Julian Fleming records 1st TD at Penn State in strong game for embattled receiving corps

It was a long time coming for Julian Fleming.

Penn State’s senior wide receiver, who has navigated through several games with low production this season, finally scored a touchdown Saturday, hauling in an 8-yard scoring pass from Drew Allar shortly before halftime in the Nittany Lions’ 35-6 win over Washington.

Julian Fleming's first PSU TD at Beaver Stadium. Penn State ran interference routes for someone not named Tyler Warren. pic.twitter.com/kuVMONTy21

— T-FrankOn3 (@ThomasFrankCarr) November 10, 2024

Coach James Franklin and teammates have applauded Fleming’s attitude over the course of the year, as his personal stat line has been impacted by the fluctuating effectiveness of Penn State’s air attack.

“I think he’s one of the best teammates we have on the team,” tight end Tyler Warren said. “He’s done everything right, so for him to get that touchdown was really cool. I was really happy for him.”

An Ohio State transfer, last season he caught 26 passes for 270 yards, and in 2022, he came down with 34 grabs for 533 yards and six touchdowns for the Buckeyes.

On the year, the 6-foot-2 Catawissa native has 11 catches for 171 yards.

Fleming wasn’t the only wideout to show up Saturday, as Harrison Wallace III finished with a team-high 84 yards on five catches, and Warren led the team with eight catches for 75 yards, in addition to scoring two touchdowns on direct-snap goal-line rushes.

Penn State’s receivers have been subject to criticism this season, arguably more than any position group on the team. Franklin has noted their need to better create separation from opposing secondaries.

That said, Allar sees the work his wide receivers put in every weekend, in particular when the ball is not coming their way.

Allar, in particular, credited his wideouts with playing a key role in Penn State’s run game Saturday, which produced a season-high 266 yards.

“The receivers make a ton of plays throughout games,” Allar said. “They get a lot of criticism, but I don’t think it’s fair at all. We had Julian show up on the touchdown today, (Wallace) had a really good game, (Liam Clifford) had a big-time catch down the seam. They played really well today. What’s not going to get noticed is how well they blocked on the perimeter.

“They do a lot of the dirty work. Obviously, they all want stats, and we all want stats at the end of the day, but they’re doing the necessary stuff to help us play team football and win games.”

Allar completed passes to six players Saturday.

Wallace and Warren led the way in terms of target volume, as often has been the case this year, and Fleming came down with two passes for 19 yards.

Tailbacks Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen were also modestly effective in the pass game, moving the sticks a handful of times with short gains on checkdown catches.

The final Penn State player to record a catch against Washington was Liam Clifford, who hauled in a 20-yard pass from Allar in the fourth quarter, helping to set up the Nittany Lions’ final touchdown of the night.

Clifford was one of three Nittany Lions receivers to catch a pass of 20 yards or more in the win.

“It’s great to get a lot of guys involved,” Franklin said. “We want to do that every single week. Really good to see Julian do some things and (Wallace) do some things today. We need more of that, and we’ll continue to invest in that throughout the week.”