For Penn State's Offense, Questions About Wide Receiver Will Linger Into Fall
"I love our wide receivers," James Franklin insisted after the Blue-White Game. But the position remains the Nittany Lions' most pivotal.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. | Penn State coach James Franklin winced at the question Saturday, which repeat an earlier question about his wide receivers. Considering the position’s past and future, though, it bore repeating. So Franklin stamped his answer with clarity.
“I love our wide receivers,” the Penn State coach said after the Blue-White Game. “We have a bunch of guys in the room who have the chance to take the next step. I believe they’re going to take the next step. I think [receivers coach Marques Hagans] has done a really good job this spring. This summer is going to be really important. The positive thing is, in college football, you can improve in the passing game in the summer. We’re going to do those things. We believe in them.”
For the second consecutive season, the Nittany Lions will begin a season needing to convince college football, if not themselves, that they’re a playoff contender with their current corps of receivers. The position hasn’t changed much since last season, aside from one departure and one likely forthcoming. Dante Cephas transferred to Kansas State this offseason, and KeAndre Lambert-Smith appears ready to enter the portal. Lambert-Smith, who led the Lions with 53 catches last year, was not on the roster for Saturday’s Blue-White Game, and Franklin’s answer about the receiver’s status didn’t leave much room for a return.
“I’m really happy to talk about any of the guys who played in the game today and are in the locker room,” Franklin said. “Beyond that, I don’t have a whole lot to tell you.”
So unless Penn State turns to the portal in the next few weeks, the offense will attack this season with its current group of receivers. That includes Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming, who caught one pass on three targets in the Blue-White Game; Harrison Wallace III, the leading spring-scrimmage receiver with 72 yards on five receptions; and no player who caught more than 10 passes last season.
However, quarterback Drew Allar both defended and challenged the group, saying the receivers have turned a corner.
“Yeah, they’ve definitely made a lot of improvement,” he said. “They caught a lot of slack and a lot of criticism last year, and I think all they did this year, same with coach Hagans, is put their heads down and work. I’ve seen a totally different level of commitment in that group. I’m very excited with the room we have right now.”
Certainly, Penn State played a lot of receivers Saturday. Seven scholarship receivers caught passes in the Blue-White Game, and Wallace was targeted seven times. Wallace notably was the group’s leader. He moved well, got open and was credited with 19 yards-after-catch. They certainly weren’t perfect, which two drops underscored, and had some continuing trouble with the end-zone fade routes, but Allar did note more confidence in the group’s consistency. Now, the quarterback plans to take more control of their summer plan.
Interestingly, Allar said he intends to schedule more meeting and film-watch time than passing sessions (“We’ll still get a ton of that in,” he quickly added). Penn State has a robotic quarterback that can simulate throws, which Allar said the receivers will use more this summer to prevent wear on his arm. It’s an idea Fleming floated from his time at Ohio State, one that Allar thought valuable.
“We definitely haven’t used [the device] as much,” Allar said. “[Fleming] showed [the receivers] how much benefit they can gain from that. I want to throw to them all the time but I also have to limit myself and the amount of throws I can get in a week. It’s really good for them to walk through it on their own.”
When training camp arrives in August, Franklin is going to get the same questions about his receivers. Certainly. he’ll be prepared.
“I’ve had all the faith in the world in our wide receivers in terms of talent and ability. We have to take the next step,” Franklin said. “... I think we’re going to be very specific in the things we’re working on, how we’re training and developing, but we have the talent in the room,” Franklin said. “The reality is, we have to take the next step, we have to do it on a consistent basis and we have to make plays against all the people on our schedule. All those guys are in our locker room for a reason.”
AllPennState 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 Twitter @MarkWogenrich.
