Ohio State football: Former OSU receiver transfers to big-time Big Ten rival

The Ohio State football team has had a ton of players decide to leave the program since the loss to Michigan. They've had even more players leave since the Cotton Bowl. Only one of those players leaving really has left a mark because he was going to see a significant increase in playing time.

That player is Julian Fleming. The former number-one overall recruit in the country decided to leave the Buckeyes after the loss to TTUN. He is the only Buckeye who has entered the transfer portal and would have been a confirmed starter in 2024.

Now Fleming has decided to transfer to a Big Ten rival. That rival is Penn State. Fleming has decided to go back to his home state and play for the Nittany Lions. Fleming will get a chance to stay in the Big Ten and win it with another rival. In fact, he will play against the Buckeyes next season.

It will be super weird seeing Fleming in another uniform, especially a Penn State one. Playing against him is not something I'm enthused about. Fleming was never as great as he was supposed to be coming out of high school but that was mostly because of injuries.

We'll see how Fleming does next year in an offense that wasn't very good. Penn State struggled in a number of games because of poor quarterback play and a shoddy running game. I'm interested to see if Fleming can be a big contributor to the offense and make them more dynamic.

This one hurts the Ohio State football program. Having Fleming go to another Big Ten school is less than ideal. Having him go to a rival is worse. At least he didn't end up at Michigan. That would have been sacrilegious to do. It makes sense for him to be closer to home though.

I can't wait to face him next season.