Justin Fields said it was like breaking up with a girlfriend when choosing to de-commit from Penn State

Back on June 6, 2017, Justin Fields — a five-star quarterback recruit at the time — de-committed from Penn State. He had verbally committed to the Nittany Lions, but did not go through with it.

He ultimately chose to go to Georgia where he spent time with the Bulldogs. Fields is from Kennesaw, Georgia, and chose to stay closer to home.

Fields talked about his de-commitment from Penn State on Tuesday, as he, now as a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes, is about to face the team he committed to so many years ago:

Fields on decommitting from PSU: Said he was nervous before calling James Franklin. "It was definitely one of the hardest phone calls I've had to make."

— Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) November 19, 2019

Fields said it like breaking up with a girlfriend. But he said his recruitment was blowing up and he didn't want to go that far away from his Georgia home.

— Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) November 19, 2019

Have you ever had to breakup with a girlfriend? Not ideal, right? You may want to get out of the relationship. But still, the moment of telling that person that you want out isn’t exactly comfortable.

It sounds as though Fields respects Penn State. He respects James Franklin. He likes him. He built a connection with him as a recruit.

He doesn’t say anything bad about Penn State. He just chose to go to a school closer to home. In the end, it didn’t work out, and he went to Columbus.

Penn State fans may not think highly of that, but, what’s done is done. Fields is a Buckeye now and is flourishing. The Nittany Lions are 9-1 and ranked No. 9 in the country. They’re doing OK, too.