Penn State receivers room facing familiar theme halfway through spring practice
STATE COLLEGE — A new year is here, a new offensive coordinator is in town, and a fresh face has joined the Penn State receivers room. That’s the good news for second-year position coach Marques Hagans and his group of pass catchers. Another positive is the fact that Lions head coach James Franklin has seen the unit, mostly made up of returners from last year’s so-so experience, take a collective step forward this spring. However, the 11th-year leader of the Penn State program is still singing a familiar tune to the one he sang last year at this time, before preseason camp, and throughout the season. And, that’s the discouraging news with less than a month to go before the Blue-White game on April 13.
“Think the whole group, from what I’ve seen, is improved,” Franklin said Tuesday night after spring practice No. 7. “I still would like to see a group of guys really separate themselves from the pack. I think the whole group has improved, but I’d like to see a couple of guys separate themselves and make it clearly obvious to everybody.”
Some variations of those words, if not the exact ones, were uttered by Franklin throughout 2023. There is no question that the upper body injury that forced starter Harrison “Trey” Wallace III to miss multiple games hurt the passing attack. So, too, did an inconsistent offense in general, up-and-down play from No. 1 KeAndre Lambert-Smith, and little impact from transfer additions Dante Cephas and Malik McClain. Three of those four are back in 2024, with Cephas being the lone departure of the group. Liam Clifford returns, too, as do Omari Evans, Kaden Saunders, and some other players who were further down the depth chart.
More: Penn State March 26 spring practice observations: Offense
Penn State also made a splash by adding former five-star recruit Julian Fleming. He, of course, spent a few years as the No. 3 receiver at Ohio State. Penn State hoped his arrival would bring sorely needed competition, consistency, and talent to the room. And, so far, that’s exactly what it has done.
“The guys love him,” Franklin said. “He’s been awesome as a teammate. He’s been really coachable. I don’t want to speak for Julian. But it seems like it’s been really good in terms of just energy, morale, and expectations. He has been great. He has been a really good addition. I know that he’s earned the coaches’ and the players’ trust and respect pretty quickly.”
That’s good news, as is the fact that the receivers, as a whole, are playing at a higher level. How high, though, cannot be discerned through just seven sets of drills. There is a long way to go in both spring practice and until the season. At a later point of his news conference, Franklin said it’s far too early to start talking about depth charts and position battle winners. That is true. But, for fans, it will also never be too early to start hearing talk about the receivers actually separating themselves instead of the endless talk about no one doing so. As of March 26, though, the time for that chatter is not here yet.
