A storm is brewing in Happy Valley; that much is true. Penn State was just one step away from clinching a National Championship, but Notre Dame derailed that pursuit. PSU is a program that has produced some great results. But its current roster is sounding alarm bells for quarterback Drew Allar and coach James Franklin. This one problem was also the most glaring in the Nittany Lions’ performance last season.
This issue not only cost Penn State the Orange Bowl but has shown itself throughout the season. Yes, they have an impressive conference and overall record. But that does not take away from the fact that something needs to be done about its wide receivers. They failed to receive a single catch in that crucial game against the Fighting Irish, although Allar’s last-minute and poorly executed play was also at fault. But the QB didn’t have much to rely on, except TE Tyler Warren and his running backs. The receivers let Allar down when the game needed them the most.
PSU Collegian straight out says that the wide receiver room here was its “worst unit” in the past two seasons. Another blow is that, just like last year, the two best WRs—Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans – left the Lions for better programs. Warren is going pro this year. There is a serious cause for concern for this position because the quarterback needs his wide receivers to work their best in the field. A quarterback like Allar needs the position to be of that kind, with a make-or-break season that follows this year.
Josh Pate’s College Football Show highlighted the most evident flaws in PSU’s roster. He affirmed in a March 17 video that the program was good to go in some aspects. “Elsewhere, I’m good. If I’m Penn State, I got four or five linemen returning. I got two top-10 tailbacks returning. I’m gonna be good where I’m normally good.” But something needs to be done about that wide receiver room after losing the top ones consecutively to the transfer portal. “I don’t know what the post-spring portal is gonna look like, but they have got to be in there. They have to be the shark fin in there, looking for receivers.”
In their 2025 roster, PSU has brought in Devonte Ross from Troy and Kyron Hudson from USC. After spring practice and further ahead in the year, we’d know how Allar forms a rapport with them. The priority with new talents would be to not create a season like the last (two?). Meanwhile, James Franklin has a lot of work to do in picking more talents in the spring transfer window.
James Franklin has to improve his WR room
Allar’s single late interception at the Orange Bowl game was enough to shadow a large part of his 2024 season. But he could go to the NFL draft with whatever good he had in spite of that. Now that he’s returned, James Franklin better step up and give the quarterback his deserved wide receivers. Because, let’s face it, the blame for the Nittany Lions’ fall is not his alone.
For a team that advances into the National Championship’s semi-final, it does not make sense to have an offense limited to just the quarterback, tight ends, and running back. In the three most important games of the championship, PSU’s WRs recorded just 10 catches combined. These are not the numbers of a team that has gotten to where Penn State is today. With the WRs bidding their unsuccessful season farewell at PSU, Franklin has to go in guns blazing at the spring transfer portal to bring in some top talents. They’re there; the coach just has to go for it.
CBS Sports mentions that elite receivers are a key attraction in the portal because they have performed notably in their former programs. Franklin needs “game changers,” and not just “good players.” Hudson and Ross do not have attractive transfer ratings. They might have a great game, but how well will they work with Allar to change the course of the Nittany Lions?
There is really just one simple solution to Franklin’s biggest problem in the program. Get wide receivers who are able to defy the odds and produce consistent results. Sure, Allar messed up gravely in that Orange Bowl game, but the wideout barely gave him any separation to work with. Franklin must set his sights on the top prospects in the portal and go full steam ahead with the WRs he has at the moment. The same failure has already been repeated twice—neither Allar nor Franklin can afford to have it materialize again.
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