What a healthy Julian Fleming means for Penn State

In 2020, Julian Fleming was a highly touted 5-star recruit coming out of high school. Many rumors had circulated of him committing to Penn State as 247 sports at one point had the Nittany Lions as the favorites to land him. Ultimately, Fleming pulled the breaks at going to play in Happy Valley and decided to take his talents to Columbus and play for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Flash forward to 2024 and the Pennsylvania native is coming home to play for the Nittany Lions. The big question that looms is whether or not Julian Fleming can stay healthy. During his time at Ohio State, Fleming struggled with injuries and would get lost in the depth chart along the way. All is not lost though, as Fleming has found a silver lining to the injuries. Fleming told Onward State, "There's been a lot that has definitely worn on me but there's no growth without adversity. So I definitely credit my injuries to the person that I am today, the grown-up I am today compared to what I used to be."

Past injuries aside, opposing defenses should not take Fleming lightly. With a 6-foot-2, 210-pound frame, Fleming has demonstrated good pass-blocking abilities, and during his best statistical season in 2022, he had 34 receptions for 533 yards and 6 touchdowns. T

his was done even with Marvin Harrison and Emeka Egbuka on the team, both of whom finished 1st and 2nd respectively in receiving yards that year for Ohio State. Now with the opportunity as the projected number one receiver for Penn State, Fleming has the chance to expand on his career-best stats.

If that's not enough to get Penn State fans excited, Steve Wilfong, from 247 Sports, compared Fleming to Julio Jones coming out of high school, "Terrific combination of size, strength, and leaping ability. Easily separates. Speed and physicality make him elite." Fleming had thought about this year's NFL draft but decided coming back for one more year of college ball would suit him better. Fleming told OnwardState, "I have one year left of college and I wanted to maximize it. I felt like the opportunity is great."

The optimism to go along with his talents and abilities, things should be looking up for Julian Fleming during his year at State College as he now can be the star wide receiver he knew he could always be.