A former Penn State player didn’t hold back in giving his thoughts on the team’s problems at receiver.
The receiver position was a concern for Penn State all year long and many feared that the lack of production at that position would cost the team a national title.
While it’d be unfair to say that the receivers were the sole reason PSU lost to Notre Dame in Thursday’s Orange Bowl/College Football Playoff semifinal, it’d be quite fair to say that the group catching literally one pass would have helped.
For former Penn State offensive lineman and current media personality Landon Tengwall, this lack of execution stems from a lack of effort on Penn State’s part to involve the receivers.
WHAT TENGWALL SAID
Photo by Penn State Athletics: Landon Tengwall
“This is real rap and full transparency that nobody else will give,” Tengwall posted to X (formerly Twitter) Saturday morning, “so I will:
Penn State made no true effort to get the WRs involved all year long. I’ve been saying since week 4 if we don’t establish a No. 1 WR, we won’t win a big game. And we didn’t. SMU & Boise were big games in terms of the season, but we all know we didn’t need our WRs to produce in those games, because we were flat out better. We built this offense around Tyler Warren and the run game. Which was the right call!!! Both Ty and Run game was elite. But how can you not ever scheme the WRs into the game plan and then expect them to show up in the biggest game of the year? They have no confidence, no motivation, lack of rapport w/ QB.
We didn’t execute Thursday night, but this season is not just one persons fault. This is on everyone.
You just got the truth, if you don’t like it idk what to tell you. But that is what happened.”
This is real rap and full transparency that nobody else will give, so I will:
Penn State made no true effort to get the WRs involved all year long. I’ve been saying since week 4 if we don’t establish a No. 1 WR, we won’t win a big game. And we didn’t. SMU & Boise were big games…
— LandonTengwall (@landon_tengwall) January 11, 2025
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Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: Marques Hagans
It’s hard to argue with anything Tengwall said. This stat pretty much says it all about the Penn State receivers.
In a video breaking down Penn State’s receivers that Tengwall published to his YouTube Channel, he pointed out a downward trend in receptions by receivers.
- 2021= 200 receptions
- 2022= 160 receptions
- 2023= 127 receptions
- 2024= 102 receptions
If that isn’t telling enough, tight end Tyler Warren (104 receptions) had more catches than any Penn State receiver put together. Even though Warren was the best tight end in the country, that’s still not good.
Penn State’s receivers in 2024 also played 16 games compared to the previous three teams, which all played 13.
Again, not good.
Penn State’s next game is scheduled for Aug. 30 against Nevada at Beaver Stadium.
