HILLSIDE- For the last three weeks, football fans across the country wanted to know whether it would be Stanford or Michigan for Paramus Catholic senior wide receiver Donald Stewart.

And on Saturday evening, a decision has been made. The 6-4, 200-pounder is headed to the Pac-12.

“I committed to Stanford,” Stewart told NJ Advance Media in an exclusive interview. “Academics have always been really important to me. The opportunity to basically get an Ivy-League degree is too tough to turn down.”

Stanford head coach David Shaw and other members of his staff tripped to Stewart’s home in Hillside on Thursday night for one final in-home visit. During that visit, academics were once again stressed, Stewart said.

“Coach Shaw told me never to be intimidated by how hard it is to get into Stanford,” he said. “They take well-rounded students and they turn down 4.0 students all the time. Stanford is always looking for good people, with high character.”

The newest Cardinal commit worked hard in the classroom to get his grades in order. Stewart holds a 3.6 GPA and met the necessary SAT requirements to be admitted into Stanford. He was officially accepted into the school earlier this month, just days before he took his official visit to the Palo Alto campus on Jan. 15.

“It was a first-class visit,” Stewart said of his mid-January trip. “I really enjoyed myself from the moment I was on campus, to the moment I had to leave to head to the airport. It was probably one of my best visits. Overall, I truly feel like Stanford is the best fit for me."

In addition to being a standout in the classroom, the Stanford coaches, of course, like Stewart’s potential on the gridiron at the next level. As a senior this season, the 6-4, 200-pounder hauled in 34 receptions for 632 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“Mainly, the coaches like my size a lot,” Stewart said. “The staff likes that I’m able to catch the ball away from my body and that I’m able to get in and out of my breaks, even for a tall guy like myself. I need to work on that a little bit, but they think I can be a great receiver in the Pac-12 if I continue to work hard.”

RELATED: Watch Donald Stewart announce for Stanford, discuss his decision

In addition to Stanford and Michigan, Stewart also held scholarship offers from Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Syracuse, Rutgers, Washington State, Maryland, Ole Miss, Wake Forest and many others.

It came down to the Pac-12 school and the Wolverines, though. This recruiting cycle, Michigan has cleaned up in New Jersey, landing Kareem Walker, Ron Johnson, Ahmir Mitchell, Brad Hawkins and Mike Dwumfour. The success in the Garden State is led by former Paramus Catholic head coach and current Michigan linebackers/specials teams coach Chris Partridge.

Turning down the Wolverines certainly wasn’t easy, Stewart said adamantly.

“I talk to Ahmir Mitchell, Brad Hawkins and Kareem Walker all the time,” Stewart said. “We have a group chat going and we talk every single day. They’re all supportive, though. Ahmir told me to pick the school that’s best for me, but he told me how badly he wanted me to join him.

“It was really hard to turn those guys down, especially with coach Partridge being up there. I believe he’s one of the best coaches in the country. He’s doing a great job of recruiting kids from all over the country and not just New Jersey.”

In the end, though, Stanford’s academics and success on the gridiron was simply too much to turn down, which ultimately led Stewart to commit to the 2016 Rose Bowl champs.

“I can’t wait to get up there,” Stewart said. “I’m going to do everything I can to be a great student-athlete at Stanford.”

Braulio Perez may be reached at bperez@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BraulioEPerez.