Ohio State Football: Julian Fleming ranked top recruit by ESPN
By Alex Austin
Ohio State commit Julian Fleming sits at the top of the newest ESPN 300 list of the top recruits in America.
Think about how much fun it has been with Ohio State having one of the deepest and most talented WR units in the country. K.J. Hill, Chris Olave, Austin Mack, Binjimen Victor, Garrett Wilson and others have consistently beat opposing DBs and making sensational grabs.
Now, realize the Buckeyes will lose several of those players at the end of the year. For most programs losing Hill, Mack and Victor would erase any chance of once again having a top-tier position unit.
Fortunately, Ohio State isn’t like most programs. Enter Julian Fleming.
ESPN recently put out its list of the 300 best 2020 prospects, and coming in at the top is Fleming, a 5-star recruit from Southern Columbia (Pa.). A big WR standing at 6-2 and weighing in at 200 lbs. my first thoughts point to Fleming becoming an instant impact in the redzone at the next level.
However, with early comparisons by some to Michael Thomas, Ohio State is hoping to get much more out of him. If the rankings were to end today, Fleming would be the first WR to be ranked #1 on ESPN’s 300 list – topping Julio Jones and Percy Harvin who each finished at #2.
Having a career similar to either of those players would be a tremendous win for Ohio State.
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Fleming brings a great combination of size, quickness and athleticism to the receiver room. Being a bigger body allows him to create separation and win contested balls in the air, and his excellent hands create images of catching the corner fade in the endzone for years to come.
This is a great recruiting win for Brian Hartline and the Buckeyes.
There was plenty of hype around the senior wide-out which caused Brain Hartline to jump all over his recruiting process early. Julian committed to the Buckeyes on May 31, 2019 and took an official visit the weekend of October 4th to watch Ohio State walk all over Michigan State.
dark. Next. Buckeye offense still has a secret weapon
Coach Hartline is quickly building one of the best WR classes in recent memory by combining Fleming with Jaxon Smith-Njigba (4-star) and Gee Scott Jr. (4-star). Combine that group with the receivers who will still be around next year (Olave, Wilson and Jameson Williams in particular) and Ohio State will have plenty of weapons for Justin Fields and Ryan Day to continue picking apart the Big Ten.