Penn State lands transfer commitment from former Ohio State WR

Julian Fleming. Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State lands massive transfer commitment from former Ohio State WR

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 1/3/24

James Franklin is coming off a 10-3 season at Penn State, which marked his second 10-plus win season in a row. It was also the fifth time he's had such a season in 10 campaigns in Happy Valley.

By all metrics, Franklin has been an extremely successful coach for the Nittany Lions, but the expectations are high at Penn State. Franklin has only won the Big Ten once (2016) and he's also never taken the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff.

In that sense, the 2024 season may feel like a bit of a "do or die" for Franklin, so he's going to need all the help he can get. In that regard, he just got some massive news from the transfer portal.

Wide receiver Julian Fleming, who spent the last four seasons at Ohio State, will join the Nittany Lions as a grad transfer in 2024.

Ohio State WR Julian Fleming has transferred to #PennState

The former 5 star receiver and #1 player in the state of Pennsylvania in 2020

James Franklin has upgraded the Nittany Lions receiving corp⚪️ pic.twitter.com/qxoFM6F1px
— CFBTalkDaily (@CFBTalkDaily) January 3, 2024

Fleming took the long way in "coming home" to Penn State. A five-star recruit in 2020, he was the No. 1 wideout in the class as well as the top player from Pennsylvania.

Franklin had Penn State in Fleming's top two, but the talented wideout ended up committing to Ohio State.

In four seasons in Columbus, he found himself surrounded by superstar talent such as Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. He was never the first, or even second, option, but he did notch 79 total catches for 963 yards and seven touchdowns. Notably, 533 of those yards and six of those touchdowns came in 2022.

At Penn State, he'll have the opportunity to compete to be quarterback Drew Allar's top option right away. From Catawissa, Pennsylvania, he'll also be playing his final season about an hour and a half from his hometown — which is quite a story.

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