CATAWISSA – Being Pennsylvania’s top high school football recruit, Southern Columbia’s Julian Fleming says he felt the outside pressure to stay home and play for Penn State. Fleming, who attends high school 90 miles east of Penn State’s campus, said he would walk down the street and receive unsolicited advice from passersby telling him to sign with the Nittany Lions.

Several members of his extended family, including his aunt, Lisa Fleming, graduated from Penn State. His uncle, Todd Fleming, is said to be a diehard fan who frequents Beaver Stadium.

Fleming received messages from current Penn Staters, like former Harrisburg standout Micah Parsons, who were pushing for the talented pass catcher to don the blue and white.

But Fleming, a five-star prospect in the 2020 cycle, didn’t let that pressure influence a decision he said is “set in stone” when he rejected the Nittany Lions and committed to Big Ten rival Ohio State on Friday. Fleming went even further, saying his choice to cross state lines “wasn’t that hard for me.”

“Honestly, it was my decision and the only people that really impacted it were my family and I,” said Fleming, speaking to reporters Saturday morning. “We felt that Ohio State was the right place and we just moved forward with that and we’re not going to look back at everything else.”

“It was definitely tough to say ‘no’ to Penn State just for the fact they’re right down the road and I’ve been there over 20 times I’d say,” added Fleming. “I had a real good relationship with them. It started early. So it did hurt a little bit saying no to them. They were a little hurt by it. But telling Penn State no was definitely the one that stung the most I’d say.”

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Fleming, once viewed as a Penn State lock, said he always kept the Nittany Lions in his top three alongside Ohio State and Clemson. “Those were the three that came in the hardest and I felt wanted by the hardest and I had the best relationships with,” according to Fleming.

But as time went on, the All-State receiver said he “really had to rethink everything” and “just cut stuff down” when trying to finalize his commitment and end a competitive recruitment. That’s when he took a closer look at what playing for Penn State might entail.

“For a long time I told everybody that I was going to go there,” Fleming said. “It was hard. I had to crunch some stuff down. They weren’t stable on offense, defense; they weren’t pulling out games, their coaching has been unstable for the past couple years. A lot of stuff weighed into it.”

Fleming, who said he formed a “great” relationship with Ohio State wide receiver coach Brian Hartline, was courted by three Penn State receiver coaches in three years. That includes current Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, who left Penn State for Alabama in 2018 before bolting to Ann Arbor ahead of the 2019 campaign.

David Corley replaced Gattis, but the former was fired after just one season with Penn State. Former Duke assistant Gerad Parker was hired in January to fill Corley’s role.

Fleming called Parker “a great guy” but he formed a stronger bond with Hartline, a former Buckeye and seven-year NFL veteran, who was been on staff since 2017.

“We did build a good relationship right away but overall there was just instability at Penn State,” said Fleming, on his dealings with Parker. “I’ve been recruited by three different wide receiver coaches there. One wide receiver coach there (Gattis) has recruited me at like four different schools now. Parker is a great overall guy but when it came down to it, I felt that coach Hartline was better suited to further me as a man and as a player as well.”

Another item that caught Fleming’s attention was Justin Shorter’s freshman season at Penn State.

Shorter, a five-star receiver recruit out of New Jersey, was slowed by a leg injury early in the 2018 season and finished his true freshman campaign with three catches for 20 yards in four games. The 6-foot-4, 232-pound Shorter was redshirted to preserve his fourth year of eligibility.

“I thought, they got the No. 1 receiver last year, and, he had a little injury in spring ball or whatever, but for him not to be utilized at all throughout the offense, I did see that throughout the year. I didn’t agree with it,” Fleming said. “You have to play your best players and obviously he’s a freak. He’s 6-3, 6-4, 215 pounds and they just didn’t utilize him whatsoever.”

“That was one of the big things I really always thought about and it kind of took its toll a little bit, just seeing the No. 1 kid go in and not play at all,” continued Fleming. “I think he played like three games so he’ll be good for a redshirt year, but just to come in right away and have no immediate impact and not be able to get on the field as much as you’d like – whether it be that he wasn’t producing enough or anything like that or he wasn’t coached well enough – he still was the No. 1 kid and didn’t get on the college field probably as much as he wanted to see. I saw that from a distance and analyzed that a little bit.”

Fleming, who plans to enroll early at Ohio State, said Penn State’s staff was hoping to bring him in for more visits after learning that he planned to sign elsewhere. Fleming said he respectfully declined and would not be taking any more visits.

After announcing his commitment, Fleming said that he still received text messages from a few Penn State coaches wishing him well and congratulating him.

“It just really shows how genuine they were just going out of their way to text me even though it wasn’t their pick,” he said. “Big thank you to them for everything they’ve done so far in the process.”