Ohio State Football: 3 members of the 2020 recruiting class who are critical
By Ryan Stano
Julian Fleming was the number one wide receiver in his class. He was expected to be the next Garrett Wilson in the class right after Wilson. Instead, injuries have plagued Fleming since he stepped on campus and he has yet to make a true impact.
Fleming still has all the tools to be an excellent receiver. He didn’t quite have the impact in the Rose Bowl that I thought he might, but that’s also because he got hurt in that game too. The injuries just seem to follow him around at this point.
Next season is his best chance to have an impact on the team. He should be fully healthy finally and really doesn’t have any excuse not to be good at this point. He has a chance to be one of the top three receivers on the team next year. Fleming will be fighting for a lot of snaps.
Ohio State needs someone to step up besides JSN. Marvin Harrison Jr. looks like he is a good candidate to do that, but they need a third guy. Fleming only has 19 career catches for 150 yards and one touchdown. He should get a bigger opportunity for those numbers to go up.
Adding a productive Fleming to the fold would make this Ohio State football team even more dangerous on offense. It would certainly help a defense that has a lot of changes to make. This is also likely Fleming’s last chance to make an impact. Otherwise, he risks getting passed up on the depth chart.
The next guy on this list switched positions last year and now has a new challenge to face.