Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1519242
2 4 M A Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M coach wasn't so sure that a preexisting connection would pay off. "The way that ended the first time, I wasn't necessarily sure how it would all play itself out," Franklin said. As he quickly found out, those worries were unfounded. Fleming was recep- tive to the Nittany Lions' interest, and as soon as he got on campus, it was clear he was a good fit with the program. "The guys love him," Franklin said. "He's been awesome as a teammate. He's been really coachable. I think he's been able to kind of move on. We've moved on. There's been no talk about the past. "I don't want to speak for Julian, but it seems like it's been really good in terms of just energy, morale and expectations. He's been great. He's been a really good addition. I know that he's earned the coaches' and the players' trust and re- spect pretty quickly." Fleming joined a wide receiver corps with no clear No. 1 target despite return- ing two of its top three performers in se- nior KeAndre Lambert-Smith and red- shirt junior Harrison "Trey" Wallace III. Lambert-Smith has been up-and-down throughout his career, while Wallace has had trouble staying healthy and missed five games last season. With Fleming in the fold, Penn State went into spring practice hoping to see some long-sought separation emerge between the clear first-teamers and the backups. As of early April, however, that was still a work in progress. "I think the whole group, from what I've seen, is improved," Franklin said. "Trey has always been super athletic. Losing him last year for a period of time like we did, I thought that hurt us. I still would like to see a group of guys re- ally separate themselves from the pack. I think the whole group has improved, but I'd like to see a couple guys separate themselves and make it clearly obvious to everybody. I think we need a little bit more of that." Wallace is healthy again after leaving the Peach Bowl late in the fourth quarter with an unspecified injury. That must remain the case for the PSU receivers to flourish. Lambert-Smith, whom Franklin praised as being more prepared to con- tribute "special plays," skipped the spring game and entered the portal April 16. As for Fleming, there are many reasons why this match made sense from the out- set. One of the big ones is that he's now only about 90 miles from his hometown of Catawissa, so his family is better able to visit and see practices and games. Also, he's in a program that will give him every opportunity to display his skills. "I have one year left in college, and I really wanted to maximize it," Fleming said. "I felt like the opportunity here is great. "Being able to come here and 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." ■ James Franklin said Fleming made a smooth transition to Penn State during spring practice. "It seems like it's been really good in terms of just energy, morale and expectations," Franklin said. "He's been great." PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER "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." F L E M I N G O N H I S I M P R E S S I O N S O F P S U ' S W I D E R E C E I V E R C O R P S