If there has been one thing Penn State has seen firsthand the last few years, it is the ability of Ohio State’s playmaking wide receivers to dictate the outcome of a football game. So what if the Nittany Lions managed to lure one of those Buckeye receivers to Happy Valley?
As the early signing period approaches and the transfer portal is open for business, recruiting analysts are increasingly projecting Ohio State transfer wide receiver [autotag]Julian Fleming[/autotag] to make his way to Penn State. Penn State and Nebraska appear to be the top two choices for the Ohio State transfer. Fleming entered the transfer portal on Dec. 4 and made a visit to Nebraska earlier this week.
But the crystal ball picks from 247Sports’ analysts, including Brian Dohn (247Sports national recruiting analyst) and Chris Hummer (247Sports national writer), are 100% in favor of Penn State as Fleming’s final destination. The recruiting prediction machine numbers crunched by On3 also give Penn State a 97.9% chance of securing Fleming’s commitment out of the transfer portal, with Nebraska picking up the remaining percentages.
The addition of Fleming to the Penn State offense would be a significant upgrade for the receiving unit as a whole. On3 ranks Fleming as the no. 3 overall transfer player in the nation, and the top wide receiver in the transfer portal. 247Sports has identical rankings for Fleming in the transfer portal.
Penn State has a clear need to upgrade its wide receivers after having one of the least explosive offenses in 2023. The Nittany Lions will have a new offensive coordinator in Andy Kotelnicki, a creative offensive mind coming to Penn State from Kansas. Kotelnicki will already have some work to do to get Drew Allar to match lofty expectations, but giving him a receiver like Fleming would be a quick fix.
Fleming saw his production dip in 2023 from his 2022 stat line while playing in the shadow of Marvin Harrison Jr., arguably the best wide receiver in the nation. Fleming caught 34 passes for 533 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2022 and 26 passes for 270 yards in 2023.
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