Five-Star Wide Receiver Julian Fleming Picks Ohio State
Five-star wide receiver Julian Fleming of Pennsylvania has committed to Ohio State. Fleming picks Ohio State over Georgia, Alabama, Clemson and maybe most notably Penn State. Fleming is the top-ranked wide receiver in the 2020 class by both 247 and Rivals recruiting services. He is the highest rated member of the 2020 class and one of the highest rated recruits to ever choose the Buckeyes. The announcement came via Twitter.
Final destination…… 4’s out ✌? pic.twitter.com/bX3qjQEA8R
— ?0J4? (@julian_040) May 31, 2019
Following his announcement Friday, Fleming spoke with reporters at his high school on Saturday. He talked about Ohio State having that “at home” feeling and talked about the relationships he was able to build with current and former players.
Fleming is a big body at 6’2” 200 pounds but he carries it well. He moves quickly and does a great job getting in and out of breaks. His breakaway speed is very strong and has the ability to catch a ball over the middle and outrun safeties to the end zone. Fleming is an adept route runner, with great hands. He is able to go up and over defenders and use his large body to his advantage when competing for jump balls. Reportedly, he has a 39-inch vertical leap. Fleming has the athleticism and talent to fight for playing time immediately.
Coach Hartline
Wide receivers coach Brian Hartline has been huge on the recruiting trail for the Buckeye’s, adding three top 30 wide receiver commits in 2020. Fleming joins four-star wide-outs Gee Scott JR. and Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the 2020 class. Fleming is the eight commit on the offensive side of the ball. This is the second class in a row Ohio State has landed a five-star receiver after Garrett Wilson’s commitment in the 2019 class. Ohio State has had quite the run of putting wide receivers into the NFL. Eight Buckeye receivers have been drafted since 2014. Hartline is making sure that run continues by bringing top talent to Columbus.
More Five-Star Receivers?
It’s possible that the Buckeye’s aren’t done adding five-star receivers in this class. Five-star Rakim Jarret committed to LSU but has continued to take visits. With Hartline as the lead recruiter for Jarret, Ohio State was in a very good spot with him before he committed. Another top ten wide receiver on the radar is Marcus Rosemary out of St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida. Rosemary most likely won’t choose the Buckeye’s but multiple recruiting experts are projecting him to the Buckeyes.
Other Recruiting News
Just because Fleming picks Ohio State doesn’t mean everyone will. Four-star outside linebacker Jaheim Thomas released his top seven schools and did not include Ohio State. He has been strongly projected to the Buckeyes so it’s a bit of surprise for Ohio State to be absent from his top seven schools. Thomas made it clear he was not part of a “package deal”.
Doing what’s best for me not a package deal… pic.twitter.com/EWQlM0kM83
— Jaheim (@JaheimThomas454) June 2, 2019
Earlier in the year, we wrote about Ohio State waiting too long to offer Thomas.
The top running back target for the Buckeyes, Kendall Milton, visited over the weekend. He has Ohio State in his top four schools with three SEC powerhouses. Based on his pinned post on twitter the visit went well.
I feel lucky, I should play the lottery #GoBucks ❤️ pic.twitter.com/n4ncZy2tWk
— Kendall Milton (@therealkmilt) June 2, 2019
Milton’s next visit is to LSU in June. Expect him to officially visit Georgia and Alabama before making his decision.
