Julian Fleming is an older receiver in a new position. The former five-star recruit is back in his home state, and the expectations for the Southern Columbia grad are great. Fleming, who transferred from Ohio State to Penn State after the 2023 season, impressed the Nittany Lions’ coaching staff and players during spring drills. He has also the physical traits, and the experience, to give PSU something it lacked a year ago: a go-to performer on the outside. One other thing about the 6-foot-2, 208-pound Fleming: Penn State coach James Franklin sees a motivated athlete. "I think he’s got a huge chip on his shoulder and excited about the opportunity at Penn State,” Franklin said when asked about Fleming on Wednesday at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis. "He’s really turned into one of the leaders in that wide receiver room. We’re happy to have him and expect for him to do big things for us this year.” To be fair, Penn State’s wideout room loomed as one of the weaker positions on the team in 2024 before Fleming joined the program. He chose Ohio State over Penn State to begin his college career but found it difficult to climb a depth chart at a school that was also home to Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Two seasons ago with the Buckeyes, Fleming caught 34 passes for 533 yards and six touchdowns. He could not replicate those numbers in 2023. "(Fleming) really came, got on campus, like most guys should do, kept his mouth shut, worked, earned everybody’s respect,” Franklin said. "And now (he) is really developing into a leader for us.” "His improvement from the end of spring to now, he is healthy and lean and explosive and fast right now. And just from the feedback from the players over the summer, (he) has really done a nice job. Looking at all the metrics and the numbers from our strength staff, he’s in a really good position.” Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free. Get Ad-Free > Sign Up for NotificationsStay up-to-date on important news from TribLIVE