The Adus sure start young.

Freddy Adu signed with MLS at 14. Fro Adu, his younger brother, is off to college at 16.

Fro has signed a letter of intent to play for George Mason, where he will play for former Columbus Crew coach Greg Andrulis.

Adu, whose full name is Fredua Akoto Adu (as opposed to his brother, Fredua Koranteng Adu), says he became known as Fro in elementary school because classmates couldn't pronounce Fredua. He goes by "Blessd," however, on his MySpace site.

Expectations have always been high for Fro ever since Freddy became a national celebrity in 2002. Fro has been in the U.S. national youth team system and starred for the Potomac (Md.) Cougars, where he played for former American University coach Pete Mehlert, but he never followed Freddy to the U.S. U-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla.

In contrast to 17-year-old Freddy, who is short at 5-foot-8, Fro is already 5-foot-11. While Freddy is a playmaker, Fro garnered Washington Post All-Met honors in 2006 as a defender at Georgetown Prep.

Fro says his brother suggested he sign with an ACC school, so his decision to enroll at GMU was something of a surprise. Fro has said his brother's plans to eventually move to Europe impacted his decision to sign with GMU. Fro wanted to go to school close to home, so his mother wouldn't have the strain of both sons living out of the area.

It's a coup for Andrulis, who led the young Patriots to a 12-6-3 record in his second year at the Fairfax, Va., school.

"Fro has excellent athletic ability, soccer intelligence and is a great fit for Mason's style of play," said Andrulis. "Although Fro has accomplished so much at a young age, the encouraging thing is that we feel he has just begun to reach his true potential.We expect Fro to make an immediate impact on Mason's soccer program."