Interesting development in the state last week when Ryan Switzer, the George Washington High running back who is said to be the state’s best football recruit in many, many years, decided to pick North Carolina.

Another name on Switzer’s list of finalists? Duke.

Is it a big blow for WVU? Perhaps, though I’ve heard different stories about one party’s interest in the other — or at least the depth of it. It is instead another blow for WVU.

This follows a pattern, of sorts, in which the state’s best college or professional prospects have headed to school out of state, or are thinking about it. In particular, the state of North Carolina seems quite popular, and if not there, then it’s somewhere in the ACC.

This trend figures to continue, too, because WVU is off to the Big 12 while kids will remain fond of making it easy for their families to see them in person.

“You can go to Chapel Hill and it’s not far. Heck, they play Virginia Tech and that’s what, a two-and-a-half hour drive from here?” he said. “Compare that to going to Iowa State or Texas Tech and some of these places, and it’s not a hard decision.”

Mike Switzer said it all without saying anything directly: West Virginia’s move to the Big 12 Conference is likely to be more of a detractor to in-state talent than it is to be a draw for athletes to go to Morgantown.

It’s far from just a Switzer thing. Ripley’s Chase Fischer plays basketball at Wake, and Hurricane graduate Sam Kmiec is a freshman on the Demon Deacon baseball team. Nitro senior catcher Korey Dunbar has signed a letter of intent to play baseball at North Carolina and his former teammate, J.R. Bradley, had signed with North Carolina State before being drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks and opting for a professional baseball career right out of high school.