At Penn State, Julian Fleming Sought to Prove Himself. He Got the Chance at USC

The veteran receiver converted two fourth downs in the fourth quarter against the Trojans, propelling the Nittany Lions' biggest drive of the season.

Penn State wide receiver Julian Fleming catches one of his two fourth-down conversions in the fourth quarter against USC at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

LOS ANGELES | Penn State receiver Julian Fleming had what he called a "tough practice" two weeks ago. They happen, which a fifth-year senior certainly knows. What bothered Fleming more was how he reacted.

"I didn’t bounce back as well as I would have liked," Fleming said Saturday at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. "Obviously everybody has personal goals, and it was just kind of playing in my head for a long time. So I made it a goal of definitely being able to bounce back from situations."

That situation arrived in the fourth quarter Saturday against USC. The unbeaten Nittany Lions trailed the Trojans 30-23, had 4th-and-7 from their own 44-yard line and faced a decision: Punt with three timeouts and try to regain possession or trust their offense with 4:27 remaining. Penn State never called for the punt team, instead giving quarterback Drew Allar the ball and Fleming, who had a tough first half, an opportunity to bounce back. Which they did. Twice.

Fleming caught first-down passes on 4th-and-7 and 4th-and-10 to extend a series that ultimately ended with Allar hitting running back Nicholas Singleton for the game-tying touchdown. Penn State won 33-30 in overtime, and Fleming delivered the moments for which he had longed since transferring from Ohio State.

"Those were two of the most impressive catches I’ve seen in terms of contested catches," Allar said. "The DB was all over him. Those two catches helped us sustain the momentum. I couldn’t be prouder of him. He’s a great teammate."

To that point, "great teammate" largely has been Fleming's title at Penn State. He made a substantial impact in the receivers room, adding a veteran presence with College Football Playoff experience, maturity and a unique perspective of having played receiver at Ohio State. On the field, Fleming is one of Penn State's weekly leaders in snaps, a route-runner who helps others get open and a willing downfield blocker. But in the passing game, Fleming and Allar had not yet truly connected.

Fleming caught seven passes through five games, often not quite synchronizing with Allar. Against UCLA, the quarterback blamed himself for missing Fleming on a first-series throw for a first down. Likewise in the second quarter Saturday, Allar lifted a throw across the middle to an open Fleming that the receiver couldn't catch. On the next play, Allar was intercepted.

But the play that bothered Fleming most (beyond his first-quarter pass-interference penalty that negated a Tyler Warren touchdown) was a first-down drop in the second quarter. Fleming said the play stuck in his head momentarily, which showed. He slumped at the waist before walking off the field.

"The first play we ran, the glance across the middle, that was a tough catch and I missed that one," Fleming said. "And then dropping the wide-open hitch was definitely a big hit to the chest. But a 6-second mentality is something I’ve really been trying to work on and I need to continue to work on."

In the fourth quarter, Fleming got there. On 4th-and-7, Fleming saw USC's defense and knew the read could go to him. The catch Fleming made was his best of the season, a hands-first grab that he corralled to his body with USC defensive back John Humphrey draped on his bicep.

Big play on 4th down by Penn State to keep the drive going. pic.twitter.com/hwTNyha8lD

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 12, 2024

That was his biggest catch of the season, until four plays later. On 4th-and-10, Fleming said he was confused briefly about the play. Fellow receiver Liam Clifford got him aligned properly, Allar eluded pressure and scrambled to find Fleming, who once again beat Humphrey to the ball for the conversion. This time, he and Allar were tuned perfectly.

"I got press coverage on the outside, slid inside and the ball was right there coming out of the break," Fleming said. "I just bodied it up."

ALLAR AVOIDS THE PRESSURE. @PennStateFBall with another 4th down conversion. pic.twitter.com/KXhj8rYE1C

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 12, 2024

Fleming, who played high school football 90 miles from State College, said before the season that he transferred to Penn State for more than a homecoming. "I needed one more year to really prove to myself who I am and prove to other people who I am," Fleming said in August. At USC, he and Allar, who threw two interceptions prior to the game-tying drive, merged their resilience in the fourth quarter to prove themselves.

"What I probably love the most about Drew, and it is probably reflective of our whole team, is it didn’t go perfectly for him today and he just ground through it," Penn State coach James Franklin said. "He flushed the bad plays and moved on. That’s what you have to do in college football. It’s not going to go perfectly. They have talented guys and our guys just battled through it. I think Drew’s a great example of that.

"... I also want to give Julian Fleming his flowers, too. I think it was two huge fourth-down plays. That was big for us. I think Drew was just a really good example of what I think our team did all day long. They just kept battling and overcoming adversity.”

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.