Penn State Football is looking to improve its roster for the 2024 season via the transfer portal, and an interesting name is now under consideration.
When the transfer portal opened on Monday morning, many former high-profile recruits entered, and one was former 5-star wide receiver recruit Julian Fleming.
Rated as the No. 1 wide receiver in the nation, and No. 1 player in Pennsylvania in the 2020 class, Fleming spurned the in-state Nittany Lions for Ohio State.
Four years later, could Fleming finally return home?
Between injuries and being stuck behind generational talents like Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Jarrison Jr., Fleming never met his full potential in Columbus. In 38 career games, Fleming caught 79 passes for 963 yards and 7 touchdowns.
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His breakout season was in 2022, when he reeled in 34 passes for 533 yards and 6 touchdowns. This season, the Ohio State passing attack as a whole took a step back, and Fleming was no different.
In 12 games, the 6-foot-2 wide out caught 26 passes for 270 yards and no touchdowns.
Could Julian Fleming Fit Penn State Football?
It’s hard to imagine that Fleming will ever live up to that 5-star hype, but he can still be a capable option for whatever school he lands at.
If it were to be Penn State, Fleming would not single-handedly fix Penn State’s woes at wide receiver, but he would be a step in the right direction.
Fleming also received high praise for his run blocking while with the Buckeyes. This is certainly something Penn State Football could use, as the running game also took a step back for the Nittany Lions in 2023.
Of course, both sides would have to swallow some pride for this partnership to happen.
James Franklin and his staff will have to forgive Fleming for remarks he made during his recruitment about Penn State’s inability to develop high-profile wide receiver recruits.
For Fleming, he would be coming back home and needing to acknowledge that he was not too good for Penn State. This awkwardness may be too much to overcome for the two sides.
Penn State Football may opt to go in a different direction and target players with more than one year of eligibility left, which may be wise on their end.
MORE: Penn State’s Top 5 Transfer Portal WR Targets
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