Finally given the opportunity to step out from his famous uncle's shadow, four-star prep quarterback recruit Brett Rypien chose to follow the footsteps of another historically great Washington prep QB.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Spokane (Wash.) Shadle Park High junior and nephew of Super Bowl XXVI MVP Mark Rypien committed to Boise State University this week, according to The Seattle Times.

"It was breathtaking," Brett Rypien, who will be the highest-ranked QB commit in Boise State history, told Idaho's KBOI-TV on Monday. I wasn't really sure what I was going to think about Boise coming into the weekend, and they really just blew me away with everything. You know, this is the toughest decision I've ever made in my life, and I've lost literally countless hours of sleep over it. I just really felt comfortable with Boise and I'm happy I'm going there now. I'm 150 percent committed to Boise State. I'm not going to take any more visits besides my official to Boise State, and I'm just really excited to be a Bronco."

Rypien chose Boise State over his uncle's alma mater, Washington State. The No. 7 ranked pro-style quarterback in the Class of 2015, according to Rivals.com, he also owned scholarship offers from Arizona State, Colorado State, Idaho, Mississippi State, Oregon State and Washington.

His commitment to Boise State immediately elicited a verbal from West Mesquite (Texas) High three-star wide receiver recruit Akilian Butler, who told Idaho's KTVB-TV, "I love the quarterback that just committed — Brett — I love how he plays. I started watching tape on Brett after he committed. When I saw it on Twitter, I immediately went to Hudl (a recruiting website) and saw his film. ... He’s an incredible quarterback. I love the way he passes. I love the way he hits his targets while they’re moving."

In his first two varsity seasons, Brett broke Uncle Mark's school passing record of 4,965 yards, and his total has grown to 8,500 following a prolific junior season. His 613 passing yards in a 63-42 victory against Mount Spokane this past fall set a new state single-game record and his eight touchdown passes in the same game tied former Prosser High QB Kellen Moore for second on the all-time list.

Rypien, who has also thrown for 90 touchdowns through three seasons, will need a record-setting senior year to surpass Moore's Washington prep career passing records of 11,367 yards and 173 touchdowns. Moore went on to set the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision record for career victories (50) at Boise State, so once again Rypien will be chasing a Washington high school legend.

Of course, Rypien will also have to live up to the legacy left by his cousin, Mark's daughter Angela, who played five games under center for the Baltimore Charm of the Lingerie Football League this past season.