Scotty McCreery: NC State Is ‘Best Spot’ for Learning

Garner, North Carolina native Scotty McCreery is, naturally, a fan of N.C. State in Raleigh, where his father went to school, so it's a natural choice for him to head there for college. But the Season 10 "American Idol" winner admits there are other motivations for him to attend the school.

"Those are good reasons but not necessarily why I was drawn to it," Scotty tells The Boot. "At 18 years old, I have a lot of learning to do and I don't know if I'm ready to make the move from home yet. Give me a couple more years and I'll be more mature and I'll know more about the business. Maybe then I'll make the move to Nashville. I think for right now the best spot for me is home."

The singer, who has said he will probably major in marketing or a related subject that could help him in his music endeavors, hastens to assure his fans that, "I'll still be working. We'll work college around the road. I'll get creative with my schedule, maybe have a two-day schedule and work on weekends. We'll figure it out."

Even though he's out with Brad Paisley's Virtual Reality tour right now, Scotty still goes to high school every day, even playing on the baseball team when time permits. "I love it because the people at my high school don't treat me like I'm on the road with Brad. They treat me like Scotty. I was a little worried about that after the first weekend out, but I made sure when I went into school I was wearing flip-flops, shorts and a T-shirt. I wanted them to know that I'm still a part of that school ... at least until the weekend!"

The soon-to-be high-school graduate says its been an amazing year since he took home the American Idol title. "I can still remember being that kid working at Lowe's Food Stores back home. 'American Idol' scares you and tells you not to tell anybody or they'll kick you off the show. So I wrote this note and put it in front of my cash register that said 'Watch 'American Idol' tonight. Someone from Lowe's Foods will be on the show.' I was just trying to get people to watch the show. Now here I am ... It's been fast. It seems like it was yesterday. I've enjoyed every minute of it and I hope I have a lot more minutes to come!"

After a short break in touring, Scotty continues his trek with Brad on May 18 in Maryland Heights, Mo., continuing on to Noblesville, Ind. May 19 and Cincinnati, Ohio on May 20. See the full tour schedule here.