STATE COLLEGE — For Julian Fleming, this feels somewhat like a dream come true, even though he could have lived it for the past half decade had he chosen to do so.
While the recruiting process out of high school gave him an opportunity to pursue another set of goals, the changing landscape of college football brought one of the most productive players in PIAA history back to Happy Valley for one shot at a homecoming at Penn State in 2024.
With the Nittany Lions in desperate need of a veteran presence at a wide receiver position that struggled badly in 2023, they turned to the transfer portal for help. Out of it, they nabbed Fleming, a former Southern Columbia star who surprisingly spurned the program in 2020 to attend Ohio State as the top-rated prospect nationally in his recruiting class.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Fleming battled a series of injuries with the Buckeyes, but still caught 79 passes for 963 yards and seven touchdowns during his days in Columbus, which makes him easily the most productive receiver on Penn State’s roster heading into its Aug. 31 season opener at West Virginia.
“Honestly, the past eight months have been a great experience,” he said. “I got welcomed with open arms, and I’m blessed to be in the position I was put in. It’s a great receiver room, with great coaches. Overall, just a great team with a great team atmosphere. It has been really good, and I’m excited to see what the season holds.”
Once an enemy, and a sore subject around the recruiting department at that, Fleming said he has felt like a longtime part of the program since his January transfer, and not just because the team is counting on him for big things.
Penn State liked the upside of adding Fleming to a young room as much for his steady approach and consistent demeanor as for any of the numbers that piled up on the stat sheet. So while he worked with the second team at the start of camp behind returning starters Harrison Wallace III and Liam Clifford and sophomore Kaden Saunders, it’s his dedication to the fundamentals that some say has taken the receiving corps to a higher level in camp.
During winter workouts, strength and conditioning coordinator Chuck Losey praised Fleming’s head-down, forward-facing approach, saying “his actions have told his story.” Since, teammates took notice.
“Coming from Ohio State, he stepped into that leadership role that we didn’t really have in the room by making sure we do extra things, taking us under his wing, teaching the young guys things that he went through, things that worked for him and things that didn’t work for him. The experience and leadership parts,” Wallace said. “He comes to work every day.”
Fleming said he knows no other way.
In a constant battle for playing time on the Buckeyes depth chart behind the likes of past first-round picks Marvin Harrison Jr., Chris Olave, Jameson Williams and Garrett Wilson and, perhaps, a future first-rounder in Emeka Egbuka, Fleming learned the value of controlling what he can control during his Ohio State days.
So the biggest challenge in 2024 for Fleming as a Nittany Lion centers around his role as the face of a group with much to prove after a season in which they were the subject of ridicule around the Big Ten.
It’s a far cry from being part of greatness. But, for Julian Fleming, he’s at Penn State to help change the narrative by not paying attention to it.
“I’m a vet in my fifth year of college football; The more you pay attention to the outside influences in college football, the more it can affect the room, the more it can affect the energy in a room and the more it can affect the entire program,” Fleming said. “So, right now, our mindset is us versus the world. We’re going to continue to do that, continue to improve throughout camp.”
