Ohio State WR, former No. 1 player in PA hits transfer portal

The college football transfer portal officially opened today, and it’s been about as chaotic as everyone imagined it would be. As of 3:30 PM, over 1,000 players had entered their names into the portal today alone. While most of the players may be largely unknown outside of their respective fanbases, there have been more than a few eyebrow-raising entrants today. But one name Penn State football fans know all too well: Ohio State WR Julian Fleming. The former No. 1 player in Pennsylvania and top WR in the nation was one of the biggest misses for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions in the 2020 recruiting cycle. Will Penn State have a chance at redemption this time around?

Ohio State WR Julian Fleming hits the transfer portal

By now, Julian Fleming has become infamous in many Penn State football circles. A five-star prospect, Fleming is the former No. 1 player in Pennsylvania and No. 1 WR in the nation for the class of 2020. Playing his high school football 90 miles from State College at Southern Columbia, Fleming was widely viewed as a can’t-miss recruit for James Franklin.

But, the Nittany Lions missed. Penn State was once the program to beat in his recruitment, but Fleming committed to rival Ohio State in 2019. The Ohio State WR battled injuries throughout his career in arguably the best position room in the country over the last four seasons. Fleming’s Buckeye career ended with 79 receptions for 963 yards and seven touchdowns, including 3 catches for 36 yards in two games versus the Nittany Lions.

“Playing in Columbus has truly been one of the greatest times of my life, and I want to take the time to thank the entire Buckeye nation for all the support,” Julian Fleming wrote in a social media post today. “With that being said, I am entering my name into the transfer portal for a final year!”

Former No. 1 player in Pennsylvania criticized ‘instability’ of Penn State football after committing to Buckeyes

From an optics standpoint, it would make sense for both Julian Fleming and Penn State football to consider a reunion. Fleming grew up in the shadow of Happy Valley and has family ties to the Nittany Lions. The WR position is priority No. 1 for Penn State in the transfer portal, and Fleming was once a top target for James Franklin.

But some of Fleming’s comments regarding the situation in Happy Valley following his commitment to Ohio State can’t be ignored.

“We did build a good relationship right away, but overall, there was just instability at Penn State,” Fleming said in a 2019 interview with PennLive. “I’ve been recruited by three different wide receiver coaches there. One wide receiver coach there [former Penn State assistant coach Josh Gattis] has recruited me at like four different schools now. [Former WR coach Gerad Parker] is a great overall guy, but when it came down to it, I felt that coach [Brian] Hartline was better suited to further me as a man and as a player as well.”

Fleming also criticized Penn State’s use of former five-star WR Justin Shorter, who ultimately transferred to Florida.

“…Just to come in right away and have no immediate impact and not be able to get on the field as much as you’d like – whether it be that he wasn’t producing enough or anything like that or he wasn’t coached well enough – he still was the No. 1 kid and didn’t get on the college field probably as much as he wanted to see,” he said. “I saw that from a distance and analyzed that a little bit.”

Four years – and several position coaches and offensive coordinators – later, and it feels like the situation hasn’t changed much for Penn State football. But there’s optimism around new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and year two under former five-star QB Drew Allar. It’ll be interesting to watch if Franklin and the Nittany Lions make a run at Julian Fleming in the transfer portal.

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