Penn State Football made a pretty significant splash in the portal by adding former Ohio State wide receiver Julian Fleming.
A former 5-star recruit from Pennsylvania, this is a pleasant homecoming for Fleming and at the perfect time for the Nittany Lions as they try to revamp their receiver room.
While Fleming may not be the bonafide No. 1 receiver he was billed to be out of high school, this is still a big addition for Penn State for multiple reasons.
3 Things to Know About Penn State Football Adding Julian Fleming
There’s Still Some Unknown with Fleming
While Fleming was the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2020 class, he dealt with injuries early in his career and then was passed up by generational talents such as Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr.
There’s obviously no shame in playing behind four sure-fire first round picks, but it did limit Fleming’s production.
Now, coming to Penn State Football, Fleming will have more of an opportunity to shine and receiver more touches. Jameson Williams is a great example of this. In two years at Ohio State, Williams caught just 15 passes, playing behind the same guys Fleming was.
Then in 2021, Williams transferred to Alabama and became their go-to guy. That season, Williams caught 79 passes for 1,572 yards, 15 touchdowns and became a first round pick. Williams is a better athlete than Fleming, so to expect this kind of production from him is unrealistic, but the point is, there could be more in the tank for Fleming.
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Veteran Experience
Playing at a place like Ohio State with so many talented receivers has definitely taught Fleming a lot over his four years at Columbus.
He will now be bringing that experience to a rather young and raw Penn State receiver room. While transfers aren’t often leaders right off the bat, Fleming has a chance to do just that.
He is also perceived as a great blocker in the run game, something Penn State Football can certainly use.
The Nittany Lions lacked explosive run plays this season, in part due to subpar blocking on the outside. Running behind Fleming could benefit the running game
Building Bridges
When Fleming committed to Ohio State, there was plenty of animosity from the Penn State fanbase.
For starters, losing the No. 1 player in the state hurts, especially when you lose him to Ohio State, and he’s from prime Penn State country in the middle of the state and not from somewhere like Pittsburgh or Philadelphia.
Secondly, Fleming made comments about how Penn State used another former No. 1 receiver recruit in Justin Shorter during his true freshman season. In 2018, Shorter barely saw the field due to injuries, something Penn State could not control. And, as we saw in 2019, it turns out Shorter was just not that motivated and not as good as his ranking.
The Shorter situation was not on Penn State.
Now, the two sides have put aside those differences and are ready to work together. This sends a message to all Pennsylvania recruits that Penn State is a welcoming place, no matter what has happened in the past.
This will not only help high school recruiting, but recruiting transfers as well.
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