Ohio State Football: Julian Fleming’s defining year
By Ryan Stano
The Ohio State football team had a multitude of injuries last year. Players from almost every position group had to deal with missing games due to injuries. The receiver room got hit hard with injuries throughout the year, including losing Jaxon Smith-Njigba for almost the entire year.
One player in that room who has had to deal with injuries almost his entire career is Julian Fleming. Fleming was the number one overall recruit in the 2020 class when he was coming in. He was expected to be the next great receiver that the Buckeyes could develop.
Instead, injuries have been the story of his Ohio State football career. He’s had injuries to his knees, shoulder, and midsection that have kept him from showing his true potential. He’s yet to play every game in a season yet because of those injuries.
Even so, last season was the best year of his career. He caught 34 passes for 533 yards and 6 touchdowns. He came into the season as the fourth option in the receiving room. Once JSN went down, his responsibilities stepped up. But he still couldn’t get fully healthy.
This year is his best chance to make a meaningful impact. He will likely be the third option on the team, although Xavier Johnson has proven he can stay on the field. What will determine how well he plays in 2023 is whether or not he can finally stay healthy.
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Even with a new quarterback in the fold, Fleming can still do a lot of good things. He still has the speed to get separation to catch the deep ball and he can do good things after the catch. This is going to be the defining year of his Buckeye career. I’m hoping that he can finally get some good luck and play a full season of football.