STATE COLLEGE, Pa. | Penn State's small but impactful transfer class includes two players with whom coach James Franklin was quite familiar. Penn State football fans were too. Franklin pressed his second recruiting pitches for receiver Julian Fleming and offensive tackle Nolan Rucci, the top players from Pennsylvania in their respective recruiting cycles. Both went elsewhere (Fleming to Ohio State, Rucci to Wisconsin) before entering the NCAA Transfer Portal.
Now, they're at Penn State, having enrolled in January in time for winter workouts. One of Franklin's favorite sayings regarding newcomers is "so far, so good," which he repeated Tuesday at his first media availability since the Peach Bowl. Which was a good sign.
"One of the things I would prefer to do is, if we go to the transfer portal, more times than not, I would love to get a guy we recruited on the front end," Franklin said, "because it’s a short period of time for the parents, for the players, for our staff to get to know each other. It’s a mad dash to figure those things out."
With Fleming and Rucci, Franklin already had the "long and lengthy, extensive recruiting process" to backstop that mad dash. And since Penn State began the semester Jan. 8, Franklin had less time than some other coaches to get transfers signed and onto campus. Fleming, who spent four years at Ohio State, announced his transfer decision in early January, less than a week before Penn State began the semester. Fleming, who chose Ohio State over Penn State in 2020, now is one of the veterans of the Nittany Lions' receivers room.
Franklin liked that Fleming has Big Ten experience, and the calluses that come with it, and has been to the College Football Playoff. So far, Fleming has assimilated well, the head coach said.
"Obviously, his ability to play in this league is helpful. He understands what this league is all about," Franklin said. "He also has an understanding about playoffs as well. And he’s an older guy which I also think helps in that room. Julian’s done a really good job.
"... Whether it's a job or a team you’re joining, the first thing you do is keep your mouth shut and your ears open and put your head down and go to work and earn everybody’s respect. And over time gradually become more vocal if that’s a part of your leadership style and personality. I think he’s done a good job of that. I’ve heard really good reports from the strength staff, from coaches and from players, probably more importantly. So far, so good."
Three days after Fleming announced his decision, Rucci followed from Wisconsin. The offensive tackle was Pennsylvania's top-rated recruit in 2021 but didn't get onto the field often. Rucci, who has two seasons of eligibility, played in six games over the last two years. But Franklin made a point to note that Rucci played left tackle for the Badgers in the ReliaQuest Bowl, which served as a career pivot point. He's also a 6-8 tackle with a pliability that prevents his height from becoming a negative.
"The difference there [between Fleming and Rucci] is Nolan has multiple years of eligibility, which is awesome," Franklin said. "The other thing is, he played in the bowl game and played really well in the bowl game. I think that was a big confidence boost for him. For us, we knew very well what he was capable of, but there wasn’t a whole lot of evidence of it at Wisconsin. They stayed very healthy [on the offensive line] and didn't rotate players the way we have. Him playing in that bowl game was really important for both sides.
"... He got here at 299 [pounds] and is 305. He’s still skinny because he’s all of 6-8. Six-eight isn’t always a positive for offensive linemen if you can’t bend, but he can really bend and has tremendous athleticism. He’s been great."
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