Flemings sees fit at Oregon State
Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral wide receiver Arex Flemings received an offer from Oregon State in June, and then he decided to commit to the Beavers a few days after that.
His relationship with wide receivers coach Brent Brennan and his family's comfortability with OSU led him choose the Beavers.
"I have a great relationship with the receivers coach - coach Brennan," Flemings told BeaversEdge.com. "I met him through my personal receivers coach the month before they offered me. Me meeting him before they offered me, it helped build a relationship on a personal level. He wasn't really recruiting me until he saw me play. He coached my personal receiver coach, so I know that he knows what he's talking about. He's a great guy and a great coach.
"My family felt comfortable with it. My dad and my mom both talked with coach [Gary] Andersen. They felt comfortable with the program. A lot of people don't know, but I wanted to go to Oregon State - that was one of my top choices before my recruiting process started. I felt like I'd fit great in that scheme they run on offense."
Flemings is undersized at 5-foot-7, 155-pounds, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Oregon State staff has plans to use his versatility in the slot and in the special teams return game.
"They have an offense where they like to move certain guys around - guys that they feel like are good with the ball in their hands in open space," Flemings said. "I feel like when I get there, I can be one of those guys. Coach Brennan has expressed to me that he wants to be able to move me to different positions once I really start to learn the offense. They want to find ways to get me the ball in open space."
Two of Flemings' teammates are top Oregon State targets. One of his fellow receivers at Cathedral High School, Jamire Calvin, has Oregon State among his top schools along with defensive back Jeffrey Manning.
Flemings doesn't try to sway Calvin and Manning to Oregon State, but he admits he puts out the idea of them all playing together in Corvallis.
"Not too much. I try to leave it up to them," Flemings explained. "I didn't really want to persuade me to where to go, but at the same time, I would like for them to come up to school with me. They're guys that will ball out and help us win games. Here and there, I'll mention [Oregon State] to them, kind of in a joking way. I'll get in their ear every once in awhile."
When Flemings received the offer from Oregon State, it came after he impressed the Beavers' staff as a satellite camp. Flemings has yet to visit Oregon State before, but he is in the works of scheduling his official visit to Oregon State.
Flemings added that he's not keeping in close contact with schools other than Oregon State. He has talked with Washington State a little bit, but the contact between the two parties isn't anything serious.