'Healthy as can be' Penn State receiver Julian Fleming talks outlook with the Nittany Lions

STATE COLLEGE — Julian Fleming accomplished plenty during his time at Ohio State. But, the former Pennsylvania high school standout decided he was ready for a fresh start after four seasons in Columbus. So, after the 2023 season, he packed up his belongings, a college stat sheet that includes 79 catches for 963 yards and seven touchdowns, and then hit the transfer portal. A month later, he committed to the program he had passed up years earlier, Penn State, in time for the start of the spring semester in mid-January. Lions coach James Franklin needed less than a month to note that he was off to a good start with his teammates. And, they’ve all agreed since.

Tuesday marked the first time Fleming, a former Southern Columbia star, has addressed reporters since coming to town. The workmanlike effort his peers and coaches talk about has been evident during the media’s chance to view snippets of practice since mid-March. He’s adjusted well to this college town and is fitting in nicely, he said, in a new offense and team with nine spring practices in the books.

“Honestly, it’s been awesome,’ Fleming said. Coaches have been great. Players have been very welcoming. So it’s been a great opportunity. It’s been a very smooth transition. I had relationships, and being able to develop them and talk to them, and then being able to come here and my visit to see nothing really changed, that’s been great.”

Fleming has put his health issues behind him

It’s no secret that injury issues hampered Fleming’s time with the Buckeyes. The Columbus Dispatch had this to say about them in October of 2023:

“Shoulder issues limited him early, resulting in frequent dislocations. Fleming underwent a procedure on his left shoulder after his freshman season, followed by another this past season on his right shoulder. He refers to his shoulders as bionic shoulders following the labrum surgeries.”

It goes without saying that rising to the top of one of college football’s best receiving rooms was always going to be a challenge. That became doubly so with the injuries. But Fleming, who noted he had his shoulders cleaned up in the past while speaking inside of Holuba Hall, said he now has a clean bill of health. And, that is helping him push for as many reps as possible in blue and white.

“I’m healthy as can be,” Fleming said. “This is probably the healthiest offseason I had so far. Shoulders are both good. I got those all fixed up. And, I’ve been under the needle a couple of times with stuff, just having to get this and this done and bumps and bruises. But right now, I’m healthy and I’m happy about.

“I’ve got to have spring practices and spring ball. I never made it through a full spring session. So just being able to kind of see and prove more things to myself has been awesome for me.”

More: Notes and Observations from Penn State’s spring practice

Fleming was unsurprisingly uninterested in discussing the season the Penn State receivers had a year ago. But, he cannot possibly live in a vacuum and knows the challenges it had and the opportunities those present for growth. That said, it’s fair to note he’s had challenges during his career, too.

Thus, for many reasons, from being closer to home so his family can visit and see practices and games to the chance to possibly have the biggest role of his career yet, this match made sense from the outset. Now that it’s been made, Fleming’s focus, and that of his teammates, is to have everyone and anyone singing a different tune about all parts of the Penn State offense, and those who operate within it, this fall. It all starts with finishing spring practice strong.

“I have one year left in college, Fleming said. “And, I really wanted to maximize it. I felt like the opportunity here is great.

“Being able to come here, and kind of see how they treated everything,I don’t want to get too far into it because I wasn’t here last year to be able to talk about everything that they went through as a unit. But, they definitely have a chip on their shoulder. They’re definitely hungry. And, I’m really excited to be working with them.”