There’s a player who left Penn State football over the winner that the program might be missing.
In the team’s heartbreaking 27-24 College Football Playoff loss to Notre Dame, not one receiver caught a pass.
Harrison “Trey” Wallace III was part of that group, and it ended up being the last game he’d play for Penn State.
Two weeks later, Wallace entered the transfer portal, where he landed at Ole Miss. Through three games in Oxford, Wallace is killing it. In his college debut against Georgia State Aug. 30, Wallace went off for 130 yards and a touchdown on five catches.
The next week, Ole Miss started SEC play, and Wallace didn’t slow down, going for 117 yards on four catches.
This past Saturday against Arkansas, Wallace missed out on 100 yards but not by much. He went for 92 yards and a touchdown on six catches, a big part of Ole Miss’ 41-35 win.
Wallace already has 339 receiving yards, which is almost halfway to the 720 he had for Penn State all of last season.
Some Penn State fans might be wondering, “where’s Wallace.”
Here’s why Penn State might and might not miss Wallace.
WHY PENN STATE MIGHT MISS WALLACE
Harrison Wallace III hauls in a 14 yard score in the fourth quarter.
It’s obvious why Penn State might miss Wallace, as I already went through the numbers.
If Wallace replicated his production through three games at Ole Miss for Penn State, he’d lead Penn State in receptions, yards and touchdowns, and he’d be on pace for a far bigger year than he had over four seasons in Happy Valley.
He’s also be way ahead of the pack in yards per catch, where he averages 22.6 (an explosive play is 20 yards). Penn State’s leader is Trebor Pena, who averages 12.8.
Right now, Wallace’s story is playing out similarly to KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who left Penn State for Auburn and had the best year of his career.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.So some may wonder if Penn State utilized Wallace’s talent while it had the chance.
WHY PENN STATE MIGHT NOT MISS WALLACE
WR Trey Wallace has a pass broken up
Who knows what Wallace might be doing in this offense?
In the Ole Miss attack, Wallace has been targeted 26 times, 14 more than the guy with the second most.
Let’s compare that to Penn State’s passing offense.
Pena and Kyron Hudson are neck and neck with 20 targets each, and tight end Luke Reynolds isn’t far behind with 16.
Penn State stocked up on talented transfer receivers this offseason, with Pena being an all-ACC performer at Syracuse, Hudson having years of Power 4 experience at USC and Devonte Ross being a 1,000-yard receiver at Troy.
It’s hard to say what Wallace would be doing if he were competing in the same room.
THE FINAL VERDICT
So does Penn State miss Harrison Wallace III?
Probably not.
If Wallace returned to Penn State, he’d be with the same quarterback and same offensive coordinator, so it might not be entirely fair to expect drastically different production.
Sometimes, a change of scenery is necessary, and it looks like that’s the case for Wallace.
