There were a lot of things Penn State fans pointed to as reasons the team didn’t make the College Football Playoff in 2023, which was the expectation for a lot of people.
Naturally, the head coach, James Franklin, took a lot of heat.
As did his offensive coordinator, Mike Yurcich, who Franklin fired before the end of the season.
From an on-field standpoint, QB Drew Allar didn’t get the job done in the team’s regular season losses at Ohio State and to Michigan at home, so he took a lot of heat, too. But for many, a big reason for Allar’s struggles in those games was Penn State’s receivers.
Penn State fans probably know the numbers by now but just in case:
KeAndre Lambert-Smith (53 catches, 673 yards, four TD) put up respectable numbers. But he was the only Penn State WR who eclipsed 300 yards.
Lambert-Smith plays for Auburn now, and aside from Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming, every receiver on the roster had was either a true freshman coming in or had been with Penn State the year before, which means they heard all the criticism.
So, Penn State’s receivers came into this year with plenty to prove, and through two games, the results had been mixed.
In a 34-12 win at West Virginia Week 1, Harrison Wallace III went off, catching five passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns, all in the first half.
But Wallace and Omari Evans were the only two Penn State receivers to catch a pass.
The next week, Penn State’s top pass catcher was tight end Tyler Warren, who ended the day with the most receiving yards ever for a Penn State tight end (146).
As for the receivers, nobody had more than 54.
Finally, Penn State showed off its receiving depth against Kent State this past Saturday.
Omari Evans caught four passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Liam Clifford also had a score, catching three passes for 64 yards. Fleming had his best statistical game in a Penn State uniform, catching just two passes but getting 60 yards out of them.
Even with a quiet day from Wallace (three catches, 29 yards), Penn State’s receivers still accounted for 297 of the team’s 409 passing yards.
Coach James Franklin is happy with all of that but not happy about the amount of coverage his receivers have been getting— or lack thereof.
“I’ve been pleased with the step that we’ve taken,” Franklin said Monday during his weekly presser. “I’m kind of surprised that no one has kind of come to me and showed me a ton of articles about our wide receivers and the steps that they have taken and what Marques [Hagans] and those guys have done because there sure is a bunch of articles when they didn’t play up to people’s thoughts and standards.
Franklin went onto call Penn State’s receivers “maybe the most improved position on the team right now.”
To be clear, Franklin didn’t argue that the criticism from last season wasn’t warranted.
But he feels it should be balanced out with positivity this season.
“I’m not saying some of the things that were written and said in the past were not fair,” he said, “but again just like coaches, if we’re going to be critical, then they should be praised when they’re doing some really good things, which I think they are.”
The receivers room has their toughest test to this point Saturday, with Illinois having already picked off seven passes through four games (it had seven all of last season.)
“I think this week we’ll be challenged,” Franklin said. “We’ve got to put them in the best position we possibly can to be successful, and they’ve got to continue to get better and compete and be aggressive. I think we’re at our best at that wide receiver position when those guys are being aggressive, and I’ve seen it more consistently in practice. I’m seeing it more consistently in games, and I think you guys are as well.”
