Jim Rattay.

With Arizona's starting quarterback, Ortege Jenkins, entering his senior season, Tucson seems like the logical destination for Rattay. According to his father, however, Oregon and Stanford are contenders because of their proximity to Tim's new home in San Francisco.

No matter where he goes, Rattay won't have the problem of losing a year of eligibility most Division I transfers are faced with, as he'll most likely redshirt his freshman season.

"He'll be making the decision in the next couple of weeks," says Jim Rattay. "That's when the rest of the guys have to report to camp, anyway."