Penn State Football: Nittany Lions seem to be holding out hope for Julian Fleming

Julian Fleming has made a promise to Ohio State, but that hasn’t stopped the Penn State Football program from getting his attention.

Once upon a time, a five-star wide receiver prospect from Pennsylvania felt like it was inevitable he would end up playing for Penn State football. Eventually, a change of heart redirected his path to the NCAA, and just like that, Penn State loses another potential prospect to the Buckeyes. Southern Columbia High School wideout Julian Fleming is undoubtedly the best player in the state of Pennsylvania, so it only made sense for him to stick around beyond High School.

Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, Fleming wasn’t sold. Although he’s been to Penn State roughly around ten times as he recalled earlier in the month, his decision to choose Ohio State just made sense in his mind. However, that decision came after thinking for the longest time that he would really end up in Happy Valley.

Why did Fleming re-route his path, and tell the Buckeyes he’s coming to Ohio? It’s simple — he felt Penn State showed ‘instability.‘ And overall, he felt he formed a stronger bond with Ohio State wide receivers coach, Brian Hartline. Could the situation where Fleming chooses Ohio State over Penn State be prevented? Sure. But at the end of the day, it’s the player’s decision.

Just because Fleming verbally committed to Ohio State though, doesn’t mean the Nittany Lions have entirely moved on. At this point, 2020 recruits still have plenty of time to make up their minds before signing. Although a commitment is a promise to sign, Penn State knows all too well that promises can be broken. And it seems like Penn State is still holding out an ounce of hope that one day, Fleming could make a 360-turn and head back to the Lions.

Fleming’s current school, Southern Columbia was in attendance at Happy Valley this past weekend for a 7-on-7 camp. As expected, Fleming had all eyes on him — especially from the Penn State coaching staff. According to CBS Sports’ Tyler Donohue, six Penn State golf carts lined up around the field to check out the action.

Fleming, who is quite familiar with the staff, was doing a lot of mingling. Granted, Fleming has built up somewhat of a strong connection with some of the coaches at Penn State, so the communication doesn’t come off as anything out of the ordinary. We won’t look too far into it, but it still seems as though the relationship between Fleming and Penn State is still stable.

Could Penn State still make a powerful impression on Fleming within the next few months or so? Anything is possible. But at this point, the Lions are likely focusing on keeping who they have already on board. After all, the last week hasn’t been the most magnificent week of recruiting for the Lions, that’s for sure. They will continue to hold out hope for Fleming, as every team involved should. And who knows? Maybe a stellar season from the Lions does the recruiting for itself.