2028 OL Joey Fleming Hearing From Freeman Daily, Eyeing Visit
Joey Fleming knows exactly what he has, and he’s not taking any of it for granted.
"It means the world, man," the elite 2028 Alabama offensive lineman told Irish Sports Daily.
"I have Coach (Marcus) Freeman hitting my phone every single day, calling me, texting me. Any kid in the world that plays football would do anything to have their contacts look like mine. So I'm constantly just giving thanks and glory to God."
Considered by many to be the nation's top interior offensive line prospect in the Class of 2028, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Fleming's two main contacts at Notre Dame are Freeman and offensive line coach Joe Rudolph.
"Coach Freeman hits me up every day," he said.
"He's a very intelligent guy. Coach Freeman truly just has so much wisdom and he's a younger guy, so he knows the wave that college football's going through and how to handle it. He's just very experienced, just very intelligent."
Fleming has not been to Notre Dame yet this fall, but was in South Bend this spring, before the Shields Hall officially opened, and the visit sold him on the school itself.
"It was incredible, man," he said. "It was pretty cool because I went before the new facilities came out, and my experience was still incredible. So I can't imagine what my opinion's going to be after I see them.
"But morally as a school, I love them."
The 6-foot-5, 280-pounder has already been to games at Ohio State, Clemson and Vanderbilt this fall. Notre Dame should get its turn next month.
"I'm planning on going to the Miami game," he said. "That's the goal, but playoffs may get in the way. The goal is 100 percent to make it to the Miami game."
He will be at Alabama this weekend, followed by the planned trip to Notre Dame, a visit to Oklahoma and a return trip to Tuscaloosa for the Iron Bowl.
Fleming is in no rush to decide. Early spring visits will be critical in determining the finalists.
"Those spring visits will decide whether or not I'll take an OV to that specific school," he said.
A decision will come after those officials and when it does, it won’t be based off a spreadsheet.
"It's a gut feeling," he said. "I've walked into many schools where you walk in there and you're like, ‘Oh, this is a Power Four program. This is incredible.’ But I don't like it and I don't know why. It's just a gut feeling.
"I'm going to go somewhere where I wake up and I'm excited to go see the people within that facility."
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