SAD NEWS: As their sensational wide receiver waves goodbye and announces his departure to the state rival team that is thought to be a shock move by, it was a day filled with mixed emotions and sadness for all of Ohio State Buckeyes’ devoted supporters Because of….

“I wanted to be close to home, I wanted to be close to my people, and I want to win a Big Ten championship with another team,” Fleming told Lions247 on Friday afternoon.

The No. 1 overall receiver recruit in 247Sports’ Class of 2020 rankings, Fleming finished his time at Ohio State with 79 catches for 963 yards and seven touchdowns. His 2022 junior campaign (34 receptions for 533 yards and six scores) stands out within a Buckeyes run that was impacted by injuries and elite positional competition.

“Rocky is probably the best word to use for it,” Fleming said of his Ohio State career. “You know, I’ve been banged up a lot, I’ve had a lot of injuries. A lot of stuff going on, some good games and not the best games. So there’s been a lot of ups and downs throughout my career. But I feel like that’s kind of carved me into who I am today — a team player, someone who can deal with adversity well, and constantly just giving my all. So without those experiences, I feel like I definitely wouldn’t be the same person that I am right now.”

A starter in 20 of the 23 Buckeyes games he played since 2022, Fleming gained an extra year of college eligibility via the NCAA’s COVID response. He began piecing together a plan on how to utilize it when Ohio State’s regular season wrapped up with a loss to Michigan.

“After the last game, there was obviously a lot of conversations that had to go on between my family and I, and the (Buckeyes) coaches and I, just kind of figuring out where everything stands,” Fleming said. “Obviously this year wasn’t the best for me. I felt like I put in a lot of effort and I just didn’t get the outcome that I wanted. I went to the coaches and was like, ‘Hey, let’s have a conversation about options and what I could do.'”

That led to open, honest dialogue.

“There’s no bad blood between Ohio State and I, or Coach (Ryan) Day and I, or Coach Hart (Brian Hartline) and I,” Fleming said. “It was just a decision I had to make for myself and they supported it. That’s really all I can ask for.”

Fleming finished the fall with 26 receptions for 270 yards without a touchdown in 12 games, while ranking second among all Ohio State players in run-blocking, per Pro Football Focus. He paced third among positional peers in catches, trailing Heisman Trophy finalist Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, who was the nation’s No. 1 receiver prospect in 2021.

This April, Harrison will become the fourth first-round NFL draft pick at receiver who shared a Buckeyes position room with Fleming. Life among that group was a perspective-altering experience.

“It’s crazy. It’s honestly awesome,” Fleming said. “And it’s never like I’m trying to outdo someone else. It’s always just constructive criticism, and trying to get each other better, and building and trying to gain that one percent or that half a percent to constantly keep increasing your skill level. Being able to see that from some of the top guys in the country was awesome.”

Following his aforementioned meeting with the Ohio State staff, Fleming submitted his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal on Monday, Dec. 4. During an ensuing two-day span, Fleming estimates he spent “probably about 12 hours on the phone” with interested coaching staffs.

“I’m older now. So the recruiting process isn’t really the recruiting process,” Fleming said. “It’s kind of like a free agency thing. I have one more year left. You can’t sell someone on BS and I’ve been through it already. I went through the recruiting ringer four years prior. That obviously helped a lot to see through certain people and certain things.”